# Do you use your car's parking/emergency brake daily? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413 "2012-04-10T22:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/81 "2012-04-12T01:45:23Z")
I get your point about “park” but I’m not sure it has such a thing as a sprocket. As I understand it, there are no physical gears. > **[Continuously variable transmission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuously_variable_transmission)** > > A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an automatic transmission that can change through a continuous range of gear ratios. This contrasts with other transmissions that provide a limited number of gear ratios in fixed steps. The flexibility of a CVT with suitable control may allow the engine to operate at a constant RPM while the vehicle moves at varying speeds. > CVTs are used in cars, tractors, side-by-sides, motor scooters, snowmobiles, bicycles, and earthmoving equipment. The most com... ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/82 "2012-04-12T01:58:10Z")
Okay, it looks like it does have a “parking pawl” except that it’s labeled “parking brake pawl”. Maybe that just means that it acts like a brake, or maybe it means that the parking brake causes it to engage somehow. I don’t know. It’s part # 6 on this diagram. [www.hondapartsunlimited.com/find-parts/Honda/INSIGHT/2010/5DR](http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/find-parts/Honda/INSIGHT/2010/5DR) EX/KACVT/AT STARTING CLUTCH ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/83 "2012-04-12T02:15:30Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I get your point about “park” but I’m not sure it has such a thing as a sprocket. As I understand it, there are no physical gears. > [Continuously variable transmission - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuously_variable_transmission) > [@davidm](#): > > Okay, it looks like it does have a “parking pawl” except that it’s labeled “parking brake pawl”. Maybe that just means that it acts like a brake, or maybe it means that the parking brake causes it to engage somehow. I don’t know. > It’s part # 6 on this diagram. > [www.hondapartsunlimited.com/find-parts/Honda/INSIGHT/2010/5DR](http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/find-parts/Honda/INSIGHT/2010/5DR) EX/KACVT/AT STARTING CLUTCH Same car I have, neither here nor there however. What I’m saying is that whether you have a 4 speed automatic, 5 speed automatic, CVT etc and whatever style, internally, of automatic transmission you have, it doesn’t matter. The parking mechanism is independent of it. The parking pawl locks into a sprocket on a gear that only works with the parking mechanism…ooooh, I see where the mix up is. The gear that it locks into isn’t one of the gears that has anything to do with driving. That gear (to the best of my knowledge) is on the end of the transmission’s output shaft. It doesn’t no what’s going on before it. All it knows is that a spinning shaft is coming into it and when the cable/wire/linkage is pulled it has to make that shaft stop spinning. ETA, if you look at the diagram you linked to, there are two shafts coming out of the transmission. Look at the upper one, on the left end of it you can see a sprocket. I _believe_ that’s the sprocket the pawl would lock into. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/84 "2012-04-12T02:16:45Z")
Corvairs with automatics had no parking pawl. If I remember correctly, neither did some early air-cooled VW automatics. Yep, I’m posting while bored. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/85 "2012-04-12T15:01:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Why does an automatic bother to have the parking pawl? Why not design it just like the manual transmission, so when you park, you just put it in neutral (or gear) and set the parking brake? Because you don’t want the weight of the vehicle resting on the gear teeth if you can help it. In order to incorporate a pawl into a manual transmission you’d have to add a position for the lever, which would make it more difficult to use (not to mention adding the risk of accidentally engaging park instead of the next gear). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/86 "2012-04-12T15:17:18Z")
I drive a manual so I always use the parking break. When I drive someones automatic, I use it too, but probably out of habit. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/87 "2012-04-12T16:17:15Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Huh. Never heard of this being a problem and have never experienced it. I [Googled](http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/emergency-brakes3.htm) as I realized I’d never read about e-brakes freezing, only heard it. I always leave it in first. I’ve heard people say they’re worried about being struck while parked, is that the only reason to leave it in neutral? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/88 "2012-04-12T16:32:12Z")
Brake. BRAKE. _Break_ is what you car does if you forget to apply the _brakes_ and hit a tree. ---
