Why neutral is important
A woman got trapped in her vehicle at a car wash in Belgium after she forgot to put her vehicle in neutral. She speeded forward 30 meters, destroying a large part of the car wash system.
The incident happened in Carwash Becqué in Welle, a small town in Belgium. “The woman drove from the beginning of the car wash full throttle through it,” said Geert Van Driessche, the owner of the car wash. “She crashed into our first dryer 30 meters away without braking. This dryer toppled over on top of her car.”
The vehicle then got stuck between the machines. It took firefighters more than three hours to remove it from under the damaged dryers.
The woman was taken to the hospital. “There she was discharged an hour later,” Van Driessche said. “Fortunately, she did not have any serious injuries. The fire department had a lot of work getting the car out of the car wash. The car wash was badly damaged. A real havoc.”
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“The car wash is partly destroyed,” said the owner of Carwash Becqué.
Neutral is essential
Van Driessche has often seen people fail to put their cars in neutral. “But then their first reflex is to push on the brake pedal. This woman probably must have panicked and pressed the gas pedal. That’s why the damage is so big.”
The financial damage is currently being assessed, after which the insurance company will take care of the rest. According to the owner, the damage may be as high as €100,000. Meanwhile, the insurer has opened a file. The business owner wonders if the insurance company will reimburse everything.
First time
For Van Driessche, it is the first time he has been confronted with such substantial damage. Because of the ordeal, the car wash will probably remain closed for several weeks. A large part of the installation has to be replaced. The carwash has received a lot of support from other car washes, as well as from the municipality.
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