Driving Downhill - Chevrolet 1995 S-10 Pickup Owner's Manual

Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you'll want to consider
a
number of
things:
0
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain vehicle control?
0
What's the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery? Hard-packed dirt?
Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs? Boulders?
What's at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden creek bank or even a
river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to keep your vehicle
headed straight down, and use a low gear. This way, engine drag can help
your brakes and they won't have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
Q:
Are there some things I should not do when driving down a hill?
A:
Yes! These are important because if you ignore them you could lose
control and have a serious accident.
0
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you across the incline
of
the hill. A hill that's not too steep to drive down may be too steep to
drive across. You could roll over if you don't drive straight down.
0
Never go downhill with the transmission in NEUTRAL (N), or with
the clutch pedal depressed in a manual shift. This is called
"free-wheeling." Your brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
Unless you have four-wheel anti-lock: Avoid braking
so
hard that you
lock the front wheels when going downhill. If your front wheels are
locked, you can't steer your vehicle. If your wheels lock up during
downhill braking, you may feel the vehicle starting to slide sideways.
To regain your direction, just ease off the brakes and steer to keep the
front of the vehicle pointing straight downhill.
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