To go to the press?

[29herzie]

So, WIBU to take the following to the papers or does anyone have a better suggestion?

We hired a car a few weeks ago on holiday. It turned out that it had an electric parking brake (no handbrake). DH discovered that the only way to know if this button hand been pressed (and if the brake was on) was a tiny red light on the dashboard. DH is colourblind and couldn't see the light in the sun. The car then rolled off down the hill, luckily without my DCs in the back and ended up 'only' demolishing a fence. We were in the Alps and so could have been much worse.

We are currently still waiting on the outcome of the dispute with the car hire company about this, but I also contacted the car manufacturer. I believe there is a design flaw that they need to address. They have just come back to me to say that it's nothing to do with them and we need to make our needs known to a hire company in future. I am not happy with this and feel that they should be thinking about making sure their cars are safe to drive, DH can't be the only driver who is red/green colourblind?

What do you think?

[araiba]

do you really want to humiliate your husband and yourself in the press?

[limitedperiodonly]

I'm answering a straight question, not adding my interpretation to to it.

In my opinion, it's worth talking to a journalist. I am a journalist and I am interested by this. Not interested enough to take it up, because it's not my field. But a motoring or consumer rights journalist might do it. They might not, but it's worth calling to find out. Why not?

I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm saying that my opinion on that matter counts more than all the other people on this thread who aren't journalists but said a journalist wouldn't be interested. They are wrong, aren't they?

When writing a story such as this, it doesn't matter how a good or even an average person would drive. What matters is whether a large enough proportion of drivers are in charge of a car with a design feature that might confuse them and lead them to cause an accident.

The driving test is not an IQ test. Billions of people all over the world have a licence. Many of them are very stupid. Therefore I want cars to be as simple to operate as possible because I don’t want stupid people to kill me.

Apologies to your DH OP. I’m not saying he’s stupid. But he may have discovered a problem with that car that other people are too stupid to comprehend.

It would nice if you could bring these matters to the attention of the manufacturer and they would investigate it promptly and seriously. But given the costs of recalling millions of items and settling claims arising from a possible fault, businesses are tempted to brush off callers, as they did with the OP.

A recent case is the VW emissions scandal. Or the Beko fridge freezer fire risk where a man called Santosh Benjamin died after an internal email about a serious fault said "we don’t need to recall these products”.

Beko did eventually recall them but sadly a year too late for Mr Benjamin who died saving his children.

That's how journalists approach a potential story of this kind. Often it's nothing but sometimes, like with Thalidomide for instance, it's something and manufacturers lie because it's too expensive to admit the truth.

It's okay for you not to have thought of it that way. But it's not okay for you to tell me I don't read things or am piss poor at my job.

[SoupDragon]

So, journalists never bother to read what someone actually said and what actually happened...? File me under U for Unsurprised...

[HortonWho]

I don't know if you're trying to discredit yourself or impress someone but failing to read the OP but then continuously comment and misquote is pretty piss poor "journalism"

[limitedperiodonly]

I'm looking at the title.

But then I can be quite literal. Journalists often are. It helps us when deciding in a moment whether to say: 'Tell me more' or 'That's not one for us.'

When I have more time I sometimes tell people to try someone else. If I'm feeling especially nice I might give them a name.

I'm racking my brains, but I don't think I've ever advised someone to put a brick under their wheel.

[SoupDragon]

What she actually asked was WIBU to take the following to the papers or does anyone have a better suggestion?.... What do you think?

[SoupDragon]

Surely the only answer is: if you want.

Clearly not.

[limitedperiodonly]

She asked AIBU to go to the Press?

Surely the only answer is: if you want.

I say that as a journalist. I welcome people calling me with potential stories. That's how I make my living.

In this case I'd say: 'That's not one for me. Why don't you call a motoring or a consumer rights journalist? They might be interested. Goodbye.'

[HortonWho]

She asked what people thought. Lots of people pointed out this was caused by driver's error not a design fault.

[limitedperiodonly]

I don't think limited understand the difference between a faulty design feature and human error.

Of course I do.

What I'm saying is that if the OP thinks she has discovered a design fault then she is at liberty to bring it to the attention of the press.

They might be interested. They might not be. That's what she asked. She wasn't asking for a driving lesson.

[SoupDragon]

I always park my car in gear and always have. Apart from the time a year or 2 back when I came back to find my car across the car park from where I'd left it. I haven't forgotten since!

[BarbaraofSeville]

When I learnt to drive in the UK 25 years ago, I was taught to leave it in gear and as far as I'm aware, everyone who I have been in a car with leaves the car in gear.

