Committed to Safety Alert 0798 Dangers of parking

Committed to Safety Alert 07/98 Dangers of parking cars on a sloping road/driveway Background A car accident occurred recently in RAS al Hamra when a 4 WD vehicle, after being parked and locked on a hill, rolled towards another 4 WD parked behind, resulting in a collision. Inside the second vehicle were two children. One sustained small wounds due to shattered glass, the other was unharmed. Two other children, who were standing outside of the second vehicle had to move quickly out of the way of the rolling vehicle to avoid being crushed. Cause of the incident The possible causes of this accident are: - A failure in the car handbrake system, and / or - Inadequate setting of the handbrake. - Non familiarity with risks of parking on sloping road. Learning Points and Action to Prevent Recurrence - Ensure that your car handbrake is serviced regularly by a professional at your official car dealer. - Test the handbrake reliability/efficiency yourself (while staying in control of your car). - Preferably park your car in a dedicated parking place. If not possible, anticipate hazards prior to leaving your car “as it is”. - When you decide to park your car on a sloping road, we recommend you to do the following: 1) car with a manual gearbox hand break ON and once the car engine is stopped, engage one gear (preferably the 2 nd gear). 2) car with an automatic gearbox, leave the gearbox on “P” (parking) position and hand break ON - Don’t leave children alone inside a car. - Switch off your engine as soon as you decide to leave your car even “just for two minutes”.