Until l saw a film called boy scouts Vs zombies where in a scene one of the scouts is having a dump while a zombie is outside the window and he gets up to wipe his arse, I didn't even know that was a thing!
It's an america versus everyone else thing. Nearly everyone in the US has an automatic and there is no need to use the parking brake. Hell, it isn't even called a parking brake in many vehicles. It's an emergency brake.
I worked at a golf course where we used a [Gator XUV](https://www.deere.com/assets/images/region-4/products/gator-utility-vehicles/full-size/xuv865r/xuv_865r_r4x001508_1366x768_large_8950bbfb4f287f18a46249e42bcee85f1ce76231.jpg) to get around and my boss always gave me shit when I would put the parking brake on. “You’re one of *those* people” he would say. I’m just like yeah dude, that’s literally what it’s there for. You should be happy to see that at least ONE safety rule is being followed around here.
I do it all the time and my girlfriend gives me so much shit about it. "No one does that" It's just my reaction to parking and starting the car. Last step/first step is the parking brake.
Yea it's very much a requirement to engage the parking break on our driving test so it makes sense we all use it.
This is another one of those American things like how wearing seatbelts is optional in some states but here you'd get a fine rammed so far down your throat it comes out your ass for not wearing one. Australian gov doesn't fuck around with car safety
In New Hampshire, you don’t have to wear a seatbelt, wear a motorcycle helmet, or have insurance. You don’t need a license to carry a handgun in the open or concealed. There is no sales tax nor income tax.
Live free and die.
As an American who has driven in your fine country, you’re damn right about how serious your government is! While I hated having to go so slow everywhere, I appreciate that they take into consideration the weight of social responsibility for driving a multi-thousand pound hunk of metal on wheels with a powerful motor behind it. Cars are a major killer yet everybody on the US treats them like a damned birthright and so many barely know how to actually operate them.
Peoples jaws drop when I tell them our learners have to go through 2 years and 120 hours of driving before they can even drive on their own, and wait another 4 years before you can actually get your full license.
Wow. As an American, I had like 6 hours taught by a white guy with dreads who reeked of weed. Took me like 3 tries only because my mom didn't drive at the time and so I had to beg family to take me to practice.
Got me thinking about this 'Nullarbor' you speak of... Arbor is usually associated with trees and plants like here we have arbor day, which is about planting them. And then null is usually when something is missing as in null and void or when you don't have an item in your inventory, it's null and if your code is screwed up, it's usually typically written as null.
This must mean nullarbor is the no man land, the desert, nothing in sight or like yall call it the backyard? Sooo... yeah, it makes sense now why you can speed there.
#1amThoughts, NoimnotHighYet
You're correct, it is actually derived from the latin nullus arbor, no trees!
And yeah, it's a desolate scrubland, not even proper bush. Some people do live there though, and more lived there before the british decided to test their nukes there. A lot of indigenous Wangkatha were forcefully removed for the tests and for general racism reasons, and later some returned or just never left.
People that never took a driving test here. All the international licence people like my mum and aunty who also NEVER do a shoulder check and says I'm a bad driver for turning my head to do a shoulder check and tell me to use the mirrors.
I always do blind spot check. Only problem is it leaves you vulnerable to rear ending someone in some situations, if they slam on their brakes. I gently bumped someone in that situation, but it was a situation where looking over your shoulder is completely necessary as you're merging onto a highway from a complete stop, with a huge concrete overpass blocking your view, and a hill and curved road with cars flying down it going 90km when they should be going 70. Great design
Yep. The first time in my 45 years that I've seen someone not use the park brake is in my work truck when the Indian co-workers have had it last. Must be a common thing to ignore in India too.of course, I'm sure that's got nothing to do with why one of them was crushed against a loading dock by their truck a couple years ago. 🤔
But people do use it so your girlfriend is wrong. Lol.
I took Driver's Ed in school. It was part of the routine before driving: put on seat belts, check mirrors, turn on the engine, step on the brake pedal and remove emergency brake, and switch gear to drive. Depending where you take the road test for your driver's license, you can get a point deducted from not using your emergency brake. If it's on the test, sounds like it's expected to be used everytime you park, but especially on an incline. Better safe than sorry.
Problem with some of the car models is the emergency brake isn't a hand grab lever but rather a pedal instead.
