I am sure this has been discussed here before but I think it needs to be brought up again. It was brought to my mind by working on my own truck.
I read in my daily paper last week of a 18 year old young man, in a town 15 miles north of me, that was working underneath his car. He had his car supported with just a scissor jack. It came down and crushed his chest. Poor kid didn't have a chance. I wish SOMEONE would have taught him vehicle repair safety.

If you do have to jack up your car to get under it;
1. Only jack up your vehicle on a hard, level surface preferably concrete.
2. Only use jack stands that are weight rated for your vehicle. Concrete blocks are NOT adequate jack stands. They have been known to collapse. The jack that came with your vehicle is to be used to change a flat tire only. It is not meant to be used as a jack stand while you are under your vehicle.
3. After you get the jack stands in place and have the car properly supported, leave the jack underneath in the "up" position. It will act as a third support in case the vehicle would happen to shift.
4. If you are jacking up just one end of the vehicle, put wheel chocks under the wheels on the opposite end to prevent rolling. Set the parking brake if you can.

I was young, 18, and felt invincible once. I was lucky and not so smart. I am older and wiser now. I hope others pass along this message and live a long life also.

 

wow thats so sad, i remember a couple years back one of my cars fell off the scissor jack , luckily i hadn't started working onit yet, it only proved how important safety is when working on cars and not alot of places practice or teach that which i think is horrible

 

My standard is I don't work under anything that can fail and take me out, and I don't hesitate to get in someones face if I see them doing unsafe acts. Annoying your friends is better than planting them.

 

I am thankful I grew up in my fathers garage, no car goes up if there isn't stands to put under it period. no stands don't lift it. I continuously working on that one with my son (16 knows everything)

 

yeah i remember 16 i thought i was invincible i think every 16 year old guy does

 

My 16 y/o son and I work on his car in my garage quite a bit, and he will never go under his car w/o jack stands firmly in place. I remember working on cars at his age w/o them as I was once young and dumb. You can't fix you're car if you are dead. I'm sorry to hear about that young man.

 

ive seen so many scissor jacks fail i just dont use them for $50 i bought a small rolling jack and use that to lift the car but no matter what kind of jack it is id never go under a car on a jack

 

 

I can say I was lucky too. I was never taught to use jack stands until a friend saw me working in a car with out them and asked me to come out from under it.I have always taught all 3 of my sons to use jack stands and never work under a car or truck without them.

I'm sorry to hear about that young man.

 

Safety is overlooked everyday isn't it? About a month ago just a few miles from where I work, a yound man crawled under his truck to start it. It died at a gas station, or wouldn't start after fueling, not sure. Anyway, the truck was appearantly an older truck and a manual trans cause as the truck was cranked it rolled onto his chest. He died at the hospital from injuries sustained in the accident.

I know it's easier a lot of the time to do something quickly instead of safely because "you've done it before", but think about everyone you care about before you do something unsafe, they'll be thinking of you if you die...

 

I'll change tires with a jack, but that's about it. I won't go under unless it's up on jack stands. Scissor jacks can tip over, and hydraulic jacks can blow a seal.

Jason

 

I hope when I have kids they're not that stupid.

 

Only if YOU teach them CORRECTLY! It isn't up to someone else to do it, it will be your responsibility. From what I have read here, people are doing just that. Teaching. We don't need to lose anyone else to a preventable accident. A big "THANK YOU!" to all.

Two of my sayings I told my kids;

"No, I don't have any extra money for bail, so stay out of trouble!"

" I can't afford to take time off work to go to your funeral!"
So far, so good.

 

My dad taught me not to be stupid. If I didn't look both ways crossing the street I got a smack. If my sister didn't look both ways crossing the street I got a smack. Same for not wearing seat belts, talking to strangers, staying out late.

Dad used to sit in the kitchen and watch while I worked on my first car. He didn't like that old car spilling oil all over the front of the house. But he didn't want to drive me to work either. So the first couple of times he'd always come out and check the car was secure. We didn't have jack stands so I used thick logs of wood instead. Dad would rock the car back and forth and bounce it up and down to make sure it was safe. Then he'd sit in the kitchen and drink and watch thru the window. He hated me working on that car and he'd give me dirty looks. But as I got better at it, he even let me work on his new car.

 

websthes...When you have kids, I am confident you will do alright. Here's to all those who taught us safety, whether it was Dad, a teacher, grandpa, or someone special. Cheers!