It worries me. What do you suggest Barbara do if I have a "medical event" while driving? – John
RAY: Well, first she should call her boyfriend and tell him the coast is clear.
Actually, John, it is an unpleasant thing to think about, but there are things Barbara can do in such an emergency.
Let’s say you’re driving, and you suddenly choke on a beef jerky at 65 mph. We don’t know the details. Is your foot still on the gas? Are you using cruise control? Are you slumped onto the steering wheel?
Let’s say all of those are true.
What Barbara wants to do is avoid driving off the road, or into a bridge abutment. So, the first step is to grab the wheel and keep the car going straight. Next, she has to get the car to stop accelerating. She’ll do that by putting the car in neutral. Whether your foot is on the gas or the cruise control is set, shifting into neutral will cause the car to coast to a stop.
You can have her practice putting the car in neutral a few times while you’re driving. Just don’t practice slumping over. She won’t find that funny.
Once she has the car in neutral, she’ll want to steer the car out of harm’s way. With her left hand on the wheel, she should be able to slowly edge the car over to the shoulder of the road.
If she really has her wits about her, show her where the emergency flashers are, and she can turn those on to alert other cars that you’re not just a lousy driver, John, but there’s an emergency.
Once the car is safely on the shoulder of the road and stopped, or almost stopped, she can put the car in park and call for help.
Hopefully, a Heimlich maneuver will bring you back so she can look forward to doing it all over again someday.
The case of the missing owner’s manual
Dear Car Talk:
We just purchased a used 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan Express. It came with a DVD, a user guide, tire information supplement, lemon law booklet and an emissions warranty brochure. But no owner’s manual.
The problem is, the DVD and user guide contain much information regarding features available on more lavishly optioned models, but leave MANY questions regarding the controls, operation and functions offered by this Express model.
As a many-decade fan of Car Talk, I'm hoping you can tell me how to get these questions answered. – Greg
RAY: The Express was the cheapest of the Grand Caravans offered in 2011, Greg. They called it the Express because they made it so fast, they didn't have time to put any options in it. In fact, there was also the Super Express, which zipped through the assembly line so fast they didn't have time to install seats or a steering wheel.
Mechanically, the Grand Caravans were all pretty much the same. So, I’m not sure what you’re having trouble figuring out.
The cheaper, manual controls on the Grand Caravan Express are usually easier to use, if anything, because they’re so basic. Like the twist tie that keeps the hood closed.
But if you need help, I’d suggest the last resort for car owners, Greg: The actual owner’s manual.
There’s a website called Manuals Library (www.manualslib.com). If you search for “2011 Grand Caravan Express owner’s manual,” you’ll find the full, 550-page tome there.
You can then search and read it online or download it and spend $850 in ink so you can print it out and read it in your easy chair. Enjoy.
About the Author