hahaha.... i agree with ry_tower... depende sa real world conditions kung anung gagamitin mo na style to effectively brake safely or brake economically...

kasi kung galing ka sa top tapos mag dedescent ka, it obvious na before reaching the area where you will actually start to descent, that you will be already in low speed low gear...alangan naman pagbaba mo eh ang tulin mo at mataas gear mo, eh malamang malaglag o madisgrasya ka...

kung sobrang layo nang distance nang descent, being in first gear or second gear for a long descent won't destroy your engine...... UNLESS you are overloading the vehicle... and unless your engine has an inherent defect...

there is a place in palawan called Lanugan... that area killed so many drivers and passengers way back 10-15 years ago...
the major factor why accidents happen is because of drivers error and poorly maintained vehicle....

the area has no place to prepare for an ascent... meh siko agad mahaba yung kurbada approaching the long ascent,, drivers dangerously went up the long ascending road on high gear,, iniisip nila na sapat momentum nila mula sa baba, ayaw mag siguro, eh overloaded, ayun pag bumagal na takbo dahil matarik na saka nila i-shift down and gear, malamang hindi papasok, so mabibitin, then dahan dahan nang aatras... a vehicle is harder or almost impossible to brake when rolling backwards..(try niyo hehe..)

so yun malaglag ang sasakyan sa bangin...

pag baba ka naman at alam expected mo yung terrain o gradient nang road, always be on the safe side, low gear na agad then surely but consistently apply brakes in cycles... so that meh time to cool off ang brakes and the weight is never solely on the braking system to stop...

if naka pag slow down ka na at prepare, pag engine brake mo hindi dapat mag rev sa redline or close to redline yan,,,

proper preparation sa gearing, tip-top brake condition, and good anticipation, there will be no problems....