Suzuki XL7 - Manual (Page 171)

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DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
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does, your vehicle can leave the road in
less than a second, and you could crash
and be injured.
What can you do about highway hypnosis?
First, be aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
• Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated,
with a comfortably cool interior.
• Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road
ahead and to the sides. Check your
vehicle’s mirrors and instruments fre-
quently.
• If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a
rest, service, or parking area and take a
nap, get some exercise, or both. For
safety, treat drowsiness on the highway
as an emergency.
Hill and Mountain Roads
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Driving on steep hills or mountains is differ-
ent from driving in flat or rolling terrain.
If you drive regularly in steep country, or if
you are planning to visit there, here are
some tips that can make your trips safer
and more enjoyable.
• Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check
all fluid levels and also the brakes, tires,
cooling system, and transaxle. These
parts can work hard on mountain roads.
• Know how to go down hills. The most
important thing to know is this: let your
engine do some of the slowing down.
Shift to a lower gear when you go down
a steep or long hill.
• Know how to go uphill. You may want to
shift down to a lower gear. The lower
gears help cool your engine and tran-
saxle, and you can climb the hill better.
• Stay in your own lane when driving on
two-lane roads in hills or mountains. Do
not swing wide or cut across the center
WARNING
If you do not shift down, the brakes
could get so hot that they would not
work well. You would then have poor
braking or even none going down a
hill. You could crash. Shift down to
let the engine assist the brakes on a
steep downhill slope.
WARNING
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or
with the ignition off is dangerous.
The brakes will have to do all the
work of slowing down. They could
get so hot that they would not work
well. You would then have poor brak-
ing or even none going down a hill.
You could crash. Always have the
engine running and your vehicle in
gear when you go downhill.