news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/908923.stm
Makes you aware what price can be paid in saving a few bob.....
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As you say, tragic. I wonder how many people a day make the same mistake of relying solely on a jack while under a car. I've just read this after coming in from the garage, where I've been adopting a belt and braces approach with axle stands as well as under-wheel blocks as back up before I will risk crawling underneath.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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It appears that the man should not have been attempting to work underneath the car. Suitable axle stands or blocks of wood would not have given way. I would bet that he had time (unfortunately) to reflect on Darwinism.
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Sad news indeed.
If working on a car with the wheels removed, my dad would shove them under the car as well as jack, axle stands etc. So do I. Fat, modern tyres give more protection. I've never put it to the test as I've never had a jack collapse or a car fall on me. Yet.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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There is a regular advertisement on Clasic FM for a firm of no-win, no-fee claims solicitors. One of their examples is of a client who was injured at work in a garage when a jack collapsed. If the advertisement is to be believed, he obtained compensation even though by his own admission flouting the H & S regulations.
It also occurs to me that hydraulic ramps in garages don't appear to have any safety devices. I have been invited under one by an MOT tester. What happens if a hydraulic seal fails?
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Cliff, four-post(er!) lifts have a mechanical ratcheting system as a 'fail-safe'. You can usually hear it clicking away whilst the lift is being raised.
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I wondered if they did. But I've watched the tester moving it up and down bit by bit using a kind of remote controller, and he certainly didn't appear to have to release any mechanical ratchet each time.
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There is a regular advertisement on Clasic FM for a firm of no-win, no-fee claims solicitors. One of their examples is of a client who was injured at work in a garage when a jack collapsed. If the advertisement is to be believed, he obtained compensation even though by his own admission flouting the H & S regulations. It also occurs to me that hydraulic ramps in garages don't appear to have any safety devices. I have been invited under one by an MOT tester. What happens if a hydraulic seal fails?
It wont drop because the mechanical safety ratchet locks the ramp in place, that's why when they want to lower the ramp down they have to lift it slightly first to disengage the ratchet.
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@Hawkeye: My Dad taught me the same, to always lay the wheel you've just taken off, under the car. Maybe we're related!
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Placing the removed wheel under the car not only adds another safety device but also gets it out of the way so you dont trip over it.
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rustbucket (the original)
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Even so if you're crawling under the car and the jack fails, wheels won't provide enough height to protect you.
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I always but always use axle stands...
I'm sorry to hear of the demise but surely anyone who works on cars must realise jacks are for get you home jobs and NOT for poking under cars...
It's like working on an electric socket with the mains on ...
madf
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Space is often tight in lock-up garages, makes it more likely that the car may be knocked off its jack.They often lack electricity, so that light can be a problem.
It's a mistake to do anything dangerous like going under a car without a helper or companion. Someone might survive crushing if help was available quickly enough.
I have in the past often broken these safety rules, fortunately without coming to harm. But I must say when going right under cars I have always put something solid - logs, stones or piles of bricks - under the car if it was on uneven ground or if axle stands weren't available.
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Citroens have crushed a few people over years. I take no chances and get the axle stands out.
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Xantia HDi.
XM 2.1 VSX.
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Axle stands are fine on a hard level surface for placing as a safeguard directly under somewhere close to where the jack issited. But I have observed before, I don't think they are very safe for supporting one side of a car while lifting the other, because a trolley jack puts a sideways force at its point of application. It does not lift purely vertically.
I prefer an interlinking stack of baulks of timber. Putting the wheel under is a good secondary measure, and does get it out of the way.
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> no-win, no-fee claims solicitors
Very handy for a dead person!
> wheels won't provide enough height to protect you
I think even the smallest wheel will save your life. Broken ribs, crushed lung? Better to have 8" or more than the car collapse completely to the deck and finish you off.
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It reminded me of this picture:
tinyurl.com/9k68t
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I don't know how people dare go right under a car without supporting it adequately, I get scared just reaching for a dropped wheel bolt slightly under the car.
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how ironic, he worked at the contol and restraint unit
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Me neither. I once had a car slip off the jack when I was young and naive and jacked it up incorrectly. it was a good job my face wasn't too close to the car when it did this.
and I have loads of supports under a car if I am crawling under it, leave the jack under, but back it off slightly so some of the weight is taken by the alternative supports, also make sure the alternative supports are under a structurally sound part of the car as jacking points can (and do) rust out
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Saw a guy last week with an old Nova, he had both back wheels off and it was on the skinniest jack you could imagine, central under the back of the car. No other support or safety and he was under the back end working on the brake backplate..........
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I'm afraid Darwin had a theory about it....
madf
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There is the Darwin award which is given posthumously to someone who does the most to improve the human gene pool.
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That's the advantage of 2 trolley jacks and 5 axle stands. Take no chances.
Steve.
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Xantia HDi.
XM 2.1 VSX.
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