A friendly reminder to all of us who work on cars at home

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JRS

JRS

JRS

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For the love of all that is holy, secure your car with chocks when using ramps or a jack. Don't just rely on the parking brake/parking pawl on the transmission. Ma & pa's neighbour was working under his LR Discovery today, it slipped back down the ramps and crushed him. Police, fire and ambulance in attendance, doesn't look at all good.

He's a very good mechanic (***edit*** JRS note - sorry gang, according to @Dis86 I apparently can't say this, mea maxima culpa), forever working on stuff. But it doesn't take much going wrong to send your day south in a real hurry. Safety first.
 
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No reason not to if you're working on it.

Sometimes stuff happens. Had handbrake click off while getting out of the car once and damn near dislocated an arm stopping it rolling.

Also I can't forget the late Anton Yelchin of moderate star trek fame who got out of his SUV, went behind it... and it rolled back to squash him against a pillar. No chance against 2 tons on the move.
 
I have never really chocked the rear wheels, always forget but I tend to jack opposite to the gentle slope of the drive. Which is daft because I'm paranoid about the car moving. If I need to use any force I keep as much of me from under the car as possible and I always check the stands every time I go under. Any weird noises and I get out of there.

Hope your neighbour survives and recovers. I'll remember this next time and get some bricks handy.
 
james.miller said:
ah jeez. Somebody did that in front of me a few years ago now. More blood than I had ever seen before or since. He was fine, thankfully. Hope the neighbour is too :(
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Dup said:
Hope your neighbour survives and recovers. I'll remember this next time and get some bricks handy.
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Sadly, I'm pretty sure he was dead when we got to him and rang 999.

Dis86 said:
Doesn't sound like it, it's one of the most basic safety points when the car is on ramps, jacked or on any kind of slope.
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Yes, well done Dis86. Impressive that it took until the 5th reply for this. OcUK Motors, you're slipping.

Anyway, back on topic. Lots of people think 'oh, I can rely on the parking brake/stick the gearbox in park for a minute and be fine'. Lots of bloody good mechanics do just that and nothing ever goes wrong. Well, this time something went wrong. So please, everyone - secure your damned wheels.
 
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Dup said:
If I need to use any force I keep as much of me from under the car as possible ...
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they should probably have had changing a wheel in theory test - slack'em before lifting , leaving in gear.
I don't carry chocks(4x2's) if I ever had to change a wheel by roadside, but yes body wouldn't be underneath
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They should, it would probably stop a lot of accidents.

Average Joe doesn't even realise the danger. They will just jack up their car and stick their head straight under it. Especially dangerous if it's one with a flat bottom.
 
jpaul said:
I don't carry chocks(4x2's) if I ever had to change a wheel by roadside, but yes body wouldn't be underneath
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I used to keep a pair in the spare wheel well of my old Seicento, since that latterly had the potential to come to a halt on the road and didn't have any breakdown cover (though, to be fair, it never did actually break down).
 
A very good (or bad!) reminder there. I've had a car fall off a jack once - I didnt chock the wheels either. I wont make that mistake again.

Fingers crossed he'll be OK.

Dis86 - that was totally uncalled for.
 
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Dis86 said:
Not really, if he was a good mechanic, then he would have done something that basic and wouldn't have come to harm.
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Just repeating it doesnt make you suddenly look like a hero.

How about some sympathy for the chap and his family? The guy has just sustained potentially life-changing injuries (possibly worse) and your response is to question if he was a good mechanic?

And also, ALL professionals make mistakes sometimes. Fortunately most dont have these kind of consequences.
 
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Joe T said:
Just repeating it doesnt make you suddenly look like a hero.

How about some sympathy for the chap and his family? The guy has just sustained potentially life-changing injuries (possibly worse) and your response is to question if he was a good mechanic?

And also, ALL professionals make mistakes sometimes. Fortunately most dont have these kind of consequences.
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And I'm claiming to be a hero how? There's 1 claim in this thread and I'm saying it's a poor one.
 
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