**Author:** ![KAndre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@KAndre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KAndre)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/89 "2012-04-12T17:28:00Z")
It’s never occurred to me to use the parking/emergency brake; I don’t recall it being mentioned in my driver’s ed class many, many decades ago and that probably has more to do with being in Houston (one of the flattest places around; I think the official high point in the city is one of the freeway overpasses) and learning nothing but an automatic. We didn’t even have an option of learning stick. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/90 "2012-04-12T18:38:53Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I think (someone correct me if I’m wrong) the foot operated parking brake was pretty much standard in the US years ago, my first two or three cars had it. My more recent cars have all had the hand operated brake. > > I think it depends on whether you have bench or bucket seats. > > With a bench there’s no space between the seats, so the parking brake becomes a foot operated pedal on the far left and the shifter is on the steering wheel. Yup. My first two cars were 1970s models with bench seats and a foot-operated emergency brake. My last three cars have been '80s and '90s models with bucket seats and the e-brake between them. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I seem to recall that long ago when I was a kid there was a third location – in the dashboard. It was a handle you would pull out to engage, and to release it you would turn the handle 90 degrees to unlock it and let it slide forward again to the dash. I think maybe my dad’s Ford Falcon had an emergency brake like that. I remember my grandpa’s old Willy’s Jeep having one of those, as did his tractor. > [@kushiel](#): > > What are these…hills…you speak of? The running joke around here is that you can watch your dog run away from home for days! Are you from Texas? I was listening to the Mariners playing the Rangers in Texas last night, and the announcers were making this exact joke. Anyway, I always set my brake when parking. There’s no such thing as “level” parking around here - even apparently-level spots will have some minor incline. When you park, if you don’t set the parking brake before taking your foot off the regular brake, you’re going to roll just a bit one way or the other. I’ve discovered that that little bit of roll affects the locking steering wheel ([del]since it’s somehow tied into the transmission[/del]\*) in such a way that when I come back to the car, it can require some effort to get the ignition switch to turn. I have to muscle the steering wheel one way or the other to counteract the “tightening” caused by the roll before I can even turn the key. \*EDIT: Er, actually, I guess it would be the front wheels moving ever-so-slightly during the little roll that would cause the steering wheel to tighten up, not the transmission. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/91 "2012-04-12T18:40:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It does nothing of the sort. It backs up the belief that most Americans don’t _do_ it, which is indicative of nothing. Most Americans also consume too many fatty foods and salt, too; doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. > > I suppose **Rick** ’s data-cum-anecdote sort of proves that it’s not necessary, but if you’re the sort of person who frequently forgets to disengage your parking brake you shouldn’t be driving anyway. I would say the burden of proof would be on the people who say that the brake is needed. I know that atnecdotes are not data, but apparently millions and millions of Americans don’t use the e-brake when they park and they don’t have a problem. How many people in here admitted to having their parking prawl break? If I read it right, none. If anyone wants to take the side that it is absolutely necessary, they are going to have to put up some some darn convincing data. ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/92 "2012-04-12T20:58:42Z")
Every driveway I’ve had has been sloped. I used to not put on the emergency brake when I parked, and resulted in having to replace transmissions twice. After that I started using it when parking and never had to replace another transmission since. ---
**Author:** ![nudgenudge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@nudgenudge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nudgenudge)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/93 "2012-04-12T21:16:26Z")
I drive a manual, as is usual where I’m from, and not only do I use the handbrake while parking, I also apply it at traffic lights and whenever I come to a full stop on a slope. That’s just how I roll, or rather, don’t roll. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/94 "2012-04-12T21:53:35Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > If anyone wants to take the side that it is absolutely necessary, they are going to have to put up some some darn convincing data. Hard thing to Google, but again seems to be more common outside the US: [Everything for the learner driver](http://www.2pass.co.uk/auto.htm#.T4dKlxBhiSM) [Exeter small automatics](http://www.exetersmallautomatics.co.uk/faqs.asp) I’ve also just checked the owner manual for the Mazda 6 car we own, which says [To always set the parking brake and make sure the shift lever is in P.](http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/pdf/manuals/2009_Mazda6_OM.pdf)(Page 150) [A parking pawl prevents the transmission from rotating, and therefore the vehicle from moving, although the vehicle’s non-driven roadwheels may still rotate freely. For this reason, it is recommended to use the hand brake (or parking brake) because this actually locks (in most cases) the rear wheels and prevents them from moving.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_transmission) And it’s noted as one of the steps to check when passing your driving test in [Australia’s Northern Territory](http://www.transport.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/19924/section4.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/95 "2012-04-12T22:05:04Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > If anyone wants to take the side that it is absolutely necessary, they are going to have to put up some some darn convincing data. I don’t think anyone has said it is “absolutely necessary”. Wearing a seatbelt isn’t absolutely necessary either. It’s still a good idea. My cite is your owner’s manual. ---
