If you park facing uphill on a street with a curb, set the parking brake and:
- Turn the front wheels toward the curb.
- Turn the front wheels away from the curb. ✓
- Leave the front wheels straight.
Answer: B. Turn the front wheels away from the curb.
When you park facing uphill at a curb, set the parking brake and turn your front wheels away from the curb, toward the center of the road.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says that on a hill your vehicle could roll if the equipment fails, so you set the parking brake. Headed uphill with a curb, it tells you to turn the front wheels away from the curb, toward the road's center, and let the vehicle roll back a few inches so the wheel gently touches the curb. That way, if it rolls, the curb blocks the wheel instead of the car heading into the street.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Turn the front wheels toward the curb. — Turning the wheels toward the curb is what the handbook prescribes for parking headed downhill, not uphill.
- C. Leave the front wheels straight. — Leaving the wheels straight gives the curb nothing to catch, so the handbook does not list this for uphill parking.
Remember it
Picture the curb uphill of you: point the wheels away from it and let the car drift back until the tire rests on the curb.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 6: Navigating the Roads, p. 27