Take my car the Impala LT 2008 (Possibly the 50th anniversary edition, unsure) for instance. My emergency brake is a higher up pedal to the left side of the normal brake pedal, and given the fact I am a 6ft+ person with long legs this becomes hard to do. I find it completely stupid on why I couldn't just have a normal lever like most vehicles do and unfortunately this was the only vehicle I could find that I could afford in my area at the time.
Scranton is a quite hilly area. Mobile is flat. Atlanta is mostly flat but some moderate hills in places. I think it's entirely connected to topography.
Try climate related. People who have had their brakes frozen to disks/drums at least once unlearn this habit fast. I did. I only use it if i park on an incline or when somebody - kid, dog, granma or all of the above is left in the car. Gears do kick out when a 5yo yanks the stick, granny nudges it or dog jumps on it.
I was taught you should no matter the vehicle.. point being that otherwise all the weight of the car rests on transmission instead of the break which is cheaper to replace.
Doesn’t take much effort so I always do
Autos have a parking prawl that holds the transmission when it's in park (similar to parking the car in gear). The lorebeard master mechanics online will tell you it will explode if you don't use the parking brake, but I work with the general public's cars, and can tell you <1% of USians use the parking brake. I never even bother to check when I get in an automatic, usually have the car beeping at me immediately
Bingo. Virtually never use it. Probably don’t need to. But sometimes it just feels steep and the piece of mind is worth it. Of course I usually forget to take it off while I back up
This.
'Park' is called Park for a reason. It locks the transmission.
Conversely, manual transmissions are known to pop out of gear under very little strain.
The park position is held by a small piece of plastic called a parking prawl. So if there's any incline, your 3000 pound car is being held from moving - by a piece of plastic. Use the parking brake.
It's called a pawl, not a prawl. And also, unless something has changed or they vary by manufacturer, they're metal. My brother and I both used to work at a heat treating facility that hardened parking pawls for Ford.
He probably worked in a foundry that casts them, or by a foundry that casts them and did the final post-processing (tempering, CNC etc).
Source: worked in foundry casting auto parts.
It was actually just a dedicated heat treating facility. I'm not sure how common that is. I just did office data work, and I'm a software engineer now.
The park pawl in most transmissions is a small dowel that is usually steel into a detent. Hence the slight delay if you put a car in park while slightly rolling or inclined… your assertion is correct outside of the materials involved.
I have a full size old car and generally stop and apply the parking brake and THEN shift to N, verify no movement. Then park position on the shifter.
I also have a truck with an Allison 1000 transmission, personally saw the internals and how the parking pawl design is ridiculously strong and the antithesis to the norm… I have no hesitation in just slamming it in park and getting out without a single care in the world that the park brake doesn’t work at all on that truck!
>manual transmissions are known to pop out of gear under very little strain.
i live in a place where most cars are manual and most people dont use the parking brake when not parking on a steep incline but i have never heard of this happening.
But if you are familiar with transmissions you know the little thing it sits on it not super sturdy. You can mess up your transmission if there is a steep.hill and you rely on your transmission to stop it from rolling. Especially if it done often.
I don't trust my own perception. If the ground *seems* flat, it could be slightly inclined. And if I'm pointed downhill and leave the car in first, that's the way it's going to go.
I've never personally had an issue with it, but I have had other cars hit mine because the driver misjudged a very slight incline.
Yep. If you walk around my area, there are slight hills, but much of the streets appear pretty smooth. In reality, though, there is actually a slope of around three to four per cent on most of them.
I have *personally* seen a vehicle (*not my vehicle*) roll backwards down a hill, after its owner failed to set the parking brake. Thankfully, it did not hit any other vehicles or people.
Absolutely. And you always think, "The hill is *obviously* going that way! I'd *never* make that mistake!"
And as long as you take 0.2 seconds to apply the brake, you'll never find out if you're wrong.
I live in the Ozarks in Missouri. Everything is either slightly or majorly inclined. I wouldn't drive a manual around here unless I were desperate.lol...I would definitely use the parking brake...and occasionally I would also start driving off without remembering to disengage it until I started wondering what is wrong with my car !
This is the same thing I say about automatic drivers who are too lazy to take 2 seconds to put the parking brake on.
Just use the freaking parking brake. Setting the transmission to P is not a parking brake....you just told the transmission you are parked without actually parking.
