Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.
I pretty much know all the things I’m supposed to do and not supposed to do. My problem is remembering to remember.
Why would you use the parking brake if you put it in Park? And if you thought it was in Park, then, again, not using the parking brake.
ETA: Glad you’re ok, Alice.
This is one of those great controversies (like how to hang the toilet paper) that we’ve had whole long threads on.
It’s just how we are taught. Stop, gear in neutral or park, parking brake. No exceptions. I do that at long traffic lights sometimes, even.
I never use the parking break with an automatic transmission. I was never taught to, I never see anybody else doing it, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason to. If putting it in park doesn’t hold it, there’s some kind of problem with your car.
As for forgetting to put it into park, yes, everyone makes mistakes sometimes, even me! I’m sure if you polled the people the know me, I’d be one of the last people that they’d say would do something so stupid. I am usually pretty meticulous with the things I do. But, things happen.
Thanks to everyone else for the "glad you’re ok"s. I’m getting really sore now, will probably be worse in the morning.
If you park on a hill be sure to engage the parking brake before you put it in park, or you risk breaking your parking pawl.
http://myautomatictransmission.com/transmission-parking-pawl.htm
Ok, I will try to remember that.
Nope – not with automatic transmissions. The only reason I use mine is I grew up with my father driving a stick and I am used to that pull being the last thing one does when parking.
Alice, I’m glad you’re OK. The good part about it will be you will replay it in your mind less and less every day – but I can certainly sympathize with how shaken you must be!
From the link
Contrary to common thinking, the primary purpose of the transmission’s “Park” position (and parking pawl) is to keep the engine’s power from reaching the drive wheels when the engine is running, not to stop the vehicle from rolling when parked - this is the job of the e-brake.
Serious mayhem can result.
Dang Alice, glad you are ok! I totally feel you on dying or getting hurt bad by doing something stupid. I am always afraid that’ll be me!
Last week I was doing something that involved needing to get my tailgate open but being too close to the garage door and I couldn’t open the door so I grabbed my keys and went to move the car up. I had no shoes on and for some reason did the maneuver with the car door open and one leg hanging out of said door, the other foot on the pedals. I meant to inch forward a couple inches and then stop but in the awkwardness of the situation I could not remember how to brake! I was just thrown off by driving inside my closed garage with no shoes and a foot outside of the open door.
Thankfully it was a split-second brain fart and I was going slow enough so not to drive through the back of my garage before I remembered how to brake.
It happens to the best of us.
That doesn’t make much sense. Why have separate P and N options if the purpose of P wasn’t to keep the vehicle from rolling? Of course the parking brake is still useful for steep hills.
A while back I was meeting a friend in a parking lot. As I was walking toward him, I saw him get out of his car to greet someone else he knew. He had placed it in neutral rather than park, though, and the car started rolling veeery slowly backwards, without him even noticing. I bolted to the car and attempted to slow it by pushing on the rear. Probably not the smartest move, but it did work and there was no damage. I would not have tried that if the car was actually in gear…
Another reason why I miss my standard tranny.
Glad you’re ok.
I suppose it could have been worded better. I think the gist of it is that the parking brake, and not the parking pawl, is the primary means of keeping the car from rolling, not just a backup. I’d say the brake is more than useful when parking on a hill, it is essential, and the park pawl is the backup. If you’ve ever parked on a steep hill without setting the parking brake first, you know how hard it can be to get out of park. That’s a lot of weight resting on a small part.
Even if you’re parked on level ground, you’re still better off with the parking brake set in case somebody hits you.
I watch a ton of those “World’s Worst Drivers” type of programs, with the comically unusual driving accidents, and if nothing else, they show me that there are indeed people outside the United States who do not have impeccable driving habits.
Seriously, it sounds like the OP recognizes that she could have handled things better, and she probably does not need a lecture just a few hours after she almost died in a ridiculous way. Is it not a thing in your country to display a bit of sympathy when someone has had a hard day?
Alice! Alice, Alice.
Not my intention to give anyone grief about the parking brake. I was just confused because people were talking about exiting the car after just leaving the gear in Park or Neutral as if that were the only thing that needed to be done - my apologies for being rude.
After I got out of the Navy in 1990, I learned that my great-aunt had died in such an incident a few years previously.
A couple of years ago I was talking to my landlord as he got back in his car. He took off the handbrake and put it in Neutral (I guess), then, for some reason, got out of the car to talk to me some more. The car started rolling back down the driveway very quickly, heading straight for the neighbour’s.
I had to point it out to him, it was happening behind him, but he instantly reacted, racing to the car, leaping in, and hitting the brake pedal with literally only cm to spare from smashing into a post.
He was embarrassed about it, more than anything.
I’m very glad that you’re still with us and in one piece, Alice. That was far too close a call.