Do most people out there (in the UK) park their cars in neutral?

[HortonWho]

Obli, they are. Every single driving instructor will tell you that you must secure the car. It's just that most of the time you're not on a hill, and will therefore put it in neutral. I don't think limited understand the difference between a faulty design feature and human error.

[Obladioblada]

In the Alps it's also generally recommended to wedge a rock under one of the tyres...I'm completely baffled as to why this isn't taught in the UK!

Massive selective quote there Limitedperiodonly. I was actually referring to the fact that in most of Europe (certainly all countries in the Alpine region, as well as Scandinavia) parking in gear is very much standard, whether on a slope or not. Wedging a rock under a tyre on particularly steep alpine slopes is additional (but generally seen as a good idea).

Just to reiterate: I'm still baffled why UK drivers aren't taught to always park their cars in gear as I can't see any good reason not to do this, but plenty of excellent reasons to do so.

Hortonwho thank you for confirming that this is also recommended by the UK highway code.

Once again: never, ever rely on the hand brake - it hasn't been designed to stop a car from rolling down a hill!

[BunnyTyler]

I can see the point about a possible design fault, but if OP doesn't say what the handbrake indication was then how can anyone really understand if it is an unusual indication or not.
Generally, the handbrake is identified as 'on' by one of these symbols (manual & electric brake).

[limitedperiodonly]

Pretty sure if the car had killed someone when it rolled down the hill the police wouldn't accept "oh I couldn't see the light because I'm colour blind so I just left it and hoped for the best. My bad"


I don't think you understand.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be run over and killed by a car that had its handbrake left off because of a design feature that isn't easily understood.

From what the OP and some other people have said, this might be a problem in that some people operating the cars don't understand it.

Maybe they're stupid and you're really clever. Maybe they should have read the manual.

It really doesn't matter because I'd be just as dead.

If the OP thinks it is a problem then she has a duty to bring it to someone's attention.

And probably not just to the manufacturers, because like when VW were faced with the prospect of recalling 11 million cars, they decided to lie instead.

Still trust car companies, do you?

[HortonWho]

Rule 252 of the U.K. Highway Code specifies which gear to secure a car parked up or downhill.

www.highwaycode.info/rule/252


Some people just don't practice it.

[limitedperiodonly]

The lengths people will go to to try and wriggle out of responsibility

I'd go quite far to avoid being landed with an enormous bill I didn't think was my fault. Wouldn't you?

It will all come out in the wash, won't it? So what does it matter to you?

[limitedperiodonly]

In the Alps it's also generally recommended to wedge a rock under one of the tyres...I'm completely baffled as to why this isn't taught in the UK!

Maybe the UK driving test was devised by someone from Essex. We don't really get a lot of elk ambling across the roads round here either.

That could be dangerous if taking a holiday in the Arctic Circle but is not a hazard I've ever encountered.

[Obladioblada]

Haven't RTFT but wanted to warn you that if the hire company is based in mainland Europe then your DH will also be blamed for leaving the car in neutral, on a hill. I learned to drive on the Continent and it was DRILLED into us that you ALWAYS leave the car in gear, and especially on a hill. The engine brake is by far the most important and the hand brake is just there for extra security. A car left in gear will not roll away, whereas hand brakes can (and do) fail. They're mainly intended for use during hill starts and were never designed to hold a parked car on a steep slope. In the Alps it's also generally recommended to wedge a rock under one of the tyres.

I'm completely baffled as to why this isn't taught in the UK! You may have more luck if it's a UK hire company and insurance, but in most other places I think your DH will be considered responsible for the damage on the basis that he didn't secure the car.

[ComposHatComesBack]

in his role in the army, despite his colourblindness, because the lights inside don't go from red to green and vice versa.


I always wanted to be a train driver, but because the signal lights aren't in a regular pattern on the railways (often a single lamp has a green yellow and orange light) they don't let the colour blind drive trains or work on the tracks or platforms.

[BunnyTyler]

Have checked the indication on my car for 'handbrake on' in the spirit of research.

I have a Hyundai, and the light on the dash is:
Red
The symbol is: ( ! )

The same handbrake indication as I have had on my old manual cars.
Regardless of colour, it is an obvious on/off distinctive symbol which cannot be confused with anything else.

OP, what make was the hire car? What format was the dash indication?

[maplerose]

My land rover has an electronic handbrake. It comes on automatically as soon as I turn the engine off. I actually thought that was a pretty standard safety feature but obviously not.