How to Keep Your Car from Sliding Down the Driveway
Have you ever had to pull your car into a higher garage than it should be?
It’s happened to all of us, and it’s generally not pretty. Your car can back out of the garage the same way.
The walk-in drive scenario is the new walk-away drive scenario for car owners. You no longer have to worry about your car backing into the house; now, you have to worry about it back out.
It’s not as easy as it sounds, though. It would be best to make sure that the entrance to your garage is secure, that the angle is right, and that your driveway is as level as possible.
Follow these steps to prevent this from happening to prevent your car from sliding down the driveway.
Table of Contents
Make Sure Your Garage Is Wide Enough
This is the most important tip of all. If you have a small car, you need a wide garage.
A small car can fit in a standard garage, but a wide one will let you fit in more important things like your car seats and a golf bag.
If you have a small car, make sure that it’s placed to have room to maneuver. If not, you could have difficulty getting it out of the garage and into the driveway.
Make Sure Your Garage Door Is Closed
As with so many things in life, you are closing your garage door is better left to an expert. While you can probably force your car’s garage door to open and close by hand, it’s not a good idea.
If you need to close your garage door, use the keypad on your garage door opener or the buttons on your garage door transmitter.
Ensure that the lever is set so that the door will close fully and that no one else is using the garage when you’re trying to open it.
Secure The Door
This one’s pretty easy. If your car has a driver’s door, lock it. If you have a pass-through door, turn the key in the ignition to PARK.
Now, while your car is parked in this “open” position, keep the door closed. You don’t want your friends and family to see your car like this.
While your car is closed, you need to make sure that the door to your garage is secure. How do you do that?
There are many ways.
- Find the center of your door. There may be an anchor point for the door on one side. If there isn’t, find one and lock it. Make sure to use an anti-theft lock, not a normal door lock.
- Place a couple of books or other heavy objects on one side of the door. This will provide extra support for the door, making it less likely to budge.
- Secure the other side of the door. This may seem like a no-brainer, but many people leave their doors wide open. It’s better to have a door that can’t be easily opened than to have it open and shut. The same goes for the garage. If you have a garage door, ensure it’s securely in place.
- Ensure that anyone who opens the door for you—whether it’s at the end of the day or during the night—knows where the door is. This is important even if you have kids.
- If you let them play in your garage, they could easily find their way to your car and open the door for it.
Secure Your Driveway
Keeping your driveway clean and tarmac cable is another way to prevent your car from sliding. An obvious one is to ensure that there is no debris, leaves, or leaves lying on the ground.
You should also always maintain your car’s tires. It’s important to keep your car’s tires properly inflated and clean. If not, your car could develop a flat, becoming a dangerous condition.
Avoid Back-Door Exits
As much as you would like to have everyone in your family and friends over for dinner, it’s not a good idea. You would be driving the cars in, and there would be no place to escape quickly if something went wrong.
If you don’t have a garage that can accommodate a larger crowd, you can always try the back-door entry.
But make sure that the back-door exit on your end is secure. If not, someone could easily back out of the garage and into the street, causing a car accident.
The Right Angle
One of the biggest causes of car trouble is a misaligned car. A misaligned car is off-kilter in some way. If you have a car that’s wide enough and tall enough but has a slight misalignment, it can become a serious problem.
To prevent misalignment, you need to find something that helps you keep track of your car’s angle.
Ideally, you want to keep track of your car’s angle using GPS. If you’re not able to do this, you can also use an aligning tool or a carpenter’s square.
Another way to keep track of your angle is to use angle iron. These are available at hardware stores and are pretty cheap to buy. You can use them to keep your garage floor level.
Stay On The Right Side Of The Garage
Despite what you may have heard, you don’t have to stick to your car’s right side of the garage. It’s the opposite. The closer you are to the road, the more your car will be parallel to the ground.
If you have a small car, you can benefit from the extra room that a wide garage gives you. A small car requires a tight alignment to stay parallel to the ground.
Don’t Back Out Of Your Garage The Same Way
One problem with backing out of the garage the same way that you entered is that you’re always trying to go backward.
- To avoid this, try backing out of the garage in the opposite direction that you came in.
- If that doesn’t work, try reversing your direction to see if that helps.
- Then, if not, you have to back out of the garage the same way you came in.
- If you’re having trouble with this, try standing on the other side of the car.
This will help you see what direction the garage is in and will help you avoid making the same mistakes that led to your garage door problems in the first place.
Make Sure Your Driveway Is Level
One thing that your wide garage will need is space to operate. If you have a small car and a small driveway, you’re in trouble.
However, If not, your car can easily overhang the curb or base of your driveway by a couple of feet.
If your car does overhang the driveway, you need to make sure that it does so at an angle. An angle is less secure than a flat surface.
To keep your car from sliding, you need to parallel park it.
If you can’t do that, go the extra mile and parallel park in a curve.
Avoid Parking In Curves
If you have to park in a curve, it will affect your ability to parallel park and force you to drive on more sharply edged surfaces.
If a curve is very noticeable, you can try parking on the other side of the curve, but you can always back up if it’s too bad to pull over and park on the other side of the curve.
Securely Fasten Your Car To The Car Jack
We know that carjacks aren’t something most people have on-site, but having them nearby is always a good idea. It can help you keep your garage door from opening by accident, and it can also prevent your car from moving when you’re not using it.
Just make sure that the ground isn’t slippery or covered with any other loose material that could get in the way of your vulnerable car.
Make Sure Your Car Is Properly Aligned
This one is pretty important. If you have a fast car, it’s very important to keep it parallel to the ground and parallel to the car jack. This means that the car’s nose is not pointed up.
Turn Your Car Around Before Backing Out
The final tip is to turn your car around before backing out. This will prevent your car from sliding down the driveway. If you’re struggling to get your car out of the garage, it’s probably because the door is being held shut by the car itself.
Try to open the garage door in the opposite direction you’re going: If it still doesn’t open, don’t worry; it probably just needs good yanking.
If you still can’t get your car out, your garage is probably too low. However, If your car is above average height for an American car, it may be too low for your garage.
If it is, this article will help you raise your car. If it isn’t, then your car can stay where it is.
The most important thing is to make sure that your car is safe before trying anything else.
Read Also
Final Words
In conclusion, here are some tips on how to keep your car from sliding down the driveway:
- Keep your car from sliding down the driveway by checking that your garage door is closed, that you’re properly aligned, and that your driveway is as level as possible.
- Don’t back out of your garage the same way you came in. This will prevent you from having a chance to correct your garage door problems.
- Turn your car around before backing out. This will prevent your car from sliding down the driveway.
- If you’re struggling to get your car out of the garage, it’s probably because the door is being held shut by the car itself.
- Try to open the garage door in the opposite direction you’re going.
- If it still doesn’t open, don’t worry; it probably just needs good yanking.