In addition to setting your parking brake, what should you do when parking on a hill?
- Make sure the front vehicle wheels are parallel to the road.
- Make sure your vehicle is left in the “neutral” position.
- Make sure your vehicle is in the “park” position or in gear. ✓
Answer: C. Make sure your vehicle is in the “park” position or in gear.
When parking on a hill, set the parking brake and make sure your vehicle is in the park position, or in gear if it has a manual transmission.
Why this is the answer
The handbook explains that a parked vehicle on a hill could roll because of equipment failure, so you take two precautions: set the parking brake and leave the vehicle in park, or in gear for a manual transmission. Leaving it in park or in gear backs up the brake if the brake itself fails. The handbook adds that on a sloping driveway you should also turn the wheels so the vehicle will not roll into the street.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Make sure the front vehicle wheels are parallel to the road. — The handbook's hill-parking steps turn the front wheels toward or away from the curb depending on direction, or to the right when there is no curb, so wheels parallel to the road is not what it describes.
- B. Make sure your vehicle is left in the “neutral” position. — Neutral lets the vehicle roll freely, which is the opposite of what the handbook wants; it says to leave the vehicle in park or in gear.
Remember it
Two brakes are better than one on a slope: parking brake plus park or a gear, and then aim the wheels so a roll would take the car off the road, not into traffic.