On mountain descent, what gear should be used to drive safely?

On mountain descent, what gear should be used to drive safely?

• A. Lower gears
• B. Higher gears
• C. Neutral
• D. Park

Answer: (A)

Engine braking is the key idea here: when you’re going down a long, steep grade, you want the engine to help slow the car rather than relying solely on the foot brake. Lower gears provide more engine braking because the engine resists more to keep the wheels turning, which helps you control your speed without overheating the brakes. This keeps you in a steady, safe descent and reduces brake fade on long descents. For a manual transmission, you downshift to progressively lower gears before or during the descent to maintain a safe speed. For an automatic, use a lower gear or manual mode to achieve the same effect. Higher gears give less engine braking and can let you accelerate more than you want, while neutral removes engine braking entirely, making speed control much harder. Park isn’t appropriate on a moving vehicle and would lock the wheels.

Engine braking is the key idea here: when you’re going down a long, steep grade, you want the engine to help slow the car rather than relying solely on the foot brake. Lower gears provide more engine braking because the engine resists more to keep the wheels turning, which helps you control your speed without overheating the brakes. This keeps you in a steady, safe descent and reduces brake fade on long descents. For a manual transmission, you downshift to progressively lower gears before or during the descent to maintain a safe speed. For an automatic, use a lower gear or manual mode to achieve the same effect. Higher gears give less engine braking and can let you accelerate more than you want, while neutral removes engine braking entirely, making speed control much harder. Park isn’t appropriate on a moving vehicle and would lock the wheels.