I learned the hard way a long time ago to never park downhill in a grocery
store parking lot. Even if it means a long walk to the store, I always
park at the top of an incline, if there is one. I've seen too many run
away carts smack into cars.
On a similar note, my wife and I were walking through the parking lot of a
lakeside lodge/resort one day and noticed a fully loaded maid/housekeeping
cart rolling across the lot towards parked cars. No maid was anywhere in
sight. I sprinted (which is probably a funny sight in of itself) as fast
as I could knowing it was going to be a close call before it rammed a car.
I grabbed the cart handle with little room to spare and was instantly
surprised and alarmed how much inertia and momentum the heavy cart had. It
was all I could physically do to slow and finally stop the cart literally
a couple of feet from the side of a car. I probably looked like I was
water skiing behind it with my heels dragging. Then a maid came running
up uttering various apologies as she took the cart. I'd hate to think
what that much weight and momentum would have done to the side of a car
and whether housekeeping would have fessed up and reported it to
management. I'm sure the owner of the car never knew how close they had
come to walking out and finding a nasty surprise.
-Greg Hutmacher
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 20:59:50 -0400
From: "Jim Muller" <jimmuller@pop.mail.rcn.net>
Subject: musings in a supermarket parking lot
...some guy unloaded a cart about 30 yards
uphill from us and then sent it rolling freely downhill. I saw it
coming but neither Sharon nor I could get out of the car fast enough
to stop it. It banged *HARD* into the front bumper of the old Volvo
next to us, then rebounded more slowly in our direction...
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