Good call. A second part of playing it safe is to be careful of other people when running your vehicle. Whether it's bystanders in the area or someone you're letting drive your car, make sure that you choose them wisely and make sure that they understand how everything works.

In high school, my girlfriend's dad was a pretty big car guy. He let me drive his '57 Bel Air one time, so I couldn't really say no when he asked to have a turn at the wheel of my RS4 3 Evo. I made the mistake of handing over the controller before explaining exactly how to work everything. He figured out steering and throttle pretty quickly, but he was too busy watching the car going in circles to see my explaining how to apply the brakes. Sure enough, he got it moving fast enough to hit second gear and started approaching the curb at the end of the street. "You probably want to hit the brakes now," I said. "The what?" Was his response. Crash. Awkward situation, and a seriously tweaked chassis. Luckily, nothing that couldn't be hammered straight.

In terms of bystanders, be aware of your surroundings when bashing. It can be hard to notice kids/spectators coming up from behind you when you're focused on the car. Multiple times I've actually had to stop running for a while when young kids came around and wanted to be part of the action. You can't blame them, but it's simply not safe when they start riding their bikes around in the parking lot and trying to chase the car.