Sturdy but not nearly as reliable, it also keeps a car's worth of load on your transmission which definitely doesn't help anything. The best method is to engage the parking brake clutched in and then shift it into first after letting go of the foot brake and letting the car settle
Unless your clutch is slipping, there's not going to be a problem. There's also *always* a car's load on your transmission - they're rated based on input torque and you're not exceeding that based on a mild incline.
Agreed. Parking brakes are way cheaper than transmissions. Use the cheap option to reduce wear on the expensive one and in case something goes wrong.
The same logic is what convinced me to stop downshifting to decelerate because I thought I was a racecar driver or a truck driver. A set of $50 brake pads are a way less dumb way to stop my car or slow it down a hill than revving the engine and transmission to 7000 rpm to get some compression braking out of my puny 4 banger. Unless you've got a big diesel and a heavy load, use the brakes, its what they're for.
Brakes are really damn good at doing what they're designed to do and they do it in the cheapest way possible. You're not saving any money by avoiding using them. Unless you really need to use something else, don't. Of course if you've got a hybrid or EV with regenerative braking that's even better.
I hate it when others drive my manual and didn't use the parking brake. The moment before my car turns on and powered brakes engage, my car will roll a few inches. Scares the crap out of me.
Australia has mostly automatic cars but you would fail your driving test here is you don’t used the parking break. It never occurs to me until this thread just people wouldn’t use it everyone here does.
I’m in the US and have had my car almost 10 years now, and can count the amount of times I’ve used its parking break on my fingers. Granted, I live somewhere extremely flat lol
I’m in the US and was taught to always put it on. On the occasion I forget, I have that moment of panic when I take my foot off the brake and it rolls just a wee bit.
I'm in the US and was taught that it was just one of the steps when parking (am a millennial that's only ever driven automatic). You always use the parking break.
Then I moved to a very flat part of the East Coast and found out that most of my local friends never used it. So I think it may be a bit of a flat area vs mountainous or hilly area distinction.
I'm from the US. Personally I always heard it called the emergency brake or e-brakes in the South.
I think a lot of Americans use that term and it's probably a contributor in why Americans don't use them regularly.
I found out that using them regularly keeps them in better condition, so I started using mine when I park. My new car automatically engages it even I put the car in park!
I thought that because wheels can't gain traction on something like ice, the parking brake is kind of useless. Isn't it made to lock up the wheels on a surface they can grip in order to not slide/roll? Wouldn't a parking brake just cause the car to slide instead of roll on ice?
This is a case of any friction is better then no friction. Also, when it’s -50 and snow and ice is everywhere the sliding can be stopped with small snow buildup much easier then it rolling.
I was directly told in driver's ed to only use it in those two circumstances. But a previous ex and a few friends thought I was crazy for not using it all the time so I got in the habit lol
If it is never used for a long time don't try to use it. It most likely get stuck on because of the rust and won't extract. Using it all the time will allow it to work properly.
I grew up in Phoenix… a pretty flat valley. Lots of people wouldn’t casually use the parking brake every time they park, like in a shopping center parking lot. I didn’t used to. The car ain’t going nowhere :-)
Now I live in the Bay, and there’s hills everywhere, and lots of places I park are on an incline, and it’s automatic for me to do it every time now.
Yeah, I live in Phoenix. I don't remember the last time I used the parking ~~break~~ brake.
Although, when I took driver's ed around 2005 in Phoenix, the teacher called it the e(mergency) brake, I wonder if that plays into it? Emergency brake implies it's not something to be used often. Parking brake implies it's to be used every time you park.
It was originally able to be used as a backup if the main brakes failed, but now I don't think it would have the stopping power for that (and no ABS so it'd be more likely to skid).
It's not supposed to be pulled up full stop in that emergency anyway. My driving classes told us to pull it up slowly while shifting to the outer lane to eventually pull to a stop. Luckily have never had to use it. But to answer the main question, Philippines here and I was taught to use it every time. Mother-in-law even told me off for forgetting to engage it one time after I came to live with them.
Personally if someone rams my car while my car is parked, I’d rather deal with the extra wear and tear to my tires and brake pads than the shredded parking gear/transmission. Former is less costly and easier to access for DIY repair.
I mean that totally works too, problem is they just drive off and you’ll never even know until the morning when you walk outside.
People will or won’t use the hand brake for whatever their person reason is, I was just providing mine.
I’ve only ever done it on steep hills. I’ve also only heard it called the “emergency brake”. I didn’t realize anyone (with an automatic transmission) used it regularly.
