It seems to me if driving with your parking brake on is such a bad thing then there should be more warning when you inadvertently do it. Bells and whistles should go off or, at the very least, there should be an automated recording that comes on saying “Hey, Dipshit, you’ve got your damn parking brake on!”
Why isn’t it more difficult to make this mistake? I can not turn my car off if it is not in park, couldn’t there be a similar device prohibiting you from being able to drive if the brake is on?
Probably because the fact that the brake is on is immediately obvious, unless you are used to your car doing 0 - 60 mph in 3 minutes. Is thir really a GQ?
Jeeze--------there is a red brake light in your instrument cluster isn’t there? Red lights on your instrument panel means there is a problem, check it out. If your brake is adjusted right your car will do lots of straining to go forward, if it moves at all, altho backwards will be easier.
Although the difference is quite clear once I (or the made-up hypothetical person I’m asking this question for) release the Parking Brake, going forward actually isn’t so much of a strain.
I am aware of the red lights on the instrument panel- this is why I suggested “more warning”, aware that there already is “some warning”. Unless I’m (he’s) looking right at the instrument panel it’s easy not to notice.
Funny you should ask this. I went out to lunch the yesterday and as I left the parking lot a saw a car that was stuck on some ice, with its front wheels spining. I got out of my car and along with some others tried to push the car off the ice. It did move a few feet, but the rear wheels did not rotate, just slid along the ground. It seems the driver forgot to remove the emergency brake and that is why it would not move. Once he took off the emergency brake the car moved off the ice with no problem.:smack:
Goes to show you that some people should not be allowed to reproduce.
I agree. Most of the times I have moved with my parking brake on, it’s because the brake was only half-engaged. If you give it a proper tug (I’m talking handbrakes here), then it should be pretty noticeable that your car has suddenly experienced a drop in performance.
I never use the e-brake to start on a hill, and I never roll back an inch. My dad taught me to use the parking brake when I first learned to drive, but he explained the process as something that you do until you can work the pedals better.
Now, many years later, I don’t think I could use the handbrake if I tried. It would feel most awkward.
And the people who say they never use the e-brake are either automatic drivers or flatlanders. If you have to park on a steep hill, the purpose of the brake is clear. One of my old cars had a broken e-brake cable for some time, and it rolled away once or twice.
pulykamell: One, you got my name wrong. And two, it done properly, quickly moving from brake to gas puts no more wear on the clutch than the e-brake method, and hardly any more than doing it normally on level ground. It just requires finesse and quickness.
Susanann, it’s easy to forget. And sometimes, there’s now to to turn your wheels to keep it from rolling. Out in the country, for example, you can easily find youself parking on a hill with nothing to turn your wheels toward. My car never rolled anywhere there was traffic to worry about. Because then, I was able to turn toward the curb.
And as mentioned in another thread: Should your parked car be hit by another vehicle, having the parking brake engaged is a good way to keep the amount of damage to the transmission to a minimum.
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