Driving and Operating 187wet enough and you are going fastenough. When the vehicle ishydroplaning, it has little or nocontact with the road.There is no hard and fast rule abouthydroplaning. The best advice is toslow down when the road is wet.Other Rainy Weather TipsBesides slowing down, other wetweather driving tips include:. Allow extra following distance.. Pass with caution.. Keep windshield wipingequipment in good shape.. Keep the windshield washer fluidreservoir filled.. Have good tires with propertread depth. See Tires 0 289.. Turn off cruise control.Hill and Mountain RoadsDriving on steep hills or throughmountains is different than drivingon flat or rolling terrain. Tips include:. Keep the vehicle serviced and ingood shape.. Check all fluid levels and brakes,tires, cooling system, andtransmission.. Shift to a lower gear when goingdown steep or long hills.{ WarningUsing the brakes to slow thevehicle on a long downhill slopecan cause brake overheating, canreduce brake performance, andcould result in a loss of braking.Shift the transmission to a lowergear to let the engine assist thebrakes on a steep downhill slope.{ WarningCoasting downhill in N (Neutral)or with the ignition off isdangerous. This can causeoverheating of the brakes and(Continued)Warning (Continued)loss of steering. Always have theengine running and the vehiclein gear.. Drive at speeds that keep thevehicle in its own lane. Do notswing wide or cross thecenter line.. Be alert on top of hills;something could be in your lane(e.g., stalled car, accident).. Pay attention to special roadsigns (e.g., falling rocks area,winding roads, long grades,passing or no-passing zones)and take appropriate action.Winter DrivingDriving on Snow or IceSnow or ice between the tires andthe road creates less traction orgrip, so drive carefully. Wet ice canoccur at about 0 °C (32 °F) when
