AUTO, CAR, TRUCK SAFETY TIPS

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN

No one wants to break down,, but sometimes it can't be helped! Usually when you see a car on the side of the road it is because of something made of rubber, like a tire, belt, or hose. Rubber deteriorates with age and heat: if it is more than 7 years old chances are it's no good.. So the first thing to do to avoid breakdowns is to maintain your car! Replace the belts and hoses every 50,000 miles. Check your tire condition and keep them inflated to the pressure listed on the vehicle (usually on the inside of the door). If you can't find the right tire pressure on the car, look on the side of the tire: the maximum pressure will be listed there. Often the recommended pressure on the doorjamb is lower than the "max" pressure on the tire side. It's probably best to go with the "doorjamb" pressure, but "hyper-milers" use the max pressure on the tire for best gas mileage.

Still, even if you do everything right, you can still break down!

FLAT TIRES

The most common unavoidable breakdown is a flat tire. Road hazards like screws or nails can be picked up in a tire at any time.

If a tire fails while driving, slow down gradually and look for a safe place to pull over. Look for a level place as far off the road as possible. you want to be safe when you jack the car up!

Hopefully you are prepared and know where your jack is, and have air in your spare tire.

Open the hood so other cars can tell you're broken down.. Put on your hazard flashers.

It's a good idea to put a brick, rock, log, almost anything behind one of the good tires to keep it from rolling. It's a good idea to put a piece of plywood or a board under the jack if you're on dirt or grass.

CLICK HERE for more jack safety tips.

SAFETY WARNING: ANTILOCK BRAKES

When the ABS operates the rapid applying and releasing, or "pumping" of the brakes by the computer makes a rather loud noise and vibration. The first time I worked on a car with ABS I thought I'd check it out. When the ABS "kicked in" during my "test" I thought I had broken something on the car!

When ABS was first introduced a trend was noticed: rear end collisions actually INCREASED in cars with 4 wheel antilock brakes. The theory was that the noise and vibration they make "freaked out" drivers, who released the brake, then rear ended the car in front of them.

MY ADVICE: Get out on an open stretch of road with no one around and try stopping as hard as you can a few times. Get used to the "ABS experience" so it won't freak you out if the ABS system activates in a panic stop.

SAFETY WARNING: CRUISE CONTROL

Cruise control is nice, but it can also be dangerous. A lot of people "get too comfortable" while the car is on cruise: even crossing their legs and so on!

NEVER KEEP YOUR FOOT FAR AWAY FROM THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE YOU ARE ON CRUISE!!!

Another danger is cruise control in the rain. If it strarts to rain, turn off your cruise control.

WHY?

Cruise control works like this: it senses the car's speed. If the speed decreases, the cruise control opens the throttle a bit, trying to speed up. If it still is going slower than where the cruise is set, it will open the trottle more and more.

SO HERE'S THE SCENE...

You're cruising down the highway with the cruise set on 70. Suddenly you hit a puddle, or even a slick spot. Your car slows down. Your tires have no traction. Then the cruise control does EXACTLY THE WORST THING that could be done under these circumstances: IT FLOORS THE ACCELERATOR TRYING TO GET UP TO SPEED!

You spin wildly out of control.

Hitting small puddles and slick spots in the rain or snow is no big deal if you're just driving without the cruise on. In the case above the puddle or slick spot wouldn't have even been noticed.

SO KEEP YOUR CRUISE CONTROL OFF IN SLIPPERY ROAD CONDITIONS!!!!

If the cruise does "run away", remember a quick tap on the brake will disengage it.

RUNAWAY CARS!!!!

CARS GONE WILD!!!!!

There have been a lot of cases (Toyota most recently) of "cars running out of control". This can be caused by a lot of things: sticking cables or throttle linkages, or electronic defects in the case of sticking cruise controls, or "drive by wire" automobiles. (Drive by wire systems control the throttle by an electronic servo via the computer. The gas pedal isn't directly connected to the throttle. The pedal give input to the computer, the computer operates the throttle. That's drive by wire. Other designs (so far non-mainstream, mostly experimental) operate the steering and brakes in a similar fashion.)

Any car which has stuff like a "one touch push button start" feature is likely to have some sort of drive by wire also.

NO MATTER WHAT, THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE!

1) Pull back on the gas pedal with your right foot, step on the brakes with your left foot. Many sticking gas pedals have been from shifting floor mats, so look at your floor mats and keep them clear of the pedals. Floormat or whatever, pulling back on the pedal with your toe might "unstick" it.

2) YOUR BRAKES PROBABLY STILL WORK

Press the brake pedal first thing: it will often turn off cruise controls or drive by wire systems.

3) As you are pressing the brake, be ready to do two things: put the car in neutral, and turn off the ignition switch. If it is a manual, press in the clutch.

CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When you put the car in neutral the engine may rev up to a scary level, and may even burn up! But a blown motor is better than a wreck! That's why you should be prepared to turn off the engine, which brings me to

CAUTION PART TWO!!!!!!!

When you turn off the key switch, only turn it off one click! This should avoid locking the steering wheel.
ALSO: When the engine stops, you may lose power steering and power brakes. This does not mean you will lose ALL steering and brakes, just that the pedal will be harder to press, and the steering harder to turn.

The very second you experience a runaway situation, begin stopping and try not to release the brake pedal once you shut off the engine. This way you will have power brakes for your stop.

Drive by wire stuff might not let you shut the motor off going down the road, but even a drive by wire car should let you shift into neutral. The newer cars have a rev limiter built in, so the motor is less likely to blow up on a drive by wire car thrown into neutral than a regular car with, say, a sticking throttle cable.

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Thank you for visiting the ECONOMECHANIX WEB SITE. Please feel free to comment. We also serve the surrounding communities of Alachua, High Springs, Hawthorne, and Newberry! Gainesville has been my home since 1974, and I've loved Gvl and the Gators since I came here in the fall of 1974 to attend the University of Florida. I loved it so much I stayed and opened my car repair business. Originally it was out of the back of a 1963 Chevrolet wagon, but in 1977 a fellow mechanic and I opened an auto repair shop with actual walls, etc. I stayed in the same location for 26 years, and recently moved my operation to property I bought 15 miles east of Gainesville. I am doing most all the repairs myself now, having reduced my overhead from $1500 per month to practically nothing. I do work by appointment only. I mostly work only on my established customers cars, but I will occasionally take on new clients. E-mail me and I will either make arrangements to look at your car, or I will recommend you to someone who will.

George G. Scott, Jr.

Auto, Car, Truck Safety Tips

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN

FLAT TIRES

SAFETY WARNING: ANTILOCK BRAKES

SAFETY WARNING: CRUISE CONTROL

RUNAWAY CARS!!!!