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Re: What to do in a freeway e



artyom@btf.com (Artyom) writes:

>>From: Terry Avila <none>

>NO>What are you supposed to do if your car stalls in the middle of the
>  >freeway (besides putting on your hazard lights)?  If you stay in the
>  >vehicle, you risk getting rear-ended, but if you get out, you risk
>  >getting run over.  This has never happened to me, and I hope it never
>  >does, but I frequently see others in this situation, and I wonder what
>  >they should do.

>From the moment your engine stalls on freeway, you have about 1/2 - 1
>mile to go before complete stop. Turn on your hazard lights as soon as
>you slowed to dangerous speed (40-45mph) and move to the shoulder,
>preferrably right where the call boxes are.

Nobody has mentioned this: The moment your engine dies, slap that 
gearshift into NEUTRAL and preserve your momentum!
Then get those 4-way flashers on, roll your window down, and with your
left hand point to the right side of the freeway.
Hopefully the person in the next lane to the right and behind you has 
an IQ higher than the speed limit, sees you and lets you in...

Years ago my dad was teaching me a few things about driving, and the
above technique really made a big impression and stuck with me when
he reached over to the dash-mounted ignition switch (in a 1957 Buick
Special) and turned off the ignition just as I was changing lanes on the 
Pasadena freeway (he had checked the surrounding traffic - at 2am on a
Saturday morning in 1968 it was _very_ light).  Horsing that beast over
to the side was an interesting wakeup-call.  It was on the southbound 
side, just before the 5 freeway, as I recall.  Next lesson - exit the
car on the RIGHT side.  Next: lesson: how to pop a flare (I keep six
taped together with one band of two layers of masking tape, in the 
center of the flare.  Makes it easy to grab one, and twist it 90
degrees, and break the band.  Keep the stick of flares under the seat.
If you pass a fresh accident and can't stop, you can at least hand 
the bundle to the person directing traffic.  Write it off as a mitzva,
and buy six more that night).  Next lesson was that afternoon: how to
determine if the reason the engine died is fuel or ignition. 
Big lesson: fresh batteries in a flashlight - you can't use a flare for
light as you try to look down the carb throat for the squirt of fuel from
the accelerator pump jets...  Bigger lesson: check for spark first -
you don't want gas vapor around when you check for spark with the
classic pseudo-spark-plug test (crank the engine with one plug wire
off, a screwdriver shaft in the connector, a 1/8"-1/4" gap to metal).

>If traffic is heavy, use the horn and hazard lights to get off the road,
>all better than getting stuck in the middle of the freeway. If you get
>stuck on the left shoulder in heavy traffic, wait until CHP passes by,
>shouldn't be long.

I _always_ plan on heading to the right - too many freeways in the LA
area have lost their left shoulders to car pool lanes.

-- 
  


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