Don't entirely trust your emergency brake!

[lloyd3]

My driveway is pretty steep (which is why I have 2 older 4x4s for winter). It's not very long, but it slopes down to the road at about 35 degrees at one point (quite treacherous when slippery!). The entranced is bordered on both sides by old railroad tie restraining walls covered in a piney groundcover-like shrubbery. Anyway....

Last  fall:



The car was sitting right where it is here. I was fiddling around under the hood on Wednesday (after backing it out of the garage and setting the brake, never a problem before) and the car began to move. I didn't know an old fat guy could move that fast. The full potential for disaster only struck me after I'd wrenched the door open and threw myself in and got it stopped.  Whew!!!!  It stopped with about two feet to spare before things got ugly.  Chilling to think about it now.  One moments inattention and you got big problems fast (and this is just in the driveway!).  Dead or damaged is the only other alternative here.

[DAY CLONA]

You got lucky..."emergency brakes" are only parking brakes, and are not intended to stop/hold a car in reverse, although some may think so

[Steve P.]

I believe this is why we were taught to park with the front wheels turned to the curb. I have always lived with fairly flat driveways, but any time I have ever worked on anything with any chance of the car moving I have blocked the tires. Having many two cable shifted cars, I don't ever trust the E-brake.

[TruckDriver]

Any time you have a car or truck even, that is stick, it is best to carry a pair of these in your trunk, and use them every time you park. The rubber ones are very cheap, and you buy 2 of them, put a chain on them, put on on each side of your wheel, and it will never go anywhere. They make metal ones to for more money. But in your case, I would always have a pair of these 

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/dock-truck/chocks-wheel-tire/rubber-wheel-tire-chock-10-l-x-8-w-x-6-h?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CjwKEAjwiq-oBRC9gvHCsvDdn2cSJACV3DFRc-qY7q5pyHQpZXXRY0NuLj7T_1a71B9uLoTQuKrrDRoCil_w_wcB

[lloyd3]

The worst part here is that I should know better. Worked around and ran Federal projects for 20-years with lots of heavy equipment and trucks. We chocked everything (we were always up to our ass in OSHA and other safety regulations).  I'd been multi-tasking this morning and changed my plans on the fly.  I was thinking about two steps out from what I was doing when this happened. I leaned on the car and that started it, and I wasn't going to just stand there and watch. The car wasn't running and I normally have it in gear along with the brake. Didn't just this one time. That's how people get killed. Like my granddaddy used to say "There's no fool like an old fool".

[Ghoste]

I'm glad you are okay (because you could have been hurt saving the car too) and glad the car is okay.  A good lesson and reminder you've shared. 

[lloyd3]

Ghoste: Thank you for that. Yea, it's not entirely bright (trying to jump in and stop a 3,000 pound missile). One misstep and I could have been under the car.  Ten feet further and the landscaping would have torn the open door off. I actually tried to hold it for a split-second before I realized that was futile and then I started my sprint down the driveway with it.
I had to cut the wheel and really hit the brakes (not manual!) simultaneously to avoid hitting bad things. I'll be going to church this Sunday.

[charge69]

WOW ! That was an extremely close call that probably would have been bad for most people!  You got lucky that the car wasn't damaged and/or you yourself weren't run over trying to stop the car!

I had a friend's wife killed just this way when he and his wife were leaving a campground with their fifth-wheel trailer and he accidently left the truck in neutral and got out to help secure the load. The rig started rolling backward, the wife panicked and tried to get in the truck to stop it, the driver's side door hit her, knocking her off balance and she fell under the backward-rolling truck and the truck ran over her head, killing her instantly! So Sad !

Again, luck was on your side and I am glad you are alright. Just a moment of carelessness it all it takes to spiral into a tragedy.  You do need to thank someone for watching over you!

[HeavyFuel]

I feel ya when it comes to close calls.....glad nothing got broke, except maybe you into a sweat.   

