Near miss at heathrow terminal pickup

[Doe1000]

Was picking a friend at the airport and in my excitement, double parked and put the car in reverse instead of park.
Got out the car, shut door and car was picking up speed in reverse. I just manage to make back into the car in time before disaster struck. Very close call!

Why don't the C class have an alarm like my A170 cluthless manual!!!

 

[Will]

I know many people don't use it, but if you had used the parking brake it would never have happened.

Close call - lucky

 

[DITTRICH]

Surely there wouldn't even be time to get out of the car before it started reversing?
Do you brake with your left foot and keep the right for the accelerator.
I'm honestly struggling with this: how long between putting your car into reverse and it actually starting to move?

 

[Rashman]

"Doe"!



Glad all is well.

 

[John]

I guess if the car was on a slight decline might explain the slow reverse?

"Doe"!



Glad all is well.

Pah, beat me to it.

 

[Dieselman]

Why don't the C class have an alarm like my A170 cluthless manual!!!

Always the cars fault...

 

[DITTRICH]

@DM: Don't be too harsh!
@JohnEBoy: Good answer.

 

[Dieselman]

@DM: Don't be too harsh!

It just makes me smile that even operator error is someone elses fault.

 

[renault12ts]

Brave to mention it on here...a learner driver mistake that.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Brave to mention it on here...a learner driver mistake that.

Not necessarily. A friend of mine with over 20 years experience got his brand new C220CDi early this year. His first Mercedes. He drove straight from the dealer to his workplace, put the car into neutral (it's a manual

) then pressed the footbrake whilst looking for the handbrake but then saw "Hold" in the instrument panel. Thinking that was a clever automatic parking brake he then got out, locked the car and went to his office. Proudly telling his colleagues to look out of the window at his new toy he was shocked to hear their laughter. His gleaming car was slowly making its own way across the company car park! He says he overtook Usain Bolt on the way out to catch it. I still great him everytime with, "Have you read the manual yet!".

For those who don't know (my friend does know now!), "Hold" is just a driving aid to enable you to hold the car's position when stationery and the ignition on, saving you either having to apply the parking brake or blinding people behind with your brake lights.

 

[Dieselman]

Not necessarily. A friend of mine with over 20 years experience got his brand new C220CDi early this year. His first Mercedes. He drove straight from the dealer to his workplace, put the car into neutral (it's a manual

) then pressed the footbrake whilst looking for the handbrake but then saw "Hold" in the instrument panel. Thinking that was a clever automatic parking brake he then got out, locked the car and went to his office. Proudly telling his colleagues to look out of the window at his new toy he was shocked to hear their laughter. His gleaming car was slowly making its own way across the company car park! He says he overtook Usain Bolt on the way out to catch it. I still great him everytime with, "Have you read the manual yet!".

I had one car properly roll away due to not applying the parking brake hard enough.
It was Ok for about 2 hours then off it went as the disks cooled fully.
The first I knew of it was someone knocking on the door after my car had rolled away down the drive, across the road and into a neighbours drive. The "knocker" was a driver that had narrowly missed it as it crossed the road.

Since then, I've always made sure my cars know the Green Cross code.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I had one car properly roll away due to not applying the parking brake hard enough.
It was Ok for about 2 hours then off it went as the disks cooled fully.
The first I knew of it was someone knocking on the door after my car had rolled away down the drive, across the road and into a neighbours drive. The "knocker" was a driver that had narrowly missed it as it crossed the road.

Since then, I've always made sure my cars know the Green Cross code.

LOL
Reminds me of a four wheel trailer I overtook as it sped along a three lane sectiopn of the A12 many years ago. A surprisingly long distance later I spotted a car with broken ball hitch parked by the side and its driver looking disconcertingly back down the road!

 

[renault12ts]

Not necessarily. A friend of mine with over 20 years experience got his brand new C220CDi early this year. His first Mercedes. He drove straight from the dealer to his workplace, put the car into neutral (it's a manual

) then pressed the footbrake whilst looking for the handbrake but then saw "Hold" in the instrument panel. Thinking that was a clever automatic parking brake he then got out, locked the car and went to his office. Proudly telling his colleagues to look out of the window at his new toy he was shocked to hear their laughter. His gleaming car was slowly making its own way across the company car park! He says he overtook Usain Bolt on the way out to catch it. I still great him everytime with, "Have you read the manual yet!".

For those who don't know (my friend does know now!), "Hold" is just a driving aid to enable you to hold the car's position when stationery and the ignition on, saving you either having to apply the parking brake or blinding people behind with your brake lights.

If driving a manual I would apply the hand brake and put the car in gear...your friend should have known better...and DM too.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

If driving a manual I would apply the hand brake and put the car in gear...your friend should have known better...and DM too.

I still take great delight in reminding him what a plonker he is (my friend, not DM .... although ... ) But in my friend's limited defence, he'd never driven a car with a foot operated parking brake before.

 

[Dieselman]

LOL
Reminds me of a four wheel trailer I overtook as it sped along a three lane sectiopn of the A12 many years ago. A surprisingly long distance later I spotted a car with broken ball hitch parked by the side and its driver looking disconcertingly back down the road!

I witnessed a trailer loaded with about 10 canoes come unhitched from the back of a Transit mini-bus once.

 

[ivandraganov]

Was picking a friend at the airport and in my excitement, double parked and put the car in reverse instead of park.
Got out the car, shut door and car was picking up speed in reverse. I just manage to make back into the car in time before disaster struck. Very close call!

Why don't the C class have an alarm like my A170 cluthless manual!!!

Since happened to me too ,I don't trust even handbrake on my W203.Have proper wheel chocks in the boot and use them when parked downhill

 

[renault12ts]

Since happened to me too ,I don't trust even handbrake on my W203.Have proper wheel chocks in the boot and use them when parked downhill

Wheel chocks will not help if you get out of the car in gear and the engine running.

 

[Dieselman]

Wheel chocks will not help if you get out of the car in gear and the engine running.

Especially if they are in the boot and it is in reverse, as you would get run over trying to retrieve them.

 

[ivandraganov]

Wheel chocks will not help if you get out of the car in gear and the engine running.

Couldn't agree more!!

 

[renault12ts]

^ Exactly.