While driving a farm tractor downhill should you turn off the gear?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
A. No.
Explanation
The question is about whether you should take the tractor out of gear when driving down a hill. You should not - answer A.
With a gear engaged, the engine brakes the tractor, so the vehicle combination does not speed up on the slope, and the service brakes work only when you need to slow down more. After you take it out of gear, the tractor, especially with a heavy trailer, quickly gains speed, and the brakes, which then do all the braking, overheat and weaken. Engaging a gear again at high speed may not work. That is why driving downhill out of gear is a mistake, regardless of whether it applies to the whole hill (answer B) or to a section of up to 200 m (answer C). Before the descent you choose your gear - the steeper the slope, the lower the gear - and you do not change it halfway down.
Legal basis: Art. 19 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)