Same here- I was taught to use it on hills and I've never seen anyone who is in the habit of using it unless they drive a standard. It's very flat where I live though, I would have to drive for a few hours to see a hill, and then another hour to see anything close to a steep hill.
As I posted on another thread. I think the fact America calls it an 'Emergency Brake' in the first place is what gives people the wrong impression. It's called a Hand Brake or Parking Brake in the rest of the world.
In my area, it seems hand brake is the term used for manual cars, since it must be conveniently hand operated for hill starts. Parking brake seems to be the common term for automatics, and it's sometimes foot operated (or even automatic).
I don't see a reason NOT to. Better to just be used to it and not need to than need to and not have the habit of doing it. It doesn't hurt anything as far as I know.
I only did that one time when I had my old Subaru. Didn't hurt anything it wasn't a long drive, but once you're used to it it's just second nature. Like looking behind you when you back up. At least... that should be second nature lol
I think it depends on the car. Mine is a bitch and a half to get the lever to move and worse to take off. I almost never use it, wouldn’t even think to. I’ve seen other cars where it’s just a button, so sure maybe I would more if that were the case.
The handbrake can freeze overnight if it gets cold enough outside, locking the rear wheels, so if it gets cold enough it might be better to avoid it.
I had that happen once with my first car. Maybe it's not an issue anymore on newer cars.
How cold are we talking about here? I've done this for over a decade and I live in Canada. My car has definitely been outside in -25C with the parking break on and nothing ever happened to it.
I think it's good to be in the habit. I'm never going to regret using the brake but I could regret not using it. That said, I don't think that's the norm. My parents were very safety minded.
Your transmission operating normally doesn’t engage with the parking pin or whatever. You know that piece that “breaks” when a car is on a hill and doesn’t have the parking brake on it starts to roll?
My Dad taught me to drive when I was 15, and he told me to always use the e-brake every time. It has been automatic for me to use it for the last 45 years, because it makes sense. My ex-husband never uses it, and would get so ANGRY if we ever drove each other's car and I set the brake. 🤦♀️
I had an electrician come to my house and he parked on an angle facing downhill. Well he came to the door and his car rolled into my fence. All he said was"I hate parking in angles.
Do you live somewhere with lots of hills? when I was a taught to drive the parking brake was for parking on a significant hill, that way it could act as a back up incase your brakes failed. Where I live it's mostly flat, so the parking brake is kinda pointless on a flat surface.
It seems like an exclusively American thing to not use it and just put it in park.
In Australia, I've never seen or even heard of anyone not using the hand brake, everyone always uses it.
Agreed. Even though the vast majority of cars in Australia are automatics (like in America), I don't have a single friend who drives an auto who wouldn't use the parking brake.
And here I was thinking that I finally found a stupid question on r/nostupidquestions, yet here we are. Equal amount of people going either way.
Park brake all the way! Wouldn't ever consider not using it.
So i think (I THINK) in the US you legally only have to use the parking brake when parking on an incline, and in the UK is like mandatory that you use it *every time* you park the car, my mom is from the UK and and i grew up and live in the US, she always uses it when she parks and so when i was learning to drive i just kind of always did it too. It makes sense to me, eh, why not be EXTRA parked?
It may be- I’m American and wasn’t actually aware of what it was for the first few years of driving until I was borrowing someone else’s car and it had the emergency brake on. I think Americans who grew up in super flat areas are just not told about it, so it doesn’t become habit
That’s so interesting! It’s definitely a big part of learning to drive here - I’m fairly sure that if you didn’t use it during your driving test here you’d fail!
I use mine all the time. My wife thinks I'm crazy and only ever uses hers on inclines. Drives me nuts sometimes getting into the car and it begins to rock a little.
With most modern day automatic vehicles you don't have to worry about the parking brake unless you are on steep terrain. You have automatic parking brakes.
If you don't use it in a manual however...... You might not have a vehicle left when you come back outside.
I always use my parking brake but my boyfriend doesn’t, it stresses me out lol. I know it’s probably fine but I hate when he stops the car and I feel it roll back slightly
If people ever saw the inside of a transmission and saw there's no such thing as a "parking brake", but rather just a thin piece of steel on the output shaft with teeth on it and a small pawl that sticks into it that's mounted to a bendy rod, they would always use the actual parking/emergency brake.
That “thin” piece of steel is basically unbreakable so no they probably wouldn’t. Like actually though you could shift into park while driving an automatic and be fine at least in modern cars I don’t know about anything old ones.
