When we use the car, we are obliged to operate it
in accordance with the manual. So lets have a quick look at it...
How to put the brake on:
Quote:
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Pull the lever up fully. To release it, pull up slightly, push the button, and lower the lever.
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If the person seeking compensation admitted to pressing the button when raising the lever, then this may harm their case. Though it would probably be argued that if pressing the button on brake application should harm the operation, then this should be mentioned in the manual.
Parking:
Quote:
- If the vehicle is facing uphill, turn the front wheels away from the curb, and put the transmission in first gear.
- If the vehicle is facing downhill, turn the front wheels toward the curb, and put the transmission in reverse gear.
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Now, if I were defending Honda in a court, it would be very easy to simply point to these paragraphs in the instruction book, and state that the car was not operated as instructed. And if I were the litigant, I wouldn't know what to say.
The parking brake is as likely to hold the car on the hill as the engine is to power you down the road. It should do and it probably will do, but it might not. So it's best to think of what may happen when there is a single point of failure. Especially when it's a single string powered notoriously unreliable device such as this.
Very sadly, I suspect that this may lead to a new placard fitted to the dash on all cars from all manufacturers (the parking brake is essentially the same in all cars) stating something like "When parked, leave in gear".