The usual sobering reminder

Status
Not open for further replies.
Scary. I can't see how you would be so far under a car to get pinned like that doing a tire replacement...

Other stuff, absolutely... this story seems odd.

But the warning is sound. It's a hassle to get out all the safety gear... and cars fall off of stands and lifts too... need backups and failsafes.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Scary. I can't see how you would be so far under a car to get pinned like that doing a tire replacement...

Other stuff, absolutely... this story seems odd.

But the warning is sound. It's a hassle to get out all the safety gear... and cars fall off of stands and lifts too... need backups and failsafes.


Maybe something rolled under it and he was retrieving it.
 
Originally Posted by John_K
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Scary. I can't see how you would be so far under a car to get pinned like that doing a tire replacement...

Other stuff, absolutely... this story seems odd.

But the warning is sound. It's a hassle to get out all the safety gear... and cars fall off of stands and lifts too... need backups and failsafes.


Maybe something rolled under it and he was retrieving it.


Jack handle or lug nut can roll.......Don't know. Sad.
 
Originally Posted by John_K
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Scary. I can't see how you would be so far under a car to get pinned like that doing a tire replacement...

Other stuff, absolutely... this story seems odd.

But the warning is sound. It's a hassle to get out all the safety gear... and cars fall off of stands and lifts too... need backups and failsafes.


Maybe something rolled under it and he was retrieving it.


Possibly he knocked into the jack as he moved and that's what caused the accident. Condolences to his family for their loss.


This is why you NEVER use just a jack or just jack stands you always have TWO items with one being a back up in the event one fails.
Also NEVER EVER work on your car without someone else present that could help in the event of an emergency.
Sounds extreme but all it takes is one accident to seriously injure or kill you in short order.
 
Last edited:
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Scary. I can't see how you would be so far under a car to get pinned like that doing a tire replacement...

Other stuff, absolutely... this story seems odd.

But the warning is sound. It's a hassle to get out all the safety gear... and cars fall off of stands and lifts too... need backups and failsafes.

There have been times when I set out to rotate tires and ended up under the car doing/looking at something. Not a regular thing but not rare either. But unlike this guy I a) chalk the wheels on the ground and b) never get under the car without it being on stands. You simply can not predict jack failure. And never ever ever get under a car that's not on a level surface, that's just asking for trouble.

Dunno if this man's death was preventable as we don't have all the deets'...but sadly the majority of these cases are.
 
Last edited:
An easy way to help prevent an accident is to push your wheel under the rocker/frame. It would at least keep the car from coming all the way down if it were to fall.
 
chocks? 2x4 as a chock? Maybe I should have chocks in the vehicle in case a tire needs to be changed on the road.

As has been mentioned I have pushed the tire under so the vehicle cannot come down too far.
 
I saw a car fall on a guy once (I was working on my car too) in an apartment parking lot. It was really ugly. The guy lived, but was really crushed badly, and I never saw him again. I think his recovery was in the ICU and by the time I moved out many months later, he was still in the hospital. To make matters worse, I did not have a floor jack available at the time. I was unable to help, other than to curl my fingers under the fender lip and lift the vehicle a a few inches while others got the jack re positioned and called 911. It happened so fast, and even with people around, the damage was done.

But as a young man, I did something really stupid too. I pulled out the driveshaft of my truck, (well 3 of the bolts anyway) without chocks. The truck rolled slowly down the (not steep) driveway with me underneath it, my arm hooked over the driveshaft. That hurt, as the driveshaft now oscillated around that one remaining bolt, pinning my arm against the sheet metal with every rotation. There was plenty of room under the truck so I was not in danger of getting run over. It sill hurt!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Silverado12
An easy way to help prevent an accident is to push your wheel under the rocker/frame. It would at least keep the car from coming all the way down if it were to fall.

Yep.. that's a "trick" so to speak, my father taught me.
 
I was working on a big car every day after school....a 1966 Oldsmobile 98 LS...YES, my father's Oldsmobile.

Every day I'd chock it, jack it up, jack stand it and go to work.

One day I was in a rush and jacked it up and went to work.

I'll never know how fortunate I was in that the "kid" next door, a whopping 10 months older and a grade ahead of me, came over and suggested I get out from under the car.

I was in a rush and had simply forgotten the steps.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
An easy way to help prevent an accident is to push your wheel under the rocker/frame. It would at least keep the car from coming all the way down if it were to fall.

,👠That's what I do as an insurance
 
Originally Posted by oldhp
Originally Posted by John_K
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Scary. I can't see how you would be so far under a car to get pinned like that doing a tire replacement...

Other stuff, absolutely... this story seems odd.

But the warning is sound. It's a hassle to get out all the safety gear... and cars fall off of stands and lifts too... need backups and failsafes.


Maybe something rolled under it and he was retrieving it.


Jack handle or lug nut can roll.......Don't know. Sad.

Or possibly the wheel was stuck on the drive flange and got under it to kick it loose, knocking it off of a poor placed/steadied jack?
 
It is a sobering reminder for all of us to stop and think first. I'm sure all of us have had close calls in one way or another.

A friend of mine put his pickup truck on ramps to change the oil. He went in to get a cup of coffee. When he came back out the ramps had collapsed.

He built wooden ramps after that.
 
A guy I knew was working on his Jeep on his slightly sloped driveway. As he was laying on the ground the Jeep started to roll down the driveway. A tire came to rest against his chest, he couldn't take a breath, and asphyxiated right there. A neighbor eventually spotted him, but it was too late.

RIP, Jim
 
When I was 14 I was changing the tire on my Bronco. Very slightly sloped driveway and didn't think much of it. I jacked it up and took the tire off. It rolled back into the street with no tire. Thank God I wasn't under it. I'm lucky I made it out of my teens, I sometimes wonder how. Lot has changed since then, safety tends to come 1st now. I learned and made fail-safe a thing on most dangerous things I do so I don't die.

My best friend in Highschool about died under his 2500 Chevy. He was doing something under it, don't remember what. And the jack had a leak that he didn't know about. It stopped right at his chest so he couldn't move but enough to breathe. Luckily he had his cell phone on him and called his sister, she was 15 minutes away. He could have ended in a box that day. God gave us way too many chances in High School.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
20,000 miles in a CX-5 GT-R
3 4 5
Replies
91
Views
19K
14Accent
S
  • Locked
Must read. Unplanned flight
Replies
7
Views
2K
Papa Bear
A
  • Locked
Cheap Octane Booster
Replies
3
Views
14K
cryptokid
A
  • Locked
Octane Booster
Replies
5
Views
3K
MRC01
Back
Top