Losses and Lessons: Only Room for One
VEHICLE COVERED: 1969 Corvette Coupe
WHAT WENT WRONG: A friend of mine was doing some repair work on my ‘Vette on a lift in his garage. We were standing in the garage when another friend drove up the driveway and instead of hitting the brakes, hit the accelerator and gunned it through the garage door. The second vehicle didn’t stop there. It hit the car lift, which forced my car to drop from the lift and crash into the opposite side of the garage.
DAMAGE: The ’69 Corvette suffered extensive damage, including the rear clip, right and left front fenders and the hood. The fall from the car lift to the ground did enough harm to the vehicle. Total cost of incident: $14,163.44.
CAUSE: The inadvertent “pedal-switch” can happen any time, especially when the driver is distracted. Behind the wheel, all of your attention should be focused on driving, not the radio, cell phone, kids.
TIP: When you’re inside a garage working on your car, it’s a good idea to tell anyone who might be stopping by where you’ll be – and to park elsewhere. Orange safety cones outside of the garage entrance – or a closed garage door – can help alert visitors to allow some space.
Though it might not have stopped this accident from happening, it’s always best to take as many precautions as possible, even though there’s only so much you can do to prevent accidents when someone else is behind the wheel.
