to not park my car in gear?

[CrazylazyJane]

DH and I are at odds on whether you are supposed to park your car in gear or not, so settle the argument for us.

He maintains that he was taught to always leave your car in first gear when you park it incase the hand break fails

I was taught to leave the car in neutral when parking. The only exception being when you're parked on a steep hill, you may consider leaving your car in gear to prevent it from rolling.

I drive DG's car a few times a year and today jumped in it and bunny hopped as I turned on the ignition. Yes, yes, one should always check the gear stick before turning the engine on but I don't routinely as I would always leave a manual car in neutral. So AIBU for being annoyed that he keeps doing this?

@Fraaahnces

When you are waiting to turn right across oncoming traffic, do you A) sit waiting with your wheels turned towards where you are aimed in preparation to move more efficiently, or B) Sit waiting with your wheels pointed straight ahead in case you are rear-ended and don’t end up pushed into on-coming traffic?

I'm an IAM observer and we teach to keep your wheels straight so that you don't get pushed into a head-on collision with oncoming traffic. We also teach to put on the hand brake in the same situation, even for short amounts of time, unless you're literally just going to be stopped for a few seconds, again, to minimise the risk of being shunted into oncoming traffic, say if you're clipped on the rear left corner!

What's an IAM observer?

And what's your view of parking in neutral vs parking in gear?

In gear but whichever way you park you should always make sure it’s in neutral before starting

IAM = Institute of Advanced Motorists

In gear on a hill, I forgot to do this once and the car started rolling down the hill. Luckily someone told me and no damage done!

Neutral if not a hill.

Park and leave in first gear .

Not true... automatics can roll. Believe me

I always park and leave car in 2nd. It's what my driving instructor taught me. And always put it into neutral before starting the engine

YANBU. My dad always left his car in 2nd (?) and I did the same as you.
I always "jiggle" the gear lever after that.

I am now on my 7th automatic car, (I have been driving well over 50 years on manual and auto vehicles), and have never had one move. You put it in ‘park’, and it stays put. If you have had one roll when parked, then there must have been something wrong with the auto gearbox. If you have had one roll on a hill whilst in gear, after releasing the foot brake for example, that may be due to low transmission oil.

My dad always parks in gear, I always park in neutral, maybe it's an age thing (although I'm sure your DH isn't my dads age!)

Ours did on our Kia in Aldi car park years ago. It was really, really windy. Came out of the shop and it was gone. DH went mad because I laughed, but it was a nervous sort of disbelief, genuinely thought it had been stolen. It had actually rolled backwards, across the car park and ended up perfectly between 2 parked cars. There was a verge behind it that had stopped it going further. So lucky it didn't hurt anyone/hit another car. Handbrake was fully engaged.

Interestingly though, DH and I both park in neutral still and I used to drive pool cars in my last job. A big organisation and signed out as needed between departments. Always checked beforehand, but never found one parked in anything but neutral, still make sure I do a little wiggle though before I start the engine

I was taught (in 1991) to park in neutral unless on a hill, and then to leave it in gear.

But also I was taught to ALWAYS check the gearstick before starting the engine. My first husband also recommended depressing the clutch when starting the ignition anyway (so even if in gear the car wouldn't bunny hop), as it reduces stress on the engine apparently, and this has stuck since 1999. I did my advanced driving test in 2006 and I'm fairly sure they taught this too.

My car now is a button start not a key ignition and it prompts me to depress the clutch before starting the engine.

So on reflection, YABU. Plus, it is his car.

What's an IAM observer?

Institute of Advanced Motorists.

I did the same, but for RoSPA.

@OliviaPark the handbrake on my VW Golf failed... it rolled across a car part and did a LOT of damage to the Peugeot it used to stop it rolling any further. I've always parked in gear after that!

Park in gear. Learned my lesson with a car that had a dodgy handbrake and rolled into the road when parked in neutral.

Just read your story after posting mine, which was a Golf too!

Not true... automatics can roll. Believe me

If you put it in Park the transmission is physically locked solid. It can’t roll.

Hmm I don’t leave it in gear routinely but I think I should. Will do if on a hill

My handbrake failed. Was parked outside my house which is near the bottom of a hill, didn't leave it in gear and five minutes after getting in the house I heard a loud bang outside...car had rolled about 10 metres down the hill into my neighbour's car. It really freaked me out, what if someone had been walking between the cars? I always park in gear now!

I am you and my DH is your DH! Learnt to drive at a similar time in the same place, I was taught to leave in neutral unless on a steep hill, he was taught to leave it in gear always.

If you are taught to leave it in gear when on a hill, what is the point of leaving it in neutral when supposedly on the flat? Why not leave it in gear all the time?

What's the disadvantage of leaving it in gear? It's a fallback in the unlikely event your handbrake fails. So why would you not just do it? I don't see why people feel so strongly about parking in neutral.

I park in neutral unless on a hill. But then, I always depress the clutch before starting. My current car enforces this, as it won't start unless you put the clutch in, but I did it previously anyway.

I didn't even know parking in gear was a thing. I passed my test about 3 years ago and was taught to park in neutral.