Why to chock your wheels, sad story

[jbach36]

Plus the guy was working on his car on an incline, which made it worse.

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/boy-4-dies-after-538285.html

[vstech]

I bet we never hear the entire story, but who chocks the wheels when they are looking for jumper cables?
I bet someone got in the car and bumped it out of gear, or popped the parking brake.
little sister? dog?

[layback40]

Much as though we may think its great to have a young son around when your working on a car, developing his interest. Its not a good idea. Children and auto repairs just dont go well together!

[H-townbenzoboy]

This is making me paranoid. I'm thinking about buying extra chocks so each tire can be blocked on both sides to prevent both front and back movement.

[Sev]

how does a car 'at some point shift into neutral' all by itself? sounds about as sketchy as a car 'suddenly accelerating'.

[MBeige]

Originally Posted by H-townbenzoboy

This is making me paranoid. I'm thinking about buying extra chocks so each tire can be blocked on both sides to prevent both front and back movement.

The foldable wheel chocks from MB fit easily into the spare tire well (between the tire and body), I have two on my 300D and two on the 190E.

[ashedd]

I observed lot's of car maintenance by my father. I remember asking...."am I asking too many questions".. he said hell no. The first question I remember was.."why are all the wires different colors..".. "So you know where they go and what they are"... wish my dad was still alive.

Sad story if true. I remember when I first got to start a car.... wow what a rush. Then I was changing arc welder current... must have been 10 years old at the max.

[ChicagoJones]

Originally Posted by vstech

....
I bet someone got in the car and bumped it out of gear, or popped the parking brake.
little sister? dog?

Most people in the US do not use the parking brake with an automatic trans, they just put it "park" and let the trans hold the car in place. I know I've been guilty of this on my domestic cars that even the parking brake gotten frozen because of non-usage.

Having a routine to use a functioning parking brake is a good safety measure.

[Renntag]

This is a horrible tragedy that these parents will not soon recover from. I just hope this doesnt destroy their marriage or have other negative effect.

I cant even imagine the pain of losing a child.

Originally Posted by MBeige

The foldable wheel chocks from MB fit easily into the spare tire well (between the tire and body),...

Find these in junk yards in many higher end japanese vehicles too.

[vstech]

I like the steel wheel chocks from the astro vans. look under the spare on the passanger's side by the rear door. nice steel toothed chocks. I'll post pics when I get a chance, I keep several sets around my garage when doing work on the car on an incline.

[whunter]

I post on health and safety for very good reasons...

This is a horrifying example of a simple safety failure..

Health & Safety
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=142390




Personally I do not want to be near people practicing for a Darwin Award...

[MBeige]

Originally Posted by Renntag

Find these in junk yards in many higher end japanese vehicles too.

Which cars have similar chocks like these?

[DeliveryValve]

I feel bad for this family. This is a great loss to them.

Originally Posted by vstech

I like the steel wheel chocks from the astro vans. look under the spare on the passanger's side by the rear door. nice steel toothed chocks. I'll post pics when I get a chance, I keep several sets around my garage when doing work on the car on an incline.

Those are indeed nice. I don't think I ever seen them on any other GM product except for the Astro/Safari Vans. Might be able to mount them in the trunk somehow using the bolt holes built in them.



.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by vstech

I like the steel wheel chocks from the astro vans. look under the spare on the passanger's side by the rear door. nice steel toothed chocks. I'll post pics when I get a chance, I keep several sets around my garage when doing work on the car on an incline.

I'd like to see them too.

[barry123400]

Just very sad something so simple had such tragic consequences. As for individuals in general you will hurt yourselves at some time no matter what good practices you engage. Just much less using common sense.

The only way to absolutly avoid this is to do nothing. I am really careful but over the years a couple of things have happened that should not have.

Now serious trangressions of common sense have almost calculatable odds. People that get under inadaquate blocked cars for example are really risking their life. Or having a car that could be bumped by another while up in the air. The couple of minutes if that much to make sure you have reduced the hazzards are better than laying in a pine box or taking perhaps months or years to recover.

On occassion I still witness people doing things without thinking them through very well. A good example was the local tow truck driver hearing a rattle under his hood when I was a kid. He opened the hood to locate it and the fan launched a blade into his throat. Avoidable? I really question that. Sure perhaps one in a million but for him it was death. I think the vast majority of us would have opened the hood to locate the rattle. Unless the noise was really scary. It was just that tow truck operators day.

If you feel any reservations at all about what you are doing or attempting. Just stop and think. Or if your emotions flair give it a rest. The car has no interest at all in what you call it. While doing it though you are not really concentrating or thinking.

Again for example if a fastening will not loosen figure how to deal with it in a safer fashion. Prying for all you are worth takes quite a bit of thinking it over to do it safely. At that stage something is perhaps going to break or slip during the proccedure and you should be well prepared for the event. Not really paranoia either.

Actually it is remarkable the very few times I have injured myself over the years when doing so much. It kind of falls in the catagory of never enough time to attempt to do it safely. Lots of time to deal with the aftermath though.

A simple fairly regular occurance out there is people blowing batteries up in their faces. You do not want to even do this once by not understanding how it occurs. Anyone aware they really do not know how this occurs should read up on the subject. Charging and dealing with batteries is safe in general just by following a few simple rules. Otherwise they can be small bombs. Trying to do things safely is a really big issue with me. Always has been even when it was not in vogue.