I always use the parking brake. Come to a stop, hand moves gear shift into park, hand goes from gear shift directly to engage the parking brake, turn the car off.
Since I built a garage a few years ago I am thankful that I developed this habit. I leave the car running to get out and open the door and have occationally left the car in drive and the parking brake holds the car, saved the garage door that way or the car would have idled into it.
It is a parking brake, for parking, not an *emergency brake *and some people refer to it as. Why wouldn’t you use it?
I learned on an automatic, in level country. Drove a manual for about a decade somewhere along the way, but have been driving automatics for the past 15 years.
I have never lived in a really hilly area since college (and I didn’t own a car back then,) although Tel Aviv isn’t exactly flat, either.
Me, and for the same reason that caused a problem with my parents’ car 40 years ago: My dad parked on a steep driveway and put the gear in park. The tow truck he called had only to push the car up the hill enough (half an inch, if that) to take the weight off the pawl.
Didn’t reverse, in GM’s early Power Glides, anyway (before PRNDL, when reverse was at the bottom), serve as park by locking the wheels until the engine was started?
I don’t think Chrysler’s push-button automatics of the late '50s had a park selection. Reverse may have been the solution with those, as well. I wonder whether Edsel had a button for park.
I always put the emergency brake on. However, I primarily have driven manual transmission cars (of the four cars I’ve owned in 18 years, only one has been non-manual (a CVT in my Honda Civic Hybrid I had for 2 years)). So, I do it out of habit. Though, in my car, I do leave it in gear and then apply the emergency brake. When I drive my wife’s car, which is an automatic, I always put it on, but I don’t really even think about it.
So, *should *I be using the parking brake on my automatic transmission ('03 Subaru Forester, if it matters) on flat land? Because this…
…matches my experiences exactly, and **pulykamell **and I live in the same area (although I don’t know if he took driver’s ed around here or not.)
In driver’s ed, we used automatics, and were never instructed to use the parking brake. At home for practice, Mom made me use her manual so I’d learn to drive both, and I *was *instructed to use the parking brake but told by the guy teaching me (who is a huge car nut/restorer/collector) that I didn’t have to use the parking brake when parking an automatic unless it was on an incline. Mom agreed with him, and has never that I’ve seen used the parking brake since she started driving automatics.
Pretty specific education there. Manual=parking brake; automatic=parking brake sometimes. Were they wrong?
I ask because I’ll change my habits if I have to for safety or for easing wear and tear on the vehicle, but of course like any habit, I’d rather not go through the effort of changing my ways (and inevitably taking off with the parking brake still engaged at least once or twice along the learning curve) if it’s not actually required. And I trust your opinion, Rick, because yeah, you seem to know a thing or two about cars.
Yep, took driver’s ed at my high school, way down on south Pulaski. Glad to know it wasn’t just a matter of me forgetting my driver’s education. Then again, I suppose we could both have had bad driving instructors. I just looked at the Illinois Rules of the Road, and it’s certainly not stressed there. Even for hill parking it just says “In either situation, you must set the parking brake or put the gear selector in “Park”.”
Okay, I took it at my high school in Tinley Park. So yes, within 20 miles for sure.
I was glad to see your post, too, because the other replies had me feeling somewhat horrified and ashamed that I’ve been Doing It Wrong all these years! At least I can rest assured that, even if I have to change my ways, it’s not because I was an idiot who forgot or ignored an important instruction when I learned to drive.
In an automatic, I skip the parking brake on flat areas, and only use it with a significant incline. I live in a pretty hilly city, but generally park on something flat.
However, for a manual, I always put it in gear and set the parking brake, so I was baffled by this:
Flat area here in Las Vegas.
My brother borrowed my car once and parked it in the driveway…we have maybe a 1 degree slope…and put on the parking brake.
I couldn’t even find the parking brake release on the car!
I had to get out, get on my knees and look around under the steering wheel to see how to release it.
And to be honest, I have forgotten again how to use it or release it.
I live in flatland, and don’t use the e-brake.
My father in law ALWAYS uses it, but sometimes I wonder why, as I’ve seen that car go up to 60 miles an hour with it on, and you can’t tell unless you’re actually driving it. (Apparantly MIL can’t tell at ALL, lol)
I occasionally come across a story saying use the parking brake at least once a week, month, whatever, to prevent rust from seizing the cables.
Sometimes this includes the warning that rusted cables might work when applying the brake but not releasing it if it was required in a certain situation, in which case the driver is doomed to walk.
For those who only use it on an incline I have to inform you that probably aren’t as diligent as you think you are. Simple human nature. If it isn’t an automatic (ha!) action when you don’t need it, then you are certain to forget it sometimes when you do.
And that is the point. Having it as part of your parking drill, no matter what the car type or gradient situation means you are far less likely to forget to apply it when required.
When I drive an automatic, I seldom use the park brake. When I do, it’s on a significant incline and the vehicle is both in Park the wheels turned the correct way and the P-brake on. Mostly, I drive a manual though. I always park it in gear and only use the P-brake with a little incline or more and wheels turned to take me off the road if both should happen to fail.
I learned to drive in the flat midwest on a manual, took driver’s ed there on an automatic and have been mostly driving manuals in the Nashville area for the past 17 years.
