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A
CAUTION:
Driving in Mud, Sand, Snow
or Ice
When you drive i n mud, snow or sand,
your wheels won't get good traction. You
can't
accelerate as quickly, turning
is
more difficult, and you'll need longer
braking distances.
It's best to use
a low gear when you're
i n
mud -the
deeper the mud, the lower the
gear.
In
really deep mud, the idea is to
keep your vehicle moving so you don't
get stuck.
When you drive on sand, you'll sense a
change in wheel traction. But
it
will
depend upon how loosely packed the sand
is. On loosely packed sand (as on beaches
or sand dunes) your tires will tend to sink
into the sand. This has an effect on
steering. accelerating, and braking. You
may want to reduce the air pressure in
your tires slightly when driving on sand.
This will improve traction.
Hard packed snow and ice offer the worst
tire traction. On these surfaces, it's very
easy to lose control. On wet ice, for
example, the traction is so poor that you
will have difficulty accelerating. .4nd if
you do get moving, poor steering and
difficult braking can cause you to slide
out of control.
A
CAUTION:
Driving in Water
Light rain causes no special off-road
driving problems. But heavy rain can
mean tlash flooding, and tlood waters
demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep the water is before you
drive through it. If it's deep enough to
cover your wheel hubs, axles, or exhaust
pipe, don't try
il
-
you probably won't
get through. Also, water that deep can
damage your axle and other vehicle parts.
If the water isn't too deep, then drive
through
i t
slowly.
At fast
speeds. water
splashes on your ignition system and your
vehicle can stall. Stalling can also occur if
you
get your tailpipe under water. ,4nd, as
115
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