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I was taught to always park in gear, the lowest one opposite to the direction of the slope (so 1st parking uphill and reverse downhill). I've never trusted the parking brake alone, once I saw it was just a couple of little springs at tension when engaged.

Newer cars have a 'disengage clutch to crank' safety too, so idiot-proofing is better than the past. You and others are right though, 100% idiot-proofing is a myth, and someone needing that level of saving from themselves are probably better off not driving.

My heart goes out to the victims and their families. The video proves a 24x7 presence of idiots on our roads:Frustrati

https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumba...yover-23194671https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBdSvFVtOm0

I was stupid not to have followed this simple thing :Frustrati.

Coming back to the brake function, it is almost impossible for this behavior to cross anyone's mind as they begin their driving life. Why would we need to steer or brake when car is not moving and how can a car move when the engine is switched off?. But yes now we know that a car can move even with engine switched off and only an obstacle can stop it.

Ideally driving instructors must inculcate this habit and drill it in the newbies, but we know that does not happen :sadface.

Precisely why I insist to anyone who'll listen, that learning to drive properly is CRITICAL. Also, learning properly to begin with is better than corrective lessons later.

Safety, esp. the everyday variety, shouldn't be something one needs to make an effort to remember, it should become instinctive.

Whenever I get out of a car, I instinctively engage 1st gear (reverse if parking downhill) and pull up the parking brake. I also never start a car without disengaging the clutch (press the pedal down). My current car won't start without that but it's habitual for me anyway so I do it across every MT car I drive.

I also do that, depending upon which side the slope is. In addition to the handbrake. If the slope is to the rerar engage first gear, reverse gear if the slope is forward. I too put a stone under the wheel especially if the slope is to the rear. It helps while starting and moving the car! I will tell someone to kick it aside after I start and slightly move the car.

I am a bit new to this but is there any reason for this? I always park in first and engage hand brake if it's on a slope.

Appreciate the valuable insights.

From what I have understood there are a lot many people who are not aware about this particular function and the appropriate method / precautions to be taken while operating the machine. As a personal initiative, I will try and make it a point to pass on this information to as many people in my circle of influence parents, spouse, kids, friends. As a driver yes we should be aware about the functioning. Out on the road there is no control on the awareness and actions of another driver where we could be at the receiving end.

While it sounds minuscule in terms of information and functioning and is assumed everyone should be aware about the same, the consequences of not being aware are unimaginable. One such situation which I have personally been involved in on many occasions and I have seen lot of people doing it, is push starting a vehicle with a dead battery / malfunctioning starter. Imagine the vehicle ending up on an incline and the engine does not fire for some reason and the brake boost does not activate. The outcome could be disastrous.

You engage the lowest possible gear OPPOSITE to the direction your car would roll if left in neutral, so you get maximum resistance from the engine (similar to engine braking, higher resistance in lower gears).

Plainly, we agree 99%, and maybe I'm nitpicking to pick on these words, but my point is that the brakes do work effectively, without the engine running, but take considerably more driver strength on the pedal. But they do work.
It would seem that you are right. I think this is one of the odds and ends that my father taught me as a child, let alone as a learner driver. It would certainly be better for instructors to include this. It may be in the manual: fact is, many people never read it.

The gear ratio in reverse is even lower, so, on that basis, we could use reverse all the time. If I think about this at all, I think that it is better for the engine, if the car's weight does come on it due to parking brake slipping, to rotate in it's "correct" direction. But I'm probably overthinking this now!

In US, the learner license book is pretty comprehensive, and teaches things like how to park downhill and uphill. Of course, there are footpaths/pavements there, so it is easy to follow rule to turn steering/wheel towards the pavement when parking downhill, and to park it with the wheels turned away from footpath when parking uphill, so that in case the car moves, it will hit the pavement and stop.

Same with mirrors and checking blindspot (check IRVM, then ORVM and then blindspot over the shoulder before changing lanes). Hardly takes couple of seconds once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately in India, two wheeler drivers remove mirrors, and car drivers rarely use ORVM and hardly anyone checks blind spots. This makes driving on highways very accident prone as vehicles suddenly change lanes. Very few use indicators before changing lane. The two wheeler drivers without mirrors think they own the road and drive haphazardly. One other rule is to at least keep 2 car lengths away from car in front of you in case they brake suddenly, as it takes time for car to come to a halt. On our highways, its hardly possible as someone will squeeze in even if there is space for half the length of the car.

Some plain physics needs to be drilled in. The higher the weight of the vehicle, the longer it takes to come to stop. You can't fool physics. Unfortunately, let alone truck drivers, even large SUVs tailgate dangerously, try to squeeze in gaps and zoom at high speeds without caring for others, and cause accidents if they have to stop suddenly.

One of my friends used to say that he has full control of his car. Wherever you are, its not just the driver, but other drivers on the road too that will decide the fate. One may have full control of their car, but others may not have same level of control and can cause you to have accidents

Brand new XUV700 banged from back. Read that one person died in the accident. Felt very sad seeing/reading this



- Girish

Absolute bloody murder. Not only is he doing something inexcusable per se, he has ZERO consideration for oncoming traffic. He’s also guilty of hit and run. He’s basically fled the scene spewing diesel smoke from what I assume is some ridiculously old under-maintained vehicle. I am already forming all kinds of judgmental presumptions about this driver.

Plate says XUV 7OO. Does that mean it’s possibly from some test drive fleet of Mahindra? Really sad at the loss of life.

It was an unregistered car and most probably was driven to dealership for display. According to the news article, it was hit by an ambulance.

Mahindra-xuv700 first major accident

On a related note, in the extract below from the article with some portions specifically highlighted, the declining quality of journalism is all too evident. In an article reporting a crash between an XUV, an ambulance and a motorcycle, with the added seriousness of the loss of life, the thrust nevertheless is on it being the first major accident of an XUV. Even if that was the journalistic slant, it could still have been presented with a little more elegance. The most important aspect of this incident for the journalist is the structural integrity of the tailgate and he is happy to note that it came out fine, (loss of one life notwithstanding). :Frustrati

_______________

What is important to note here is that the tailgate seems largely ok. The Mahindra XUV700 was subject to some criticism when it was first unveiled that its tailgate is made of fibre-glass. However, media was quick to clarify how it’s common to use fibre panels on even costlier vehicles to save on the cost and weight whilst maintaining the overall crash safety. The same is the case with the XUV700 and we’re happy to note that the tailgate here has not shown signs of weakness even on being involved in a major crash. What do you think?

I had the same feeling on reading it.
Any chance the autobrake caused it ?

Slightly OT :
I can assume that our "build quality" crowd would soon be piling heaps on the build quality of the plastic rear door.
Nothing against the 700 looks good and wish it well, its a very promising product but let's see how it fares on ground.