People not using parking brakes / curbing tires

[LazyPrizm]

Quote:
Mahony was walking down a hill on Chesapeake Drive, on her way to a school bus stop to pick up a neighbor’s child, when she was killed. Investigators say a man parked his car, but left it in neutral. It rolled down the hill, apparently picking ups peed as it went. With no engine, the Mustang vehicle made little to no noise as it closed in from behind on the unaware 73-year-old woman.

The owner of the car, 23-year-old David Adam Garman, noticed it rolling away, and quickly ran after it. But when it stopped, he hopped in and backed up. Only then did he realize that Mahony was pinned beneath the vehicle.

WJLA news story
Another local news station reports "Police say the driver failed park the vehicle with its wheels turned properly towards the curb with the parking brake set".

This stuff is on the written driving test. They cover it in drivers ed. It's on the driving test. So aggravating seeing a bunch of cars parked on a hill with tires every which way.

I've noticed a lot of my friends don't use their parking brakes. I used to nag some of them about at least using the hand brake occasionally to adjust the tensioner for rear drums, but now everyone's moving to rear disc brakes. I've never heard a satisfactory reason for not setting the parking brake. "I might forget, and drive away with it on"

 

[Chris142]

One of our shop rules is to set the parking brake when working on a car. You would not believe the amount of people that do not know how to release their parking brake and have to ask us for help.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm

...I've noticed a lot of my friends don't use their parking brakes. I used to nag some of them about at least using the hand brake occasionally to adjust the tensioner for rear drums, but now everyone's moving to rear disc brakes. ...


but don't most of them have a small drum in the center of the rotor for the parking brake?

 

[LazyPrizm]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
but don't most of them have a small drum in the center of the rotor for the parking brake?

Yes, but at least with drum brakes I could spin setting the HB as something to maintain braking performance. With disc + mini-drum, that just maintains the performance of the HB, which they aren't using anyway...

 

[01rangerxl]

I guess it must have been a manual? Most automatics will not allow you to remove the key if the transmission is in neutral.

Parking a vehicle in neutral without the parking brake on is beyond idiotic. It really makes no sense at all.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
I've never heard a satisfactory reason for not setting the parking brake. "I might forget, and drive away with it on"

Can't do that with a manual!

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
Quote:
Mahony was walking down a hill on Chesapeake Drive, on her way to a school bus stop to pick up a neighbor’s child, when she was killed. Investigators say a man parked his car, but left it in neutral. It rolled down the hill, apparently picking ups peed as it went. With no engine, the Mustang vehicle made little to no noise as it closed in from behind on the unaware 73-year-old woman.

The owner of the car, 23-year-old David Adam Garman, noticed it rolling away, and quickly ran after it. But when it stopped, he hopped in and backed up. Only then did he realize that Mahony was pinned beneath the vehicle.

WJLA news story
Another local news station reports "Police say the driver failed park the vehicle with its wheels turned properly towards the curb with the parking brake set".

This stuff is on the written driving test. They cover it in drivers ed. It's on the driving test. So aggravating seeing a bunch of cars parked on a hill with tires every which way.

I've noticed a lot of my friends don't use their parking brakes. I used to nag some of them about at least using the hand brake occasionally to adjust the tensioner for rear drums, but now everyone's moving to rear disc brakes. I've never heard a satisfactory reason for not setting the parking brake. "I might forget, and drive away with it on"

that is beyond messed up...hopefully this idiot gets some serious time for this.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
Originally Posted By: earlyre
but don't most of them have a small drum in the center of the rotor for the parking brake?

Yes, but at least with drum brakes I could spin setting the HB as something to maintain braking performance. With disc + mini-drum, that just maintains the performance of the HB, which they aren't using anyway...


Both my cars are rear disc + mini-drum (Sequoia and Sonata). Using HB (or parking brake since it foot on Sequoia) does not adjust the mini drum. You have to physically go under vehicle and adjust the mini drum old school star wheel style. They save $$ on hardware when they make it....WHY...because most people don't use it anyway (especially with an automatic)! My Sonata is a stick so hand brake gets used all the time. I've had to adjust it as it wore some/cables stretched as it didn't hold real tight anymore. On the Sequoia I use it on hills (and turn wheels) and YES I have driven it not realizing it was on until I let off gas and realized it was slowing faster (but didn't go very far). Truck has enough power to overcome the very tiny shoes of the mini drum.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I guess it must have been a manual? Most automatics will not allow you to remove the key if the transmission is in neutral.

