FixedBack
“When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.”~~*G.K.Chesterton 1908 *
well it depends on the transmission. if you have a manual transmission, then you must set the emergency brake. there is no “park” gear on a manual, so the emergency brake must be set.
Precisely. Here in the UK cars with manual transmissions are still hugely popular and must make up at least half the market (WSITD). I took my driving test in 1986, and back then successfully setting the hand-brake every time the vehicle was stopped was an important part of the test; I’m sure it still is. Incidentally, there are two types of driving test/license here; one which allows you to drive an automatic car, and a slightly tougher one which allows both.
‘Hand-brake’ is a much less specific, yet far more decriptive term than ‘emergency’ or ‘parking’ could ever aspire to be. (Grammar, I know.) When a manual transmission car is parked, without the hand-brake it will free-wheel unless left in gear. A tip I picked up from my grandfather when parking on a particularly steep hill was to leave it in gear; either 1st or reverse depending which way the car was facing, and this would help if the hand-brake slipped or failed. It strikes me that this method is similar to that employed by using ‘Park’ on an automatic transmission.
Remember that not-so-long-ago all cars were manual. The hand-brake has simply always been there in some form (with the possible exception of early models), and the ‘Park’ position on an automatic gearbox is a modern improvement. ‘The Highway Code’ issued by the British government and on which part of the diving test is based tells us that applying the hand-brake ‘secures the vehicle’.
microshroom, plank
did you guys read **anything[/bb] from the previous two pages of this thread?
Russell
RussellM
[Cringe mode]
Did you check your post?
[/Cringe]
Russell
Hill? Any upward incline will do. My dad taught me to use the clutch, gas & hand brake simultaneuosly on his '79 VW Rabbit, and we lived near New Orleans at the time. Not many hills around there!
So I could practice driving, he had me drive him to a local hardware store. I knew he was going to teach me the technique later that day by having me drive up & down the levee, so I practiced working all three while waiting for him to come out of the store. I think I surprised him out on that levee.
“Age is mind over matter; if you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” -Leroy “Satchel” Paige
Yes I read it all, that’s why I felt moved to reply. yosemitebabe said “So, my question is, do people in your area not use their emergency brakes regularly? If so, why? Do you set your emergency brakes regularly when parking on the street, parking lots, etc?”.
My answer, in an admittedly rambling way, was: yes, in my area, we are specifically taught to.
me too
Russell