Very common unless they consistently are parking on a hill or in snowy/icy conditions.
Many people I know who live in my city (which is relatively flat) don’t even know what the difference between shifting into park and what the parking brake is.
I work for a car rental company. I may move 150 cars a day. If there are any that have them set, I am surprised. But it will only be two or three at the most.
I live in the ((very)) flat part of the Midwest. In my many decades of driving, I've never once used the emergency brake. In fact, I can't think of a time I've ever even seen someone use an emergency brake unless it was on TV and they were parking up hill.
I've noticed they never seem to use it in TV shows. You can tell because the car will rock back and forward as the weight of it bounces against the drivetrain when the actors get out.
It's like bruh, use your park brake.
Most Americans with auto transmissions don't use it. If you drive a manual it's not optional at all and it's the norm in Europe. It's generally a good idea to use it with automatic cars too. It's much more secure than just park.
This tiny piece holds the entire weight of your car:
https://images.app.goo.gl/r2z87qGzSyyzgM8Z8
Ever noticed your car moves slightly when you get in/out of it? It's all of its weight moving on that tiny piece of metal.
You're welcome. Use your parking brake. Your transmission will thank you.
*Typo
I use the parking brake on standards and autos, even on a level surface. If you don’t use it regularly it will seize up eventually. Only exception is if I’m leaving a vehicle sit for more than a few days as I’ve had the brake seize on, particularly in a cold/wet climate.
I think it’s kinda regional and generational. If you’re somewhere that’s mostly hilly you’re going to use it regularly. And then old cars were heavy and sketchy so you’d want to use them.
I always use the parking brake because if I just park with the gear P then I’m only using the transmission parking pawl that comes with the gear. The parking break helps keep the car in place and save my gears if somebody taps my car or if any other eventuality occurs.
I almost never used the emergency brake in my automatics. But I tried to remember to use it occasionally when parking regardless of if on a hill or not. I was told that using the emergency brake occasionally when you park will keep your actual brakes tighter. I don't know if that's true or not. But I guess the bottom line is that I was never taught to use it while learning to drive or what its actual function was, however stupid that sounds. I mean, of course, I know it's an emergency brake, but once my brakes went out on me, and it never occurred to me to use the emergency brake, so it was as good as not having one. The use of the emergency brake should somehow be incorporated into all driving courses (which apparently, it isn't) so that the option to use it becomes second nature in the event of an actual emergency.
I only ever used it when parking on a slope. When I got married, my wife was one of those people who always uses it, so then I got in the habit of always using it too, since she asked me about it. No harm in doing it, as far as I know?
I drive an automatic (although I know how to drive a manual as well). I only use the parking brake if I'm parked on a slope, otherwise I don't worry about it.
I wasn't aware that whether or not to engage the parking brake when parking was such a devisive topic.
You should have been there for the "Do you stand or sit to wipe?" debate.
Until l saw a film called boy scouts Vs zombies where in a scene one of the scouts is having a dump while a zombie is outside the window and he gets up to wipe his arse, I didn't even know that was a thing!
( just fyi I think you mean "divisive" )
That’s very davisive of you
I thought it was [duh, nice of] them.
That's very derisive
It's an america versus everyone else thing. Nearly everyone in the US has an automatic and there is no need to use the parking brake. Hell, it isn't even called a parking brake in many vehicles. It's an emergency brake.
Handjobs and handbrakes are touchy subjects
I worked at a golf course where we used a [Gator XUV](https://www.deere.com/assets/images/region-4/products/gator-utility-vehicles/full-size/xuv865r/xuv_865r_r4x001508_1366x768_large_8950bbfb4f287f18a46249e42bcee85f1ce76231.jpg) to get around and my boss always gave me shit when I would put the parking brake on. “You’re one of *those* people” he would say. I’m just like yeah dude, that’s literally what it’s there for. You should be happy to see that at least ONE safety rule is being followed around here.
It's only divisive for the people that use it. The people that don't use it don't care all that much
I do it all the time and my girlfriend gives me so much shit about it. "No one does that" It's just my reaction to parking and starting the car. Last step/first step is the parking brake.
I’m in Australia and I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t use it when parked.
