Driving In The Fog; Mountain Driving; Driving On Snow And Ice - Alfa Romeo 156 GTA Owner's Manual

– Position the ventilation controls for de-
misting (see chapter "Getting to know your
car"), to prevent visibility from worsening.
– Routinely check the conditions of the
windscreen wiper blades.

DRIVING IN THE FOG

– If fog is very thick, avoid travelling whe-
re possible. If travelling with mist, ground
fog or the possibility of fog banks:
– Drive at moderate speed.
– Also in the day turn on the dipped-beam
headlights, rear fog guards and front fog li-
ghts. Do not use the main beam headlights.
IMPORTANT On stretches of road with
good visibility, switch off your rear foglights;
the brightness of these lights could annoy
the people travelling in the cars behind.
– Remember that fog also involves wet
asphalt, thus greater difficulty in all types of
manoeuvres and longer stopping distances.
– Keep well away from the vehicle in
front.
– Where possible avoid sudden changes
in speed.
– Possibly avoid overtaking other vehicles.
– If the vehicle is forced to stop (faults,
impossibility to continue due to poor visibi-
lity, etc.), firstly try to pull off the road. Then
turn on the hazard warning lights and, if pos-
sible the dipped beam headlights. Rythmi-
cally sound the horn if you note another car
coming.

MOUNTAIN DRIVING

– When driving downhill, use the engine
braking by engaging a low gear, to prevent
the brakes from overheating.
– Never coast downhill with the engine off
or in neutral and especially not with the igni-
tion key removed.
– Drive at moderate speed and avoid "cut-
ting" corners.
– Remember that overtaking up hill is
slower and therefore requires a greater
length of clear road. If you are being over-
taken on a hill, move over to enable the
other vehicle to pass in safety.

DRIVING ON SNOW AND ICE

Here are few suggestions for driving in the-
se conditions:
– Keep your speed down.
– On a snowy road, fit winter tyres or
snow chains; see the related paragraphs in
this section.
– Use exhaust brake where possible and
avoid abrupt braking.
– Avoid abrupt acceleration and changes
of direction.
– During cold weather even apparently dry
roads may be covered with occasional pat-
ches of ice. Pay great attention therefore
when driving on roads which are in the sha-
de, or where rocks or trees line the road and
on which ice may persist.
– Keep further back from the vehicle in
front.
167