Maserati Levante 2021 Owner's Manual page 224

Starting and Driving
• avoid heavy meals before a trip. A
light snack helps keep your reflexes
sharp. In particular, avoid drinking
alcohol.
WARNING!
Beyond being prohibited by law, it is
extremely dangerous to ride inside the
boot or on the hood. In the event
of an accident, passengers sitting
here are more exposed to the risk of
serious injury. Passengers must only
travel seated in the vehicle seats, with
the seat belts fastened. Always check
that the driver and all passengers
have the seat belts correctly fastened.
5
Safe Driving
Although the vehicle is equipped with
active and passive safety devices, the
driver's conduct is always a decisive
factor for road safety.
Some simple rules for travelling safely
in different conditions are listed
below. Some of them will probably
already sound familiar but, in any
case, it would be useful to read them
carefully.
Driving at Night
The main guidelines to follow when
driving at night are set out below.
222
• Drive carefully. Night conditions
demand more focus and attention.
• Reduce your speed, especially on
roads with no streetlights.
• Stop at early signs of drowsiness.
Continuing to drive would be a risk
for yourself and for others. Have a
rest before continuing your trip.
• Keep the vehicle at a greater distance
from vehicles in front of you than
you would during the day: it is
difficult to assess the speed of other
vehicles when you only see the lights.
• Use the high beams only outside of
densely-populated areas and when
you are sure that they will not disturb
other drivers.
• When another vehicle is approaching,
switch from high beams (if on) to low
beams.
• Keep lights and headlights clean.
• Outside of densely-populated areas,
beware of animals crossing the road.
Driving in the Rain
Rain and wet roads are dangerous.
On a wet road all manoeuvres are
more difficult since wheel grip on
the road is significantly reduced. This
means that the braking distances
increase considerably and the road
grip decreases.
Some recommendations for driving in
the rain are listed below.
• Reduce your speed and keep a
greater safety distance from the
vehicles in front of you. High speed
may result in a loss of vehicle control.
• When driving on wet or slushy roads,
it is possible for a wedge of water to
build up between the tire and road
surface. This is known as aquaplaning
and may cause partial or complete
loss of vehicle control and stopping
ability. To reduce this possibility: slow
down if the road has standing water
or puddles.
• Heavy rain substantially reduces
visibility. In these circumstances, even
during the day, turn on the low
beams, to be more visible to other
drivers.
• Set the air conditioning and heating
system controls on the demisting
function, in order to avoid any
visibility problem.
• Periodically check the conditions of
the windshield wiper blades.
• In low grip conditions use "I.C.E."
driving mode (see chapters "Drive
Mode" and "Off-road Drive" in this
section).
• Avoid driving with ESC OFF as this
could possibly cause a loss of control
of the vehicle.