Techniques for descending mountain passes without 'losing control'

Driving downhill requires calmness and, especially, minimal use of the brakes.

Many people would probably agree that the driver chose to drive off the cliff instead of plunging into the ravine. But why not choose a third option, different from the other two, which is driving on a paved road for safety?

Perhaps the habit of disregarding everything, the display of "skillful driving," and the catchphrase "it's a small matter" have caused countless negative consequences for modern Vietnamese people, even though ancient Vietnamese people advised their descendants "prevention is better than cure"!

If descending a mountain pass correctly, cliffs and ravines are not places where cars can crash. Photo: Lan Huong.

When descending a mountain pass, we need two things that are cool: a cool head and cool brakes. And if we have... a cold cup of coffee, that's even better! First of all, don't try to keep up just because another car looks "worse" than yours and is going faster; a cool head would never do that. Cool brakes mean never using them indiscriminately.

An experienced driver descending a mountain pass spends only 10% of the total braking time of a novice, and they only brake when shifting gears or because the car in front is driving erratically; they never need to actively brake to slow down the vehicle.

Just let the car coast, letting the engine run without pressing the gas pedal, keeping your foot on the brake (but don't drag it). If you find the car is going too fast for the hilly terrain, lightly apply the brakes and shift to a lower gear (because in this case, the engine's resistance is weaker than the car's downhill pull). Conversely, if it's going a bit slow, shift to a higher gear to speed it up a bit, avoiding being honked at by the car behind you.

Generally, with passenger cars, gears 2 and 3 are used for dangerous roads, and gears 4 and 5 for roads that are nearing the end of a slope, clear, and straight; gear 1 is only used in exceptional circumstances. Automatic cars use the corresponding semi-automatic mode. Another note is that when descending a hill, you should never exceed 60 km/h if you want to keep everything under control. There is no maximum speed limit, as it depends on the slope and angle of the turn; sometimes you may have to "crawl".

Furthermore, remember that a hot head will inevitably cause the brakes to overheat. A cool-headed driver will never let the brakes catch fire and then have to choose between a cliff or a ravine; they will always choose... the road!

However, there are also unavoidable circumstances, such as a ruptured brake fluid line; in that case, if there is no escape route, the right-hand cliff along with the handbrake is the correct option.

If you're driving close to the cliff face but not yet in the ditch, and your speed isn't too high, you can apply the handbrake slowly to stop the vehicle on the road surface. If your speed is too high, you'll have to let both wheels go into the ditch first before applying the handbrake. If your vehicle has low ground clearance, if just the two wheels fall into the ditch, the undercarriage will scrape and the vehicle will stop due to friction. The car will be damaged, but you'll still be safe! Therefore, remember that cliff faces and ravines are not places to drive; you shouldn't choose either.

According to VNE