Your Driving and the Road
148
Ihow how to go uphill. You may
want to shift down to a lower gear.
The lower gears help cool your engine
and transaxle, and you can climb the
hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving
on two-lane roads in hills or
mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at
speeds that let you stay in your own
lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be
alert. There could be something in
your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
You may see highway signs on
mountains that warn of special
problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no-passing zones, a falling
rocks area, or winding roads. Be alert
to these and take appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Oldsmobile in good shape
for winter. Be sure your engine
coolant mix is correct.
You may want to put winter
emergency supplies in your vehicle.
Include an ice scraper, a small brush or
broom, a supply
of windshield washer
fluid,
a rag, some winter outer clothing,
a small shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth,
and a couple of reflective warning
triangles. And, if you will be driving
under severe conditions, include a small
bag of sand, a piece of old carpet or a
couple of burlap bags to help provide
traction. Be sure you properly secure
these items in your vehicle.
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where
your tires meet the road probably have
good traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice
between your tires and the road, you
can have a very slippery situation.
You’ll have a lot less traction
or “grip”
and will need to be very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet
ice.” Very cold snow or ice can be slick
and hard to drive
on. But wet ice can be
even more trouble because it may offer
the least traction of all. You can get
“wet ice” when it’s about freezing
(32°F; O’C) and freezing rain begins to
fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until
salt and sand crews can get there.
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