Safe Driving - Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Owner's Manual

A lw ays drive a c c o rd in g to the
rule " Safety firs t". The c o m fo r­
tab le rid e o f the v e h ic le may easily
te m p t you to un d e re stim a te the
speed you are a ctu a lly drivin g .
For this reason you should get used
to keeping an eye on the sp e e d o ­
m eter needle because high speeds
dem and long sto pp in g d istances.
Brake se n sibly and p re ve n t the
w heels fro m locking.
Do not a llo w y o u r tire s to w e a r
dow n too far. W ith less than
0.118 in. (3 mm) o f tread, the
a n tiskid p ro p e rtie s on a w e t road
fall o ff sharply.
D epending upon the w e a th e r
a n d /o r road pavem ent th e g rip of
the tire s varies w idely.
The retentio n of the s p e cifie d tire
pressure is essential. T his applies
p a rtic u la rly if th e tire s are s u b je cte d
to high loads (e.g. high speeds,
heavy loads, high a m b ie n t te m p e ra ­
tures).
A q u apla ning:
D epending on the depth o f the
w a te r layer on th e road, a q u a p la ­
ning may o c c u r even w ith tire s s till
sh o w in g the full tread depth, and
even at low speeds. A void track
g rooves in the road and apply
brakes c a u tio u sly in the rain.
T ire fric tio n :
Dry road = 100 %
W et road = fro m app ro x. 50 % to
approx. 80 % (be p a rtic u la rly
ca u tio u s on w e t and d irty roads)
Icy road = approx. 15 %
You sh o u ld pay p a rtic u la r a tte n tio n
to the c o n d itio n o f the road as soon
as the p re va ilin g te m p e ra tu re s fall
clo se to th e fre e zin g p oin t. If ice
has fo rm e d on th e road (e. g. due
to fog), a th in film o f w a te r is then
q u ickly p ro d u ce d on the ice w hich
s u b s ta n tia lly re duces the g rip of
the tire s. U n d e r such w e a th e r c o n ­
d itio n s, drive, s te e r and brake
p a rtic u la rly c a re fu lly.
We re co m m e d M + S ra d ia l-p ly
tire s fo r th e c o ld season. On ice
o r packed s n o w th ey can red u ce
y o u r sto p p in g d is ta n c e as co m ­
pared w ith su m m e r tire s. S top pin g
d ista n ce , how ever, is nevertheless
c o n s id e ra b ly g re a te r than w hen
th e road is w e t o r dry.

Safe Driving

On exte nd ed and steep d eclines,
relieve brakes by s h iftin g the
s e le c to r lever to p o sitio n " S "
o r " L " .
A fte r hard bra kin g it is a d visa ble not
to sw itch o ff the e ngine rig h t away
but to d rive on fo r som e tim e so
the a ir stream w ill co o l dow n the
brakes faster.
W hen d riv in g in heavy rain fo r
som e tim e w ith o u t a p p lyin g the
brakes, th e firs t b ra k in g action
may be som ew hat re tard ed and
incre ased pedal pressure may be
necessary. F or th is reason, stay
fu rth e r aw ay from v e h icle in front.
O nce in a w h ile check the e ffe c ­
tiveness o f the system by fu lly
app lyin g the b ra kes on an open
road (m ake sure the w h ee ls w ill not
lock). T h is w ill also im prove the
g rip o f the linings.
We recom m e nd b re a kin g in the
p a rkin g bra ke p rio r to an in sp e c­
tio n o f the brake system specifie d
by the law.
To do this, pull release kn o b and
re p e a te d ly e x e rt m o d erate pressure
on th e pedal w h ile tra v e llin g at low
speed.