[VegasCharger]

Glad your sweet 68 is okay lloyd3. But much more importantly I'm glad you escaped any major tragedy. At what point does one draw the line when facing adversity. I could've been guilty of doing the same actions trying to save my Charger.

Glad to see you're still with us

[lloyd3]

Thanks for the kind words folks. I promise to work hard at not being an idiot again.

[don duick]

I once drove for about 5 miles before I realised I left my park brake on. The giveaway was I started hearing a strange noise. The light bulb for the brake light fell out of the socket.

[472 R/T SE]

Thank goodness you didn't get yourself all jacked up.  I would have had to watch it roll.   


When I used to heavy haul there were certain trailer necks that were easier to detach if the tractor brakes weren't set.  Problem is once the neck detaches the truck would sometimes roll so I'd throw a rock or chain binder out in front of a driver tire.  It really depended on the ground.

Never had one get going on me, truck or car.  I always park a manual in gear.  2nd nature I guess.  But thinking about it now...




Reminds me of a short (who am I kidding) story:

Back in summer of 2006 I entered my 1st car show since we put the new Hemi in it for the Mopars Unlimited Seattle show @ the Bellevue Community College.  BCC is down at the bottom of a hill.  The parking slopes up & out from the building.  I was up top.
I stood up @ the trunk area of my car & have my head buried inside of it trying to find something.  I'm standing there & I hear what sounds like front casters of a wheelchair.    What is that sound?
You know how you can recognize what an empty wagon sounds like?  I know the wc sound.
Huh, right away I look up...nada, so I look off to my right, almost behind my shoulder & in my horror I see my wheelchair as it just hit the nitrous button catching a 2nd gear wheelie as it was gaining speed...fast.  Quick glance @ the classes/cars.  A body stock...shit, shit, shit.  About that time the speed bump altered it's course.  Now it was headed straight for "A body Modified" & a primered Valiant.  Ah man, the guy is just out enjoying his car & the show since he's restoring it while he drives it.  Now his rig's gonna get dented by a ghost paraplegic.
Just like that someone ran out & grabbed the outlaw wheelchair.  The hero claimed he heard what he thought was a little girl screaming "MY CHAIR, MY CHAIR" so he came running. 

My hand brakes weren't set. 


That's my "forgot to set the brakes" story.

[charge69]

Good story, 472 and it must have been such a feeling of helplessness watching it roll on !   I can just imagine the high-pitched screams I would have been making too. Kinda funny now but I imagine it was wayyy less than funny when it happened!

[PlainfieldCharger]

Glad you and your car made it out of this unscaved What part of the brake system failed?

[lloyd3]

The driver's brain. Never leave a car on any sort of hill with only the e-brake on.  How I forgot that basic reality is beyond me.  How early does Alzheimer's become a problem for most folks?  Is all the fun I had in the 70s part of the issue?

[tan top]

 crikey  ,   good to hear your ok & the chargers un damaged 

[bull]

My driveway is slanted so I always use the e-brake when warming the car up and when I return. When warming it up I close the windows and lock it so it doesn't get stolen if I have to go back inside to get something. I wouldn't have a prayer of stopping it like you did in that situation. Let's just say the concern of it rolling is always there since it's a four speed. I should probably check Harbor Freight for some of those wheel chocks...

[lloyd3]

Bull: That does sound a bit risky.  It was mentioned here earlier that they work better on stopping a roll forward, and mine may need some adjustment.....but I promise you.....never again. 

[bull]

I got a wheel chock at Harbor Freight the day after I posted above. Just used it a couple of hours ago.

Speaking of which, why does that Chinese rubber and plastic stink so bad? Dang! It stunk up my Durango on the way home so I left it outside for two days to air out, which didn't help much. Do they pump their junk full of formaldehyde like they do that flooring that's making people sick?

[lloyd3]

Nah, the formaldehyde is for their dog and baby food exports. Rubber gets the plasticizer wastes and styrene's!  God only knows what's in it.