diff --git a/src/libcollections/vec.rs b/src/libcollections/vec.rs
index e010c32f8ea..efcb5d2ceb3 100644
--- a/src/libcollections/vec.rs
+++ b/src/libcollections/vec.rs
@@ -497,10 +497,11 @@ impl<T> Vec<T> {
         unsafe {
             // drop any extra elements
             while len < self.len {
-                // decrement len before the read(), so a panic on Drop doesn't
-                // re-drop the just-failed value.
+                // decrement len before the drop_in_place(), so a panic on Drop
+                // doesn't re-drop the just-failed value.
                 self.len -= 1;
-                ptr::read(self.get_unchecked(self.len));
+                let len = self.len;
+                ptr::drop_in_place(self.get_unchecked_mut(len));
             }
         }
     }