Risks of Push Starting Your Car

Safety features that have been added over the past 50 years can work against you.

You can sometimes push-start cars with manual transmissions when the battery is dead. This can be done safely under the proper conditions, but it can also be quite dangerous.

No Driver

No traffic, wide open road, solo attempt to push start a car down a hill.

Never try to push-start a car by yourself. You may get it rolling, then risk running yourself over if you trip while trying to hop in the car. If you're on a hill, you may not be able to catch your car before it runs out of control. You might also push the car past a street sign or fire hydrant that slams the door shut--hopefully not on you.

No Brakes

It is easier to push a car onto a railroad track than off one.

Power brakes require a vacuum from a running engine. If you are push-starting the car and it doesn't start, the power brakes will be useless. You can still stop the car by exerting a lot of pressure on the brake pedal.

Steering is Locked

What are the chances of hitting that one tree?

If you forget to put the key in the ignition, you may have no steering when the car is rolling. See how much fun it is trying putting the key in the ignition when the car is rolling down an incline toward an obstacle.

Pusher's Dangers

Murphy's Law is more comprehensive than auto insurance.

If you have a pusher and a driver, the pusher risks injury when you pop the clutch to start the car. Popping the clutch causes the car to slow down and the pusher can slam into the back of the car. If you are push-starting the car with another vehicle, the deceleration of the pushed car can cause the cars' bumpers to lock.

Traffic

Getting up to speed can be a problem.

The obvious danger of push-starting the car on the road is you will undoubtedly be going slower than the traffic. If the car doesn't start, now you have a dead vehicle in the path of following traffic. In the final analysis, consider calling for professional assistance if you're stuck.

References

• Hubpages; How to Push Start or Jump Start a Car