Careful, or your car might kill you. Like any machine, cars have countless parts that can break, fail or malfunction. Gas pedals can stick, wheels can fall off and that puny glass windshield can be shattered faster than you can blink.
In the wrong situation, your vehicle can leave you facing a world of potentially-fatal problems. If you malfunction or make a miscalculation while driving, things aren’t any better.
Are you prepared if disaster strikes at the wheel? Here’s a look at what you can do to maximize your chances of survival in some of the most likely worst-case scenarios.
The Problem: A malfunction with your throttle keeps the pedal stuck to the floor after passing another vehicle. You start to panic, and your vehicle piles on speed dangerously.
The Solution: Forget turning off the engine or braking. The first course of action here is to slip the vehicle into neutral. Doing so takes about half a second, and decouples the engine from the wheels. In neutral, your vehicle can’t accelerate, no matter how hard the throttle is pressed.
In this situation, the engine will continue to rev at maximum RPM, though the vehicle will slow. The sound of the engine revving at high speed may be intimidating, but it’s the least of your worries. A bit of high-rpm revving won’t harm most engines anyhow.
Once in neutral, signal, brake and coast off to the side of the road. Turn the engine off, fix the problem and carry on if possible of course.
Practice putting your gear selector into neutral, so you’re ready if the need arises. Teach your kids, too. Note that if your car has a stick-shift, pressing the clutch has the same effect.
The Problem: You’re travelling at highway speeds when you suddenly hear a loud noise and realize you can’t see. A piece of ice has become dislodged from the roof of a transport truck and penetrated your windshield-- sending glass into your eyes. This situation is a nightmare because it turns your vehicle into a projectile without a pilot.
In the wrong situation, your vehicle can leave you facing a world of potentially-fatal problems. If you malfunction or make a miscalculation while driving, things aren’t any better.
Are you prepared if disaster strikes at the wheel? Here’s a look at what you can do to maximize your chances of survival in some of the most likely worst-case scenarios.
The Problem: A malfunction with your throttle keeps the pedal stuck to the floor after passing another vehicle. You start to panic, and your vehicle piles on speed dangerously.
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| Photo: Jupiter images |
The Solution: Forget turning off the engine or braking. The first course of action here is to slip the vehicle into neutral. Doing so takes about half a second, and decouples the engine from the wheels. In neutral, your vehicle can’t accelerate, no matter how hard the throttle is pressed.
In this situation, the engine will continue to rev at maximum RPM, though the vehicle will slow. The sound of the engine revving at high speed may be intimidating, but it’s the least of your worries. A bit of high-rpm revving won’t harm most engines anyhow.
Once in neutral, signal, brake and coast off to the side of the road. Turn the engine off, fix the problem and carry on if possible of course.
Practice putting your gear selector into neutral, so you’re ready if the need arises. Teach your kids, too. Note that if your car has a stick-shift, pressing the clutch has the same effect.
The Problem: You’re travelling at highway speeds when you suddenly hear a loud noise and realize you can’t see. A piece of ice has become dislodged from the roof of a transport truck and penetrated your windshield-- sending glass into your eyes. This situation is a nightmare because it turns your vehicle into a projectile without a pilot.
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| Photo: Jupiter images |