Same here. I haven't used my parking brake in years.
Missed it by *that* much.
- Thread starter Tiberius Jim
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Same here. I haven't used my parking brake in years.
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Amaris
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Ditto. I have used my parking brake maybe twice in the 15 years I've been driving.
People actually use parking brakes on a regular basis? I might if I were parked on a steep hill with ice. Looking back, maybe I should have used the parking brake on my '95 Windstar since my street had about a 20 degree slope. The transmission failed @ 99k miles. But Windstars had crappy transmissions any way (and head gaskets), which I didn't know about at the time.
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Then you had lousy driving instructors. I'll leave your parents out of this.
Whether your car has an automatic or manual transmission, you should ALWAYS set the parking brake when parking. That's why it's called the parking brake.
That's a bit odd. In my neck of the woods, no one drives with their headlights on in the daytime unless it's raining. It's also done occasionally as a political statement in support of something-or-other.
In California, the law requires headlights to be turned on from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. Or maybe that's Shabbat, I can't remember which.
In some places, such as Pennsylvania I think, drivers are supposed to have the headlights on on the interstate at all times.
Yeah, I can't imagine a time when I parked and I didn't set my parking brake. It's just part of the ritual of parking.
That's a bit odd. In my neck of the woods, no one drives with their headlights on in the daytime unless it's raining. It's also done occasionally as a political statement in support of something-or-other.
In California, the law requires headlights to be turned on from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. Or maybe that's Shabbat, I can't remember which.
I keep my headlights on at all times, too. Partially because it makes the car that much more visible but also because my daytime running lights are just regular halogen while my headlights are cool looking projector lamps.
Not those obnoxious blue Xenon ones, mind you. Just the stock ones that just look better than the yellowish halogens.
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Amaris
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Maybe it's a regional thing. I don't know anyone around here who ever uses their parking brake when parking.
It is. The car in the photo looks to be an older Solara. Who knows how many miles are on it. All moving parts in a car will eventually wear out, even parking prawls, transmission interlocks, and ignition cylinders. It is possible that she thought the vehicle was in park, removed the key (yes, that is possible in an older car do to wear to the ignition lock and key) and got out while the vehicle was not fully in Park. It is also possible (though not probable) for a vehicle that is in Park to slip into gear. Ford had issues with this in the 1980s.
Engaging the parking brake helps preserve the parking prawl by removing pressure placed upon the prawl when the car rolls. In modern cars, engaging the parking brake also helps extend the life of your rear brakes. The rear brakes have self-adjusters that are engaged whenever you engage the parking brake. This helps to promote longer brake shoe life by making them wear evenly.
BTW, in commercial vehicles with air brakes, use of the parking brake is required by the Feds.
Uh, you can forget something once in a while and still be able to do (more or less) complicated things on a regular basis. Besides, manual transmission isn't that intricate. It's not high art. It's the standard way cars are operated over here and yet, people sometimes forget to put the brake on when they park, I bet.
Then again, handbrakes can also be broken. I remember that we once got the family car back from a general inspection at the garage and my father only realised weeks later that the handbrake wasn't actually working.
Anyway, you were quite lucky. A Festivus miracle indeed.
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Amaris
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Well, I mean in terms of being taught. I attended Drivers Ed, and was never taught that. I asked my friends about it tonight, and none of them have ever heard of it as an option.
Still, if it saves wear and tear, I'm going to start doing it. My car is 20 years old, and has 139,000 miles on it. I don't want to wear it out anymore.
If he she had just shifted the car to Neutral she could've removed the key as well, but yeah its possible the ignition was faulty. My last car was like that, started with being able to remove the key while the car was on, eventually the ignition would turn with no key at all.
Yeah, my Escort did that for a while. So did my Cavalier until I replaced the cylinder.
Well, I mean in terms of being taught. I attended Drivers Ed, and was never taught that. I asked my friends about it tonight, and none of them have ever heard of it as an option.
Indeed. I've never driven with anyone who uses their parking brake regularly. One time, my buddy and I were out of town, and I was driving his car. I started driving away with the parking brake still on because it never occurred to me that it was even in use. The only reason he put it on is because we were on a very steep hill.
Of course, we live in Illinois, where the world is flat as far as the eye can see. If I were to put my car in neutral, it wouldn't go anywhere.
I had a college friend who came from Moline, which I believe to be in your neck of woods. She used to talk about bluffs lining the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities area.
I've been here for 10 years and have yet to encounter anything of the sort. Nothing where you'd ever find yourself parking a car, anyway.
The area is so flat, in fact, that if you talk about "the hill," everyone knows exactly what you're referring to...because it's the only hill we have.
Obviously I have nothing better to do at the moment. I checked google maps. There seems to be a view of what could pass as wooded bluffs from one of the bridges (where the interstate goes over the Mississippi north of the cities).
There also seem to be some rolling terrain in parts of Moline when I checked google earth. I found them by looking for roads that weren't straight.
I mention this because this old friend (no idea where she is now) was quite offended when I suggested the idea that the Quad Cities was so flat during during a conversation we had so many years ago.
Yeah. I'll have to check out the Quad Cities. I know it's not on top of most people's list for places to visit. But that gal was so passionate about the area. You'd think it was one of most popular places to visit in the world like visiting Tuscany or the English Countryside.
It would be nice to visit a city that isn't so often mentioned in the travel magazines.
There also seem to be some rolling terrain in parts of Moline when I checked google earth. I found them by looking for roads that weren't straight.
I mention this because this old friend (no idea where she is now) was quite offended when I suggested the idea that the Quad Cities was so flat during during a conversation we had so many years ago.
Yeah. I'll have to check out the Quad Cities. I know it's not on top of most people's list for places to visit. But that gal was so passionate about the area. You'd think it was one of most popular places to visit in the world like visiting Tuscany or the English Countryside.
It would be nice to visit a city that isn't so often mentioned in the travel magazines.
I mean, I don't really know how to argue with it. There might be some places that are less flat than others, but again, these aren't places most people would ever need to park their car.
There are some areas farther north, and people from the Quad Cities might visit them, but they aren't actually in the Quad Cities as far as I know.
There are some areas farther north, and people from the Quad Cities might visit them, but they aren't actually in the Quad Cities as far as I know.
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