Archive for July, 2010
« Previous Entries |Car Safety Tip #4: Axle Stands
I am giving you a safety tip on how to work under or around your car. Never ever think of crawling underneath your car or doing work around your car if it is taken off the ground but no axle stands are supporting it. Accidents that kill people happen every year when they thoughtlessly use a jack to lift up their cars. While doing work under their car, the jack slips and the car crushes down on the victim.
People have surprising and unbelievable ways to hold up their cars while working on them. One picture I saw was that of a guy who tilted up his car on the two right side wheels and then he used a 2×4 to jam under the lifted side. He sat under the car to fix his brakes and the caption of the picture proudly says “Men Can Fix Anything.” If the board accidentally slips, he won’t be fixing anything.
Axle stands, also called jack stands, are made so that they can hold up the car off the ground and they are strong enough to keep a man safe while working underneath. The stands have a flat base which can be three or four sided and they are very stable since the base is wide. You can use two methods to adjust the height of stands and both work well. The first way needs a row of holes located in the base and a support post where you have to line up the holes and then a pin is inserted through them. The lining up of different holes provides you with the advantage being able to set up the car at different heights away from the ground. The second way requires a ratcheting mechanism on the axle’s base and, on the center post, ratchet teeth. Altering the heights of the axle is fast and simple by simply ratcheting up or down the post.
When you have to do some work underneath your car, please be mindful of your safety. Use a safe support before deciding to crawl underneath or you might have a freak accident. A car landing on your body when the jack slips is a terrible scene. You would not want to be trapped underneath as your breath is slowly forced out.
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