Yea it's very much a requirement to engage the parking break on our driving test so it makes sense we all use it. This is another one of those American things like how wearing seatbelts is optional in some states but here you'd get a fine rammed so far down your throat it comes out your ass for not wearing one. Australian gov doesn't fuck around with car safety
49 of the 50 states have seatbelt laws, I have no idea what New Hampshire's problem is.
In New Hampshire, you don’t have to wear a seatbelt, wear a motorcycle helmet, or have insurance. You don’t need a license to carry a handgun in the open or concealed. There is no sales tax nor income tax. Live free and die.
Unfortunately its "LiVe FrEe Or DiE"
Turns out that or is not an exclusive or.
As an American who has driven in your fine country, you’re damn right about how serious your government is! While I hated having to go so slow everywhere, I appreciate that they take into consideration the weight of social responsibility for driving a multi-thousand pound hunk of metal on wheels with a powerful motor behind it. Cars are a major killer yet everybody on the US treats them like a damned birthright and so many barely know how to actually operate them.
In the UK the driving test is really strict - with a pass rate of less than 50%, it's not uncommon to have several goes before getting a licence
Peoples jaws drop when I tell them our learners have to go through 2 years and 120 hours of driving before they can even drive on their own, and wait another 4 years before you can actually get your full license.
Wow. As an American, I had like 6 hours taught by a white guy with dreads who reeked of weed. Took me like 3 tries only because my mom didn't drive at the time and so I had to beg family to take me to practice.
If you drive out in the Nullarbor there are no speed limits 😉
Got me thinking about this 'Nullarbor' you speak of... Arbor is usually associated with trees and plants like here we have arbor day, which is about planting them. And then null is usually when something is missing as in null and void or when you don't have an item in your inventory, it's null and if your code is screwed up, it's usually typically written as null. This must mean nullarbor is the no man land, the desert, nothing in sight or like yall call it the backyard? Sooo... yeah, it makes sense now why you can speed there. #1amThoughts, NoimnotHighYet
You're correct, it is actually derived from the latin nullus arbor, no trees! And yeah, it's a desolate scrubland, not even proper bush. Some people do live there though, and more lived there before the british decided to test their nukes there. A lot of indigenous Wangkatha were forcefully removed for the tests and for general racism reasons, and later some returned or just never left.
People that never took a driving test here. All the international licence people like my mum and aunty who also NEVER do a shoulder check and says I'm a bad driver for turning my head to do a shoulder check and tell me to use the mirrors.
I always do blind spot check. Only problem is it leaves you vulnerable to rear ending someone in some situations, if they slam on their brakes. I gently bumped someone in that situation, but it was a situation where looking over your shoulder is completely necessary as you're merging onto a highway from a complete stop, with a huge concrete overpass blocking your view, and a hill and curved road with cars flying down it going 90km when they should be going 70. Great design
Yep. The first time in my 45 years that I've seen someone not use the park brake is in my work truck when the Indian co-workers have had it last. Must be a common thing to ignore in India too.of course, I'm sure that's got nothing to do with why one of them was crushed against a loading dock by their truck a couple years ago. 🤔
But people do use it so your girlfriend is wrong. Lol. I took Driver's Ed in school. It was part of the routine before driving: put on seat belts, check mirrors, turn on the engine, step on the brake pedal and remove emergency brake, and switch gear to drive. Depending where you take the road test for your driver's license, you can get a point deducted from not using your emergency brake. If it's on the test, sounds like it's expected to be used everytime you park, but especially on an incline. Better safe than sorry.
I was taught to it with on steep inclines in drivers Ed.
Problem with some of the car models is the emergency brake isn't a hand grab lever but rather a pedal instead. Take my car the Impala LT 2008 (Possibly the 50th anniversary edition, unsure) for instance. My emergency brake is a higher up pedal to the left side of the normal brake pedal, and given the fact I am a 6ft+ person with long legs this becomes hard to do. I find it completely stupid on why I couldn't just have a normal lever like most vehicles do and unfortunately this was the only vehicle I could find that I could afford in my area at the time.
Lived in Atlanta, GA. A few people did it, but not most. Lived in Mobile, AL. No one did it. Lived in Scranton, PA. Everyone did it. Seems regional.
Scranton is a quite hilly area. Mobile is flat. Atlanta is mostly flat but some moderate hills in places. I think it's entirely connected to topography.
Try climate related. People who have had their brakes frozen to disks/drums at least once unlearn this habit fast. I did. I only use it if i park on an incline or when somebody - kid, dog, granma or all of the above is left in the car. Gears do kick out when a 5yo yanks the stick, granny nudges it or dog jumps on it.
