F; 0- Page 197

4-28

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; 0

_

C) and freezing rain begins to fall.

Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews
can get there.

Whatever the condition 

--

 smooth ice, packed, blowing

or loose snow 

--

 drive with caution. Accelerate gently.

Try not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate
too fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under the tires even more.

Keep your Enhanced Traction System on. It will
improve your ability to accelerate when driving on a
slippery road. Even though your vehicle has this system,
you’ll want to slow down and adjust your driving to the
road conditions. See “Enhanced Traction System” in 
the Index.

Your anti

-

lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability

when you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Even
though you have the anti

-

lock braking system, you’ll

want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See “Anti

-

Lock” in the Index.

D

Allow greater following distance on any 
slippery road.

D

Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine
until you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can’t reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or an overpass may
remain icy when the surrounding roads are clear. 
If you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before
you are on it. Try not to brake while you’re actually
on the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.