No breaks!

[Opal]

My daughter popped in for a few minutes, on her leaving, my wife walked to the car with her which was parked outside our gate, two doors away, their car was leaving the path....ON IT'S OWN! it then hit the wall facing their path, quite a few bob's worth of damage, good job nobody was walking past.

My wife was ringing the bell and knocking on their window for attention, took the gentleman 15 minutes to come out, was he shocked? nice fella too.

I always put the car in gear, my daughter says she's gonna do it too after seeing that.

 

[eel28]

Have always left my cars in gear - really annoys the Mrs though, as she never does, neither does she check its in neutral before she starts it! Of course it's always my fault for leaving it in gear, rather than hers for not checking!

 

[MSkiba]

Being a car enthusiast I had me a very special audi S2, the ABY one. To look after the engine I got me a remote engine start fob, so I can get it to operating temperature for the journey to work. I too like to leave my car's in gear. You can guess the rest.

 

[Paul_B]

I was always told to leave in gear and always start the car with your foot on the clutch too. Even if its in gear or neutral, no matter what always start with your foot holkding the clutch down. Think it was the police instructor who took me out for my first assessment drive on the advanced driving course I did straight after passing my test at 17. This was before pass plus and all that. It was Blackburn and Area Road Safety Association (BARSA) which is a RoSPA affiliated organsiation who's role is to pass on safer driving techniques based on the 7 point system used in Roadcraft manual (and basic police driver's system and course - same course but aimed at civilians). The instructor that told me that was a senior instructor at the Lancashire constabulary HQ and training center in Penwortham area.

I digress, but I've been doing as told for 21 years now without fail. Well he was a copper with, how shall I put it, plenty of authority about him!! Nice guy but you did a you were told.

 

[Paul_B]

Another reason for leaving in gear is my handbrake cable always seems to slip. It starts with a small degree of movement of the brake lever to engage and ends up at the end of the year, just before MOT and service time, with you having to pull it right up just to engage. I'd use blocks under the wheels too if I had any made up!! Well I used to live and have to park on a steepish slope so got into the habit of brake and in gear. 1st if facing uphill or reverse if facing downhill.

 

[John Fenna]

I have always left my vehicles - bikes, vans, car in gear and start with my foot on the clutch ...I did not know folk did it any other way...... especially on hills.... which means "in Wales"....

 

[Wild Thing]

Always leave my car in gear as well and start the car with my foot on the clutch pedal. It's the way I was taught by my driving instructor and it's just habit

 

[Tadpole]

Chap at work was borrowing the ‘pool’ car to go to somewhere where he was needed to represent the company in court (planning application I think) he could not get the pool car to start, he tried everything and nothing seemed to work.
He phoned up the guy who drove it the most and between them they too could not get the car to work. Long story short, he was never taught about stating your car with your foot on the clutch, and it seems this car, as an added safety feature would not start unless the clutch was fully depressed(not as in sad but as in pressed down fully).
No one thought to mention it to the guy as everyone, and I mean everyone else, always started their car with the clutch depressed.

 

[Opal]

Just been talking to my neighbour, it's gonna cost him £600.

 

[Shewie]

Been there done that

I left my motor outside the birds house (before I got married), two wheels on the pavement and two on the road. When I came back outside about 3 hours later the car was gone, I thought it had been nicked at first but then I noticed it was 60 yards down the street. Perfectly parallel parked against the curb and about a foot short of hitting the back end of a Disco with a tow bar on. No damage whatsoever to either my car or anything else.
Lesson learned that day

 

[Opal]

Our Lord on yer side that day, Shewie

As I was chatting to the neighbour in question, my next door neighbour came into view, he has to turn toward that wall to reverse (he's 85) he struggles out of his car on his sticks and asks us what's going on?

I told him that Stee has the toothache and he tied a long piece of string to the car and his tooth then pushed the car and look what happened when it hit the wall, the old fella said "yer didn't did yer?"

 

[nuggets]

I now have to park up me landy in `gear`, since the oil seal on the diff box is weeping and has coated the handbrake drum on the prop shaft with oil !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- a £2 seal - but a day to fix !!!!!!!!!!!!!! just another job to do when and if i get a `day` off !!!!!

 

[Wild Thing]

Nice one Opal

You're a bad man

 

[Harvestman]

I was walking by when a car with three little old ladies parked up near me and they got out. The car then started to roll away. The driver hadn't put the handbrake on. They stood there flapping, and I managed to get behind the car before it got any significant momentum, and stopped it. It was at the top of a very long hill. Needless to say, I was very popular for a short time.

"He's a very nice man"
"A very very nice man"
...

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

I have a Passat with auto handbreak, you are unable to start it without your foot on the clutch. Also had a meagane before that and had to do the same. Good safty feature.

We did go on holiday last year in the wifes car and i was always forgetting the handbreak, got to the point where my then four year old was reminding me everytime we stopped, including traffic lights.

 

[santaman2000]

Just one of many reasons I use an automatic transmission.

 

[chris_irwin]

Here's a worse one for you! That looked like it hurt!

 

[Hoggy]

Reminds me of once of watching Watchdog when there was a spate of citroens rolling down hills after the driver had put the handbrake on. Something to do with the brakes cooling and shrinking ever so slightly just enough to allow the car to move. Remember shouting at the telly that they should leave it in gear anyway! This was followed up a couple of weeks later with chap complaining that the steering on his car veered to the left when he took his hands of the steering wheel. No one seemed to ask what he was doing driving with his hands off the steering wheel. I haven't watched that programme for years as it wasn't good for my blood pressure.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Here's a worse one for you! That looked like it hurt!

On the bright side, £250 from You've Been Framed!

 

[Robbi]

oh man ! that's gotta hurt !! Twice !!