Preventing Accidents

[Anchor Lead]

An SUV parked on an incline rolled down the road to cause an accident on Thursday. Let's find out why such accidents occur and how to prevent them.

[Pkg]

An SUV is seen rolling down a slope. Then the vehicle gradually picks up speed and crosses the intersection, plowing into the cars and people on the other side. Apparently, the unoccupied vehicle, which had been parked on a slope, rolled down the hill to cause the accident. The biggest cause of accidents on slopes is from drivers mistakenly thinking that their cars wouldn't move if they just set their parking brake.

[Soundbite] Prof. Shin Won-hyang(Ajou Motor College) : "People tend to think everything's okay once the parking brake is set. But the more you use the parking brake, the wider the gap between the brake lining and the drum grows, thereby loosening the brake."

This is why the transmission should be placed in "park" before setting the parking brake when parking on a hill. Also, turn the steering wheel completely so that the front wheels point toward the curb. There is one more thing to remember.

[Soundbite] Park Cheon-su(Samsung Traffic Safety Research Institute) : "It's best to place wheel chocks behind the wheels, but small rocks would be enough to make parking safer."

Tragic accidents can be prevented with these simple parking practices.