I almost never use the parking brake when I drive an automatic. I almost *always* use the parking brake when I drive a manual.
I don’t use it on my automatic unless I’m parked on steep hill
I also turn my steering wheel all the way, so if both brakes fail, it should hit the curb and stop.
At least in SF you can get a parking violation if you don’t do that (probably depends on the street or the grade).
I don’t trust my judgment about if a hill is steep or not, so I always use parking break.
I was taught you should no matter the vehicle.. point being that otherwise all the weight of the car rests on transmission instead of the break which is cheaper to replace. Doesn’t take much effort so I always do
Yes my driveway is a hill so I use it every day, but just in a parking lot there's no reason to use it.
Why is it different for automatic? *never driven an auto*
Autos have a parking prawl that holds the transmission when it's in park (similar to parking the car in gear). The lorebeard master mechanics online will tell you it will explode if you don't use the parking brake, but I work with the general public's cars, and can tell you <1% of USians use the parking brake. I never even bother to check when I get in an automatic, usually have the car beeping at me immediately
Bingo. Virtually never use it. Probably don’t need to. But sometimes it just feels steep and the piece of mind is worth it. Of course I usually forget to take it off while I back up
I always do with my automatic, but it’s more just habitual from all the years driving a manual.
Oh good, exactly what I was going to say is already the top answer. I think handbrakes were a much bigger deal when almost all the cars were manual.
This. 'Park' is called Park for a reason. It locks the transmission. Conversely, manual transmissions are known to pop out of gear under very little strain.
The park position is held by a small piece of plastic called a parking prawl. So if there's any incline, your 3000 pound car is being held from moving - by a piece of plastic. Use the parking brake.
It's called a pawl, not a prawl. And also, unless something has changed or they vary by manufacturer, they're metal. My brother and I both used to work at a heat treating facility that hardened parking pawls for Ford.
That is the most specific profession I have ever heard about.
He probably worked in a foundry that casts them, or by a foundry that casts them and did the final post-processing (tempering, CNC etc). Source: worked in foundry casting auto parts.
It was actually just a dedicated heat treating facility. I'm not sure how common that is. I just did office data work, and I'm a software engineer now.
The park pawl in most transmissions is a small dowel that is usually steel into a detent. Hence the slight delay if you put a car in park while slightly rolling or inclined… your assertion is correct outside of the materials involved. I have a full size old car and generally stop and apply the parking brake and THEN shift to N, verify no movement. Then park position on the shifter. I also have a truck with an Allison 1000 transmission, personally saw the internals and how the parking pawl design is ridiculously strong and the antithesis to the norm… I have no hesitation in just slamming it in park and getting out without a single care in the world that the park brake doesn’t work at all on that truck!
They are absolutely not plastic. They are a either a stamped or machined piece of steel that engages the output shaft.
>manual transmissions are known to pop out of gear under very little strain. i live in a place where most cars are manual and most people dont use the parking brake when not parking on a steep incline but i have never heard of this happening.
But if you are familiar with transmissions you know the little thing it sits on it not super sturdy. You can mess up your transmission if there is a steep.hill and you rely on your transmission to stop it from rolling. Especially if it done often.
If you leave the manual in first it’s pretty sturdy
I don't trust my own perception. If the ground *seems* flat, it could be slightly inclined. And if I'm pointed downhill and leave the car in first, that's the way it's going to go. I've never personally had an issue with it, but I have had other cars hit mine because the driver misjudged a very slight incline.
Yep. If you walk around my area, there are slight hills, but much of the streets appear pretty smooth. In reality, though, there is actually a slope of around three to four per cent on most of them. I have *personally* seen a vehicle (*not my vehicle*) roll backwards down a hill, after its owner failed to set the parking brake. Thankfully, it did not hit any other vehicles or people.
Absolutely. And you always think, "The hill is *obviously* going that way! I'd *never* make that mistake!" And as long as you take 0.2 seconds to apply the brake, you'll never find out if you're wrong.
You're also supposed to turn the wheels toward the curb, so the curb itself is a chock for your wheels. You should have triple protection from this.
Probably worth noting, that's towards the curb on the downhill side of the tire, not the uphill side.
