# When you park an automatic automobile, do you personally... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841 "2012-06-30T19:33:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/21 "2012-06-30T21:22:08Z")
I wasn’t aware that people didn’t use their parking breaks. It’s completely second nature for me, incline or not. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/22 "2012-06-30T21:29:15Z")
I always do, for the following reasons (copy-and-pasted from [this old thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=410219)): Because it’s a habit (I’d have to make an effort not to, and even then I might forget), and because it’s easier to do it all the time rather than think about when I do and don’t need to, and because I seem to remember hearing that it’s better on the car or the brake to do it regularly rather than intermittently, and because I still remember an incident from my childhood when I was sitting in a parked car in a driveway when it started rolling back down the driveway and into the street (fortunately, no damage was done), and because on those rare occasions when I forget to set the parking brake, the car feels weird (comparatively just a little shaky and unstable) when I get out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/23 "2012-06-30T21:38:00Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > I have never, ever, EVER considered not using the parking brake. The idea of using my transmission as a brake – of using a thing _designed to move the car_ to _prevent the car from moving_ – is only conceivable to me as another example of the “contempt for safety” attitude that afflicts people who refuse to wear seatbelts or helmets, won’t tie off when climbing, or remove the shields from their power tools. So using the device installed in the transmission to preventing it from rolling when parked is showing a contempt for safety. Interesting. You do realize that early auto trans did not have a park position, right? > [@](#): > > Not to mention that I was taught when very young that relying on the parking pawl was a good way to fuck up the transmission. Hell, I got a lecture for setting the gear before the brake. Ever since then, I have set the brake, released the foot brake, then set the gear, always passing through neutral to let the weight settle on the brake. It has been rumored around here that I know a tiny bit about cars, and I call bullshit on using park will fuck up a transmission. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/24 "2012-06-30T21:39:40Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > …breaks… AAAAAGH! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/25 "2012-06-30T21:42:48Z")
I use it about twice a year, once to prove it works during inspection, and the other time is about as often as I park on scarily steep hills. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/26 "2012-06-30T21:48:52Z")
I live in Los Angeles, so relatively uneven terrain, but I always set the parking brake no matter what terrain I’m on or what car I’m in. I turn my wheels on the slightest incline, too. It takes like a second and gives you an extra protection against rolling, why the hell not? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/27 "2012-06-30T21:59:18Z")
I always use it. But then, I was taught to drive a standard transmission, in a city with virtually no level surfaces. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/28 "2012-06-30T22:08:37Z")
I voted the first option. I used to never ever set the parking brake on automatics except in hilly situations. I was never taught to (that I remember) in my driver’s education class (except for hills), and I don’t know of a single city driver (ETA: in the flat Midwest) who does so. That said, since I’ve been driving sticks for the last 15 years or so, I do sometimes set the brake on an automatic. Not always (as I do on a manual), but about half the time. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/29 "2012-06-30T22:23:37Z")
Yes of course I put on the handbrake and when I park a manual transmission car I have the handbrake set and leave it in gear. There is absolutely no sane reason to do otherwise, except with diesel vans from the 1950s that could start running on their oil if the hand brake failed, they were left in gear, and they were on a severe slope. That applies to probably one person on earth. Not doing so is the sign of a moron. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/30 "2012-06-30T22:26:59Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > So using the device installed in the transmission to preventing it from rolling when parked is showing a contempt for safety. Interesting. When the car has two devices to prevent it from rolling when parked, relying on only one of them instead of using both is, arguably, at least a minor contempt for safety, since one can malfunction, which is what apparently happened in the case of the [thread that inspired this poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657023). ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/31 "2012-06-30T22:39:43Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Not to mention that I was taught when very young that relying on the parking pawl was a good way to fuck up the transmission. Hell, I got a lecture for setting the gear before the brake. Ever since then, I have set the brake, released the foot brake, then set the gear, always passing through neutral to let the weight settle on the brake. Wow… Really? This is a serious problem? Who else does this for this reason? ---
**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:** [June 30, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/32 "2012-06-30T22:40:24Z")
I do, but not because I think the transmission is going to break or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/33 "2012-06-30T23:50:41Z")
From my other post… > [@](#): > > In hilly areas, I use the Emergency Brake **before** I put it in park, otherwise it has a tendency to get jammed on automatics. On Manuals I leave it in neutral w/EM brake on. > > On flat ground it isn’t as necessary for automatics, only manuals. I currently live in flat land ( Florida), but occasionally have to park on a grade of more than 0. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/34 "2012-06-30T23:53:33Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I set the parking brake. All the time. No matter what type of transmission the car has. No matter what the terrain is. No exceptions. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/35 "2012-06-30T23:57:46Z")
If I am parking on level ground, I just put it in park. If there is a bit of an incline, I also pull the emergency brake. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/36 "2012-07-01T00:04:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > When the car has two devices to prevent it from rolling when parked, relying on only one of them instead of using both is, arguably, at least a minor contempt for safety, since one can malfunction, which is what apparently happened in the case of the [thread that inspired this poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657023). I read the other thread. The error there was not with the transmission, the problem existed between the steering wheel and the seat of the car. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/37 "2012-07-01T00:05:16Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Wow… Really? This is a serious problem? Who else does this for this reason? It’s not true see post #23 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/38 "2012-07-01T00:10:02Z")
When I owned a car, I lived in West Texas, flat as a table top, and never engaged the parking brake. But ever since, I always do whenever I do find myself driving such as this past April. Not sure how that became a habit. Just seems like a good thing to do. That’s for the US. I rarely drive in Thailand, but over here no one sets their parking brake, because it’s common to push a car out of the way if it’s blocking you in. It’s just expected. But Bangkok is as flat as West Texas, so it may be a different story in our mountainous North. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/39 "2012-07-01T00:30:50Z")
I routinely drive a manual transmission, and always set the hand brake (which is located in the center console adjacent to the shift column). I do not leave the transmission in gear due to the damage that can result from impact or tow, and also because it will not prevent the car from rolling in any situation in which the hand brake is likely to fail. However, I frequently drive rental vehicles that are invariably automatic transmissions, and generally have a foot-operated parking brake instead of a hand brake. On those, I will often not apply the parking brake unless on an incline, mostly because it isn’t part of my parking routine, but also because it is often awkward to find the brake pedal and I am prone to try to take off without realizing the brake is engaged. In my personal opinion, all cars should have hand operated brakes that should be applied any time the car is in a parked condition (or else an automatic brake that is applied when the ignition is turned to the “Off” position). However, modern automatic transmissions have a mechanism (called a brake pawl) designed to protect the transmission from inadvertant motion and will not be damaged by parking in a flat or slightly inclined position. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841/40 "2012-07-01T02:42:36Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Wow… Really? This is a serious problem? Who else does this for this reason? I do it in the order I do for this reason (set parking _breake_, release foot _braik_, then put into park), although I’ve suspected it wasn’t really necessary. There’s no harm, though, so I won’t bother changing. But I’d use the parking brake anyway. The OP segregated based on hilly Vs. flat land, but I suspect the real separator is what you did when you first learned to drive. Me, I started on standard transmissions, and it’s carried over to automatics. (Always left the car in Neutral as well, so the brake was necessary.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-park-an-automatic-automobile-do-you-personally/626841.md?page=3)