Parking a vehicle in neutral without the parking brake on is beyond idiotic. It really makes no sense at all.


Right. Clearly a MT. Using the e-brake is a must on a MT. If it were an AT short of a mechanical failure it wasn't rolling down the hill in P.

 

[dlundblad]

I'd prefer the curbing tires technique to at least take the strain off my parking brake and transmission.. Thus making it more safe. Never had to do that here in Indiana though.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
I've never heard a satisfactory reason for not setting the parking brake. "I might forget, and drive away with it on"

Can't do that with a manual!

You know what you CAN do with a manual? Forget to set the brake and let the vehicle roll away and kill someone... Can't do that with an automatic!
Let's see what all you die-hard manual guys who take every opportunity to extol the virtues of manual transmissions have to say about this one!

 

[Rolla07]

I agree its careless but why was she walking on the street and not sidewalk?!!

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I use my HB almost every single time I park in my CR-V A/T. I've also forced-learned my wife to use hers in the Pilot on any slight grade. It's murder on a transmission to clunk it unstuck when on a hill.

 

[Benzadmiral]

When I lived in Denver, I, the expatriate flatlander, was the only one I saw who parked his car on a hill using the tires in (downhill) or tires out (uphill) parking method. And some of the hills in, say, Golden, were pretty steep. No idea if any of those people were using their parking brakes, either.

Actually I don't recall if the state of Loozyana had that in the driving test or manuals. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they forgot about it, since there's hardly a hill to be seen here. I read about it in books on how to be a better driver, and had it reinforced by stories like the one above.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I made that mistake once at my old job! I usually drove into the parking lot and I always park in 1st gear with the parking brake applied.

I had to unload some computers that day, so I backed up to the building at an angle. I ended up leaving the car in 3rd gear and not setting the parking brake.

Just as I was going to unlock the building the car started to roll down the parking lot and across the road into the driveway across the street.

Luckily, the wheel was turned just enough that it didn't take down a fence or hop a curb.

Google Street View of old job parking lot




Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
I've never heard a satisfactory reason for not setting the parking brake. "I might forget, and drive away with it on"

Can't do that with a manual!


My father would do it constantly. Wore out 3 or 4 sets of parking brake shoes on his F350.

 

[supton]

Hate to admit it but I would probably forget to do wheel to curb parking. For the same reason I rarely look at the rear view mirror before opening my door. I very rarely if ever park on the street; and I honestly can't think of a time I've parked on a hill. I'm too worried about it rolling away. OTOH I park my stickshift in gear, use the e-brake; lately I've been using the e-brake on my (automatic) truck as I'm not sure what the long term implication is on the parking pawl, if I'm parked on anything that looks like a slope. Only place I deal with a slope is the driveway.

Sad story.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
Originally Posted By: LazyPrizm
I've never heard a satisfactory reason for not setting the parking brake. "I might forget, and drive away with it on"

Can't do that with a manual!

You know what you CAN do with a manual? Forget to set the brake and let the vehicle roll away and kill someone... Can't do that with an automatic!

It's pretty hard to forget to set the parking brake in a manual. At least for me anyway. I think most manual drivers would agree with me. Setting the parking brake in a manual is a pretty strong habit. I've never once forgotten to set it.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: supton
Hate to admit it but I would probably forget to do wheel to curb parking. For the same reason I rarely look at the rear view mirror before opening my door. I very rarely if ever park on the street; and I honestly can't think of a time I've parked on a hill. I'm too worried about it rolling away. OTOH I park my stickshift in gear, use the e-brake; lately I've been using the e-brake on my (automatic) truck as I'm not sure what the long term implication is on the parking pawl, if I'm parked on anything that looks like a slope. Only place I deal with a slope is the driveway.

Sad story.


I got in the habit of using the parking brake on automatics after my Taurus repeatedly got stuck in park. Apparently it was fairly common for them to get stuck in park if you parked on a hill and didn't set the parking brake.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I agree its careless but why was she walking on the street and not sidewalk?!!


She might have been crossing the road. The story isn't very detailed; the Mustang might have rolled onto the sidewalk.

 

[Astro14]

I set the parking brake first, then select park in my automatic cars. My driveway is sloped, this order of doing things makes it far easier to pull the car into R or D the next morning... And yes, on some of the cars, the PB adjusts the rear drums (Toyotas)