8-9• Stay in your own lane. Do notswing wide or cut across thecenter of the road. Drive atspeeds that let you stay in yourown lane.• Top of hills: Be alert — somethingcould be in your lane (stalled car,accident).• Pay attention to special roadsigns (falling rocks area, windingroads, long grades, passing orno-passing zones) and takeappropriate action.{ WARNINGCoasting downhill in N (Neutral) orwith the ignition off is dangerous.The brakes will have to do all thework of slowing down and theycould get so hot that they wouldnot work well. You would thenhave poor braking or even nonegoing down a hill. You couldcrash. Always have the enginerunning and the vehicle in gearwhen going downhill.Winter DrivingDriving on Snow or IceDrive carefully when there is snow orice between the tires and the road,creating less traction or grip. Wet icecan occur at about 0°C (32°F) whenfreezing rain begins to fall, resultingin even less traction. Avoid driving onwet ice or in freezing rain until roadscan be treated with salt or sand.Drive with caution, whatever thecondition. Accelerate gently sotraction is not lost. Accelerating tooquickly causes the wheels to spinand makes the surface under thetires slick, so there is even lesstraction.Try not to break the fragile traction. Ifyou accelerate too fast, the drivewheels will spin and polish thesurface under the tires even more.The Antilock Brake System (ABS) onpage 8-28 improves vehicle stabilityduring hard stops on slippery roads,but apply the brakes sooner thanwhen on dry pavement.Allow greater following distance onany slippery road and watch forslippery spots. Icy patches can occuron otherwise clear roads in shadedareas. The surface of a curve or anoverpass can remain icy when thesurrounding roads are clear. Avoidsudden steering maneuvers andbraking while on ice.Turn off cruise control, if equipped,on slippery surfaces.srx.book Page 9 Monday, June 8, 2009 8:28 AM
