When driving down a grade, what should you do to maintain control?

When driving down a grade, shifting to low gear is the best practice to maintain control of your vehicle. This action allows the engine to assist in slowing down the vehicle, providing greater control and reducing the reliance on the brakes. Using a lower gear increases engine braking, which can help prevent the brakes from overheating and becoming less effective, especially on long descents.

In contrast, shifting to neutral would disengage the engine from the wheels, which could lead to a loss of control as the vehicle would coast down the hill without any braking assistance from the engine. Using cruise control is not advisable when going downhill, as it may allow the vehicle to speed up uncontrollably if the speed exceeds the set limit. Lastly, accelerating while going down a grade would increase the speed of the vehicle, making it more difficult to control and creating a potentially dangerous situation.