DIY mechanics take care....neighbour squished under car!

DIY mechanics take care....neighbour squished under car!

Author
Discussion

milu

Original Poster:

2,346 posts

265 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Aaarrrrrrghhhh! Help,help!
That's what made me look up and see the young chap over the road squashed under his VW after it rolled off the ramps! Luckily because on ramps it was wheels on but nevertheless he was in a bit of trouble....laid sort of on his side getting slowly crushed,struggling to breathe.
Thankfully there was another chap on the front also,so we tried lifting first. No good.
So I had to let the car drop back on him and run for my jack.
Anyway I guess him being slim helped a bit....he has rib damage and a bit bashed up. The hospital reckon he wouldn't have done too well if he had been under much longer.
Lucky we were around.

Be careful!

V8RX7

26,763 posts

262 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Happens a lot.

A mate was changing airbags on his Range Rover when it came off the jack - trapping him by both arms.

Luckily his 12yr old son was nearby and jacked it back up.

One broken arm, one badly bruised - it could have been a double amputation if no one was around.

gretsch-drummer

622 posts

156 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Not worth the risk working without stands:

https://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/breaking-m...

Mr Whippy

28,944 posts

240 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Belt and braces.

Axle stands. Chocks. Extra jacks. A helper etc.

At least that gets rid of all the main issues that could be really nasty.

MJ85

1,849 posts

173 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Horrible, horrible. Always crosses my mind and I hate watching people diving under with just a jack.

TriumphStag3.0V8

3,792 posts

80 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Never rely on a Jack. Always have secondary support in place that will not give way as well if a Jack gives up.
In fact, I always use stands or ramps and then take the jack out. Jacks are for lifting not supporting.
When on ramps I also use chocks and put a strap round the wheel holding it onto the ramp.
Always best to be safe.

Edited by TriumphStag3.0V8 on Monday 16th April 20:27

Berkshire bred

985 posts

74 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
My step dads mate died this way. Jack failed car came down and crushed him. Only found when his wife wondered what was taking him so long. Really sad.

Personally if I am under the car either ramps or axle stands. If I am only doing breaks so not under the car I am happy to use a trolley Jack.

hooblah

539 posts

86 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Darwinism at its finest. Don't see why you wouldn't use axle stands. Heard countless stories of people getting killed because the jack failed.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
I read about one in the last week or two that died. I also saw this very recently near me!


redandwhite

473 posts

128 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Saw something today which worried me. Bloke head and shoulders under the rear arch of his L200 painting his drums. Not a trolley jack or axle stand in sight , just his 'emergency use' widowmaker scissor jack!

Had I not been miles away from home I would have lent him my gear, which I have done before when seeing neighbours risking it like this 😱

milu

Original Poster:

2,346 posts

265 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Thing is this chap was using ramps so no jack to fail. I guess the handbrake didn't hold.

Alias218

1,485 posts

161 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Always, always use proper support, even if the car is off the ground for a short while. I wonder how many people would be so happy to put their heads underneath a 1.5 tonne block of concrete with insufficient support.

Mr Happy

5,694 posts

219 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
A lot of automotive youtubers use these: https://www.quickjacklift.co.uk/

They get them for free for promotional reasons, so endorsement is obvious but they do seem like a pretty good idea, only problem is that the 5000lb one (mid size) is over £1k...

interloper

2,747 posts

254 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
milu said:
Thing is this chap was using ramps so no jack to fail. I guess the handbrake didn't hold.
That's why most people in that situation use wheel chocks. Hopefully he has learnt a rather harsh lesson!

InitialDave

11,854 posts

118 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
I make a habit of, whenever I need to lift a car up, giving it a good shove around once I've got it up and supported.

RemyMartin81D

6,759 posts

204 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all

Ftw.....clearly.

lyonspride

2,978 posts

154 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all

I think one of the problems these days is a lack of proper jacking points on a lot of cars. More often than not you get the jacking points on the seam welds, which is ok if you have a 2 post ramp, but not ok if you have a floor jack and axle stands, because the jack is taking up the only jacking point........ My Mondeo is particularly bad as all the suspension components are made from pressed/shaped sheet metal instead of solid structures, so there are very few areas big enough to hold the weight.

Sam993

1,302 posts

71 months

Sunday 15th April 2018
quotequote all
Mr Happy said:
A lot of automotive youtubers use these: https://www.quickjacklift.co.uk/

They get them for free for promotional reasons, so endorsement is obvious but they do seem like a pretty good idea, only problem is that the 5000lb one (mid size) is over £1k...
What sort of anti-drop safety mechanism does a jacklift like this have. It looks like something that could fold as easily as any other jack.

Ste372

626 posts

86 months

Monday 16th April 2018
quotequote all
I had to drag my missus brother clear from his kuga after he was doing brakes using just a jack as a support. The jack twisted and collapsed.
It was pure luck that I had gone out to give him a bking, literally 20 secs before it happened. I had chucked one of his wheels under the sill area in case anything happened.

Did I get a thank you?... Nope just a load of abuse because his alloy was damaged. Better than his legs!

Mr Happy

5,694 posts

219 months

Monday 16th April 2018
quotequote all
Sam993 said:
Mr Happy said:
A lot of automotive youtubers use these: https://www.quickjacklift.co.uk/

They get them for free for promotional reasons, so endorsement is obvious but they do seem like a pretty good idea, only problem is that the 5000lb one (mid size) is over £1k...
What sort of anti-drop safety mechanism does a jacklift like this have. It looks like something that could fold as easily as any other jack.
There's a pretty hefty looking bar that locks into place when it is lifted, forward of the lifting ram.



Page 20 of the manual: http://www.asedeals.com/Ranger-QuickJack-Car-Lift-...

FWIW - I don't have a set of these, nor do I work for the people that make them.