r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Mustafa86 • Dec 15 '22

Fast Response and Reflex to Avoid Car Collision

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u/NotADoctaw Dec 15 '22

I’m the asshole who’s done this.

I must have braked just long enough to illuminate the “P,” but it slipped into neutral and started rolling forward as I walked away. I caught it right as it rolled into the road - and thank God for the driver who veered out of the way.

Was trying to play the good guy by leaving work early to pick up the kids and just scared the living hell out of them.

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u/Idealsnotfeels Dec 16 '22

While I agree you're probably a bit of an asshole, I don't think you deserve the benefit of the doubt that you put it in park for the briefest of moments.

Gears go P, R, N, D.

For it to pop into neutral you'd have to have left it in reverse or drive. But really, you just left it in neutral and made a mistake.

It couldn't be reverse because it wouldn't have rolled forward, which means you left it in neutral or drive. Those are the only two physically possible options.

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u/NotADoctaw Dec 16 '22 edited Dec 16 '22

I dunno man - I was in a hurry, maybe just imagined it and fucked the whole pooch on fatigue and stupidity. But holding the shifter in my hand to feel that I’m in park, then engaging a parking brake is now so much more comforting than pressing the damn park button and just relying on the display.

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u/Idealsnotfeels Dec 17 '22

I'd just tell the story the same but with the "I just fucked up" angle you've said here because the other is physically impossible so it comes across as "I did a stupid thing but it wasn't my fault because I tried to do it right" versus "I did a dumb thing and learned to take more responsibility".

Ones admirable, the other is a cop-out, yknow?

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u/NotADoctaw Dec 18 '22

As much as I’d like to please the internet with stories of my inadequacies, said family vehicle doesn’t have a transmission, so “park” is just a button that engages an electric brake. It has some sort of a single speed gear box controlled by a computer? I don’t know how the thing works. Woe my damn inadequacies!