If you parallel park facing downward on a hill:
- Turn your wheels sharply toward the side of the road. ✓
- Turn your wheels away from the side of the road.
- Keep your wheels straight.
Answer: A. Turn your wheels sharply toward the side of the road.
When you parallel park facing downhill on a hill, turn your wheels sharply toward the side of the road, meaning toward the curb.
Why this is the answer
The California handbook says that when you are headed downhill, you turn your front wheels into the curb or toward the right side of the road. It also says a vehicle on a hill could roll if equipment fails, so you should set the parking brake and leave the vehicle in park or in gear. The question describes facing downward, so the downhill rule applies: point the wheels toward the curb or side of the road.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Turn your wheels away from the side of the road. — Turning the wheels away from the side of the road is the handbook rule for heading uphill with a curb, not for facing downhill.
- C. Keep your wheels straight. — Keeping the wheels straight is not the handbook's downhill parking instruction; it calls for turning them toward the curb or side of the road.
Remember it
Think "down into the curb, up out of the curb" when parking on a hill with a curb.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 6: Navigating the Roads, p. 27