AIBU to leave my car parked in 1st facing down on a hill?

[CordeliaGoode]

How long before it starts to roll downhill?

What about an automatic? Do i park in drive?

The wheels to kerb thing makes sense and i always leave the handbrake on. I put the handbrake on at pedestrian crossings too in case of being shunted

...... why have I never heard about this parking in gear malarkey until now?

Should I be doing it?

Leaving the the wheels turned torwards the curb when you park is...

Required by law in California, when parking on a hill. Always stuns me that not required in UK.

I always put my car in neutral before turning engine on so not understanding worries raised here. How could you start engine without checking what gear you are or are not in.

@JanewaysBun no, leaving an automatic in park has the same effect.

@JanewaysBun I don't think it matters with an automatic as they tend to have fluid couplings rather than a traditional clutch so there's not a solid link between the engine and the drive train until the engine is doing over a certain amount of revs

Actually never mind I had a brain fart and forgot you can put them into park (I haven't driven an auto in a very long time)

These threads always make me smile. Handbrake on and leave it in gear. Anything else is asking for trouble. This is basic driving 101 and If you cant figure out why - you shouldn't be driving.

Next we'll have someone explaining that 'gears for go, brakes for slow' is a thing.

Why don't people use their handbrakes if parking for more than a few days?

Yes but I have come back to find my car has rolled when I forgot to leave it in gear. I think someone once told me that it can happen if the car is hot and then cools 🤔 That might be nonsense though!

Not nonsense. Exactly what happened to a friend of mine in the height of last summer.

I traded in my 17 year old car for a brand new one. Couldn't start new one. Salesman said newer cars need the clutch down to stop people starting it when it's in gear. Although I'm not sure how that would work, it does imply that people park in gear. I certainly do on hills.

If on a decent slope in gear and tyres to the kerb. If parking for a day or two handbrake on also

Why on Earth would you not apply the handbrake every time you park, whether for 5 minutes or 5 days???

Yeah I had lessons 3 years ago, engine would not start unless clutch was in, that was a bit of a headfuck when I forgot it on the day of one of my tests

Really hate that moment on hills when you find biting point before accelerating and taking the brake off hoping you won’t shoot backwards 😐

Get an automatic, never have an issue again, although mine tends to need a hill start on a very steep slope.

. Salesman said newer cars need the clutch down to stop people starting it when it's in gear.

My 4 year old car has a message about pressing clutch to start engine if you try to start it without

@Evilmorty yes to handbrake in traffic. I bet a lot of accidents to the front could be avoided if people didn't sit at traffic lights on their brakes.

I passed in '08 and wasn't taught to leave in gear. I have always done it because my parents did it. Made perfect sense to me. I'm surprised that people don't seem to check they're in neutral before starting their car. And WTF are people doing not using their handbrakes every time? It's a second's extra effort

I much prefer my manual than the automatics I had when it comes to hill starts. I like being in control!

I've never heard of anyone parking in gear either, and I've never done it

Always park in gear. Never used to then my handbrake failed and my car rolled and hit a neighbours car. Affected my insurance so now, handbrake on

I was also grateful to have a) "tyres and tarmac" gap in front of me and b) handbrake on when stopped in motorway traffic. The van behind me said he got shunted didn't brake, ran in the back of my car at speed and I didn't hit the car in front
First question my dad asked was "did you hit the car in front?"

I must be, at 38, in the "older generation" because I park in gear. Wasn't on my test 20 years ago, that I remember.

I have a car that's 4 years old and it won't let me turn the ignition key unless the clutch and brake are fully depressed. The handbrake is also a little switch by the gearstick, instead of an actual handle. Both took some getting used to.

we had a mini cooper and pretty sure you had to have the clutch in to start that.

I only really use the handbrake for a short stop, again, we have had lots of cars with sticky handbrakes, and they often seize especially if left on over a period of days so parking in gear means no handbrake and no seizing!

leaving a car in gear is a pretty basic level of motoring knowledge though, as @sdb1hcs says.

I passed my test in 1984 (for I am ancient) , I cannot remember being told to park in gear but my Driving Instructor left the car in gear to make sure I checked it was handbrake on/neutral before starting .

Parking at DParents is a slope with a brick wall in front so I always park in gear there and put a Note-To-Self on my steering wheel .

"I always park in gear. Why anyone wouldn’t I have no idea. If on a decent slope in gear and tyres to the kerb. If parking for a day or two handbrake on also, if I won’t drive for a week or more handbrake off."

Are you living in the 1950s? Modern cars don't need this kind of shit. Good grief.

I only passed my test a year ago and I know to park in gear on a hill. It was definitely in the Highway Code.

Leaving the the wheels turned torwards the curb when you park is a brilliant tip. Unless you live on a narrow street and the wheels then become as much of a target as the wing mirrors

I was always taught to park in gear on a hill. I passed my test a couple of years ago.

But why would you?