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The Rovering Member · 17th July 2019, 00:57

Many years ago l parked my company Transit-type Mercedes van outside a bakers to get a pasty & a roll. Snack purchased l exited the shop to find an empty space where l thought l'd left the van. I looked down the gently sloping high Street (Ongar in Essex) & spotted it on the opposite side of the road hard up against the substantial stone doorstep of a straight-onto-the-street house. No-one around it & no wrecked cars (parked or otherwise) or angry/injured people to tell of it's recent progress from its temporary resting spot up the street. The road curved to the left which was the main reason it had come to rest where it had, completely on the wide pavement at an angle from the undamaged house, with the nearside front wheel pushed well-back by the impact with the large hunk of granite.
Anyway l knocked on the door & a lady answered it to me & my stranded van. She expressed mild surprise at the sight & exclaimed that she hadn't heard a thing.
l asked if l could use her phone & ended up in her lounge with a cup of tea & her child(ren?), there may have been two, phoning the company to arrange recovery & l'm pretty sure the police too. Then her husband arrived home possibly while the police were there to have the situation related to him. It was all taken in very good part & everyone was aware that the episode could have ended with far, far worse repercussions than it had & when the recovery man turned up he expressed the view more than once that l should 'go out on the pull' that very evening as it was my lucky day, and l was inclined to agree with him.
No fault was found with the handbrake & l have no idea how it released it's grip. I exited the van in no great rush & it was there as l walked to the shop. It picked the right time to do what it did though as no-one at all even saw it's short, unoccupied journey. Well, no-one who found the sight unusual enough to remark on it anyway.
The manager arranged a disiplinary meeting with myself & the union rep' but he forgot to turn up so no more was said about it.

17th July 2019, 00:57	#8
The Rovering Member I really should get out more....... Rover 75 saloon Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: London Posts: 2,958 Thanks: 263 Thanked 538 Times in 431 Posts	Many years ago l parked my company Transit-type Mercedes van outside a bakers to get a pasty & a roll. Snack purchased l exited the shop to find an empty space where l thought l'd left the van. I looked down the gently sloping high Street (Ongar in Essex) & spotted it on the opposite side of the road hard up against the substantial stone doorstep of a straight-onto-the-street house. No-one around it & no wrecked cars (parked or otherwise) or angry/injured people to tell of it's recent progress from its temporary resting spot up the street. The road curved to the left which was the main reason it had come to rest where it had, completely on the wide pavement at an angle from the undamaged house, with the nearside front wheel pushed well-back by the impact with the large hunk of granite. Anyway l knocked on the door & a lady answered it to me & my stranded van. She expressed mild surprise at the sight & exclaimed that she hadn't heard a thing. l asked if l could use her phone & ended up in her lounge with a cup of tea & her child(ren?), there may have been two, phoning the company to arrange recovery & l'm pretty sure the police too. Then her husband arrived home possibly while the police were there to have the situation related to him. It was all taken in very good part & everyone was aware that the episode could have ended with far, far worse repercussions than it had & when the recovery man turned up he expressed the view more than once that l should 'go out on the pull' that very evening as it was my lucky day, and l was inclined to agree with him. No fault was found with the handbrake & l have no idea how it released it's grip. I exited the van in no great rush & it was there as l walked to the shop. It picked the right time to do what it did though as no-one at all even saw it's short, unoccupied journey. Well, no-one who found the sight unusual enough to remark on it anyway. The manager arranged a disiplinary meeting with myself & the union rep' but he forgot to turn up so no more was said about it. __________________ Reducing the size of my Rover fleet by adding a 75 to it. Last edited by The Rovering Member; 17th July 2019 at 01:03..