Make Sure The Car's In Park. Or, How I Almost Died Today

[Kimballkid]

@FairyChatMom

As for the OP, I’ve done a related dumb thing. I’ve parked and left the car in drive. Then I couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t start for me when I came back. :smack:

@SpoilerVirgin

Hey, I did the same thing too - on my driving test! There was a line for the test, and you had to drive up when it was your turn and wait for the instructor to get in. Imagine my surprise when he told me to start the car, and it wouldn’t start. I told him the car wouldn’t start, but he just kept staring at me until I finally figured it out. Fortunately it was only a 3-point penalty, and I passed the test. Haven’t made that mistake again since, either.

I probably shouldn’t confess this but I did this too. As a matter of fact, we even got to the point where we got a pickup and were going to pull it home! Of course it wouldn’t budge (being in gear and all). We were sitting there moping and it finally dawned on me what the ‘problem’ was (other than stupidity ).

[racer72]

@Thudlow_Boink

Did you have to take your car in to the dealer to have them install the sticker?

No, it came in the mail with the recall notice.

[gigi]

@SpoilerVirgin

Hey, I did the same thing too - on my driving test! There was a line for the test, and you had to drive up when it was your turn and wait for the instructor to get in. Imagine my surprise when he told me to start the car, and it wouldn’t start. I told him the car wouldn’t start, but he just kept staring at me until I finally figured it out. Fortunately it was only a 3-point penalty, and I passed the test. Haven’t made that mistake again since, either.

On my first one, I start to turn right on red, which was legal. Funny thing with that – you have to wait for the traffic going through on the green light to be done before turning.

[robby]

I learned to drive using a standard transmission, and therefore learned to always use the parking brake. Now that I drive an automatic, I still can’t conceive of not using the parking brake. I don’t even want the car’s weight to rest on the transmission parking pawl, because transmissions are much more expensive to repair than parking brakes. I therefore always put the car in “Park” with my foot on the brake pedal, set the parking brake, and only then take my foot off the brake pedal. This practice not only protects my transmission, but also means that I would have to forget two things in order for my car to roll away, not just one.

As to the incident related in the OP, about 10 years ago, we had a close acquaintance in our small town who forgot to put her brand-new SUV in “Park” while getting the mail at the end of her driveway. The vehicle then started to roll down her driveway. She apparently tried to get back into the vehicle to stop it, but was unable to fully get into the vehicle before the driver’s side door hit a tree, forcing the door shut on our friend. Because she was only halfway into the vehicle, the door was forced shut on her body, crushing her to death. It was a shock to the community.