**Author:** ![Jennmonkye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@Jennmonkye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennmonkye)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/96 "2012-04-13T00:25:08Z")
I have an automated manual transmission (no clutch pedal) and I always use the parking brake. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/97 "2012-04-13T14:41:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I learned to drive a manual, but currently drive an automatic, but I would use the handbrake each and every time I parked my car - wouldn’t think of not using it, regardless of situation. Is this unusual? Is this a throwback to my manual car days, and not required on an automatic? Personally, I use it in any car I drive, auto or manual. There is no downside to engaging it, and regular use of it is a good thing, much like other parts of the car. > [@Rick](#): > > I have on the other hand seen dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds) of cars that have had the e-brake left on either wearing out the rear brakes prematurely, or causing other issues. This driver created problem is much much more common. Most modern cars alert the driver if the vehicle is in motion, while the parking brake is engaged. Nonetheless, you’re right in identifying the driver as the problem…no two ways around that. > [@Hermitian](#): > > I know that atnecdotes are not data, but apparently millions and millions of Americans don’t use the e-brake when they park and they don’t have a problem. […] If anyone wants to take the side that it is absolutely necessary, they are going to have to put up some some darn convincing data. Millions of American’s don’t do a lot of things when it comes to their vehicles. They’ll drive around on poor tires (under-inflated or worn, for example), which isn’t a problem until it becomes a problem…but I wouldn’t use indifferent habits and attitudes towards driving, as a counter-point to the idea that regular use of the parking brake is better practice, than not. In my state, the MVA dictates that we use the parking brake for safe parking and it’s also the law in some states, mainly because it reduces risk. [http://www.mva.maryland.gov/resources/dl-002b.pdf](http://www.mva.maryland.gov/resources/dl-002b.pdf) ( **section 3, J** ) In other cases with insurance, there can also be liability issues, and in most owners manuals I’ve read, they advise it. Therefore, the burden of proof isn’t on anyone advocating its use… At most, I’d say you can do far worse, so far as habits go, but there is no real basis for not using it, other than simply not wanting to deal with “the hassle”. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/98 "2012-04-13T18:09:51Z")
Years ago, when I had only been driving for a few years, and before the advent of key fob remotes, I parked an automatic transmission car in a shopping center lot that had a slight down slope. Somehow, when I got out of the car, I managed to leave it in neutral and without the parking brake engaged. I got out of the car, locked it, turned and started to walk away. Something, maybe a noise noticed by my subconscious or maybe just dumb luck, made me look back as I was walking away. My car was slowly rolling down the slope towards the next row of cars. I ran back and (remember, no remote) trotted alongside trying to get my key in the slot. I got it in, opened the door, jumped in and slammed on the brakes just in time. After I reparked it _properly_, an older couple who had witnessed the event walked up and said that I had turned white. Now, I am about the whitest person you’ll ever meet, so for somebody to say that I had noticeably turned white, I must have looked like a bed sheet. I don’t know that this adds much to the discussion, except to say that having multiple restraints may payoff one day if you stupidly forget to use any one of them. Yes, I stupidly neglected to use _all_ of them, but that’s not the point. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/99 "2012-04-16T10:44:19Z")
Like **GreedySmurf** I’m astounded - not sarcastically, either, but actually astounded - that significant numbers of people in the US _don’t_ put the handbrake on when parking their car. As he says, it’s drummed into everyone here (well, it was in NZ and the road rules are pretty much the same as they are in Australia) when they’re learning to drive. It’s as much a part of motor vehicle operation as “Wearing a seatbelt” and “putting petrol in the fuel tank” and “Turning the steering wheel to make the car change directions” and “locking the doors when you get out.” You guys know you can also use the handbrake to make sudden turns\*, right? \*Don’t try it at home. Or on a public road. Or at all, unless you’re on _Top Gear_. There’s almost certainly a law against it wherever you are. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413/100 "2012-04-16T10:56:37Z")
When I park my automatic I put it in Park and pull the handbrake on. That’s what my father used to do, so … I can remember an American relation being shocked at how often I used the handbrake (basically everytime I stop, at lights, or a junction, or whatever I take my foot off the foot brake and apply the handbrake- unless there’s someone driving up behind me, I’ll tap the foot brake so they know I’m stationary). I was told to do this as it saved wear and tear on the foot brake. Also as part of your driving test you are required to stop uphill, then drive on without rolling back _at all_ and is to demonstrate that you know how to use the handbrake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-your-cars-parking-emergency-brake-daily/618413.md?page=6)