Night, weather and mountain driving
At night, drive slowly enough to stop within the area your headlights show. Switch to low beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle and when you're following someone.
Wet roads cut your traction, and with enough water your tires can hydroplane at speeds as low as 30 mph. In winter, black ice is the hidden danger: it's so thin the road just looks wet. If ice is forming on your mirrors or antenna, the road is probably icing too. Turn off your retarder on wet, icy or snowy roads. In fog, slow down and use low beams and fog lights; high beams reflect back and blind you.
Heat is hard on tires. In hot weather, check them every 2 hours or 100 miles.
On long downgrades, gravity is working against your brakes. Pick a low gear before you start down, since shifting on a steep grade can be hard or impossible. Then use snub braking: when you reach 5 mph over your safe speed, brake firmly until you're 5 mph under it, then release. If your safe speed is 40 mph, brake at 45 and release at 35. Riding the brakes overheats them and causes brake fade. If your brakes fail, use an escape ramp.
