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Question

Difficulty: EasyMountain Driving and Steep Grades

You are driving a passenger vehicle and are about to start down a long, steep mountain grade. Which of the following is the safest and recommended practice to maintain speed control?

  1. Shift into a lower gear before starting down the grade to utilize engine braking.Answer
  2. B
    Place the transmission in neutral and apply the foot brake continuously to save fuel.
  3. C
    Maintain the maximum posted speed limit by keeping constant pressure on the brake pedal.
  4. D
    Alternate between sharp acceleration and sudden hard braking to keep engine temperature down.

Answer

Shift into a lower gear before starting down the grade to utilize engine braking.
Shifting into a lower gear before beginning a steep descent uses engine compression to control speed naturally. This prevents the friction brakes from overheating and failing.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary risk associated with driving down steep mountain grades.
Recognize that relying solely on foot brakes causes them to overheat and fail (brake fade).
Gravity causes the vehicle to gain speed rapidly on downgrades.
2
Determine the proper driving technique to prevent brake overheating.
Shift into a lower gear before beginning the descent.
Lower gears use engine compression (engine braking) to control speed, keeping foot brakes cool for emergency stopping.

Key Concept

Using lower gears and engine braking to control vehicle speed on steep downgrades.
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Topics

Mountain Driving and Steep Grades

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