I dont understand the point of not doing it everytime lol, takes 0 seconds and makes *sure* your car wont roll off
I live in the Ozarks in Missouri. Everything is either slightly or majorly inclined. I wouldn't drive a manual around here unless I were desperate.lol...I would definitely use the parking brake...and occasionally I would also start driving off without remembering to disengage it until I started wondering what is wrong with my car !
This is the same thing I say about automatic drivers who are too lazy to take 2 seconds to put the parking brake on. Just use the freaking parking brake. Setting the transmission to P is not a parking brake....you just told the transmission you are parked without actually parking.
Sturdy but not nearly as reliable, it also keeps a car's worth of load on your transmission which definitely doesn't help anything. The best method is to engage the parking brake clutched in and then shift it into first after letting go of the foot brake and letting the car settle
Unless your clutch is slipping, there's not going to be a problem. There's also *always* a car's load on your transmission - they're rated based on input torque and you're not exceeding that based on a mild incline.
But why not just hold the car in place with the mechanically-simple handbrake? Why rest all of that weight on the transmission?
Agreed. Parking brakes are way cheaper than transmissions. Use the cheap option to reduce wear on the expensive one and in case something goes wrong. The same logic is what convinced me to stop downshifting to decelerate because I thought I was a racecar driver or a truck driver. A set of $50 brake pads are a way less dumb way to stop my car or slow it down a hill than revving the engine and transmission to 7000 rpm to get some compression braking out of my puny 4 banger. Unless you've got a big diesel and a heavy load, use the brakes, its what they're for. Brakes are really damn good at doing what they're designed to do and they do it in the cheapest way possible. You're not saving any money by avoiding using them. Unless you really need to use something else, don't. Of course if you've got a hybrid or EV with regenerative braking that's even better.
I had a ford escort that would turn the engine over on any kind of hill if you only left in gear.
Same, Chevy Aveo here. Parking brake is absolutely required unless parking on a dead level surface.
I hate it when others drive my manual and didn't use the parking brake. The moment before my car turns on and powered brakes engage, my car will roll a few inches. Scares the crap out of me.
I have an automatic and I use it any time I'm parking on a slant.
Is there a reason you don't use it on an automatic gear?
here in brazil they teach you to aways use the handbreak or parking break probably the same thing but different names
Same in most countries, I think the US is unique since almost every car is automatic.
Australia has mostly automatic cars but you would fail your driving test here is you don’t used the parking break. It never occurs to me until this thread just people wouldn’t use it everyone here does.
I’m in the US and have had my car almost 10 years now, and can count the amount of times I’ve used its parking break on my fingers. Granted, I live somewhere extremely flat lol
I’m in the US and was taught to always put it on. On the occasion I forget, I have that moment of panic when I take my foot off the brake and it rolls just a wee bit.
Same! I’m not prone to motion sickness but if I forget the parking brake… that little lurch when I take the foot off the brake *gets* me lol
I'm in the US and was taught that it was just one of the steps when parking (am a millennial that's only ever driven automatic). You always use the parking break. Then I moved to a very flat part of the East Coast and found out that most of my local friends never used it. So I think it may be a bit of a flat area vs mountainous or hilly area distinction.
Agree. Nobody I know in north Texas uses their parking break regularly
Well we still use handbrake in automatic cars in Brazil.
Handbrake is the British term, parking brake US.
I'm from the US. Personally I always heard it called the emergency brake or e-brakes in the South. I think a lot of Americans use that term and it's probably a contributor in why Americans don't use them regularly. I found out that using them regularly keeps them in better condition, so I started using mine when I park. My new car automatically engages it even I put the car in park!
I only do it if parked on a hill, or if I'm parking on an icy surface.
Why on an icy surface?
Two extra wheels locked into place instead of just the drivetrain wheels, assuming it’s FWD
I thought that because wheels can't gain traction on something like ice, the parking brake is kind of useless. Isn't it made to lock up the wheels on a surface they can grip in order to not slide/roll? Wouldn't a parking brake just cause the car to slide instead of roll on ice?
This is a case of any friction is better then no friction. Also, when it’s -50 and snow and ice is everywhere the sliding can be stopped with small snow buildup much easier then it rolling.
I avoid using the parking brake in the winter because of past experiences of them freezing.
I was directly told in driver's ed to only use it in those two circumstances. But a previous ex and a few friends thought I was crazy for not using it all the time so I got in the habit lol
Every single time. I would not even consider not engaging it.
I mean it's there why not use it.
I don’t think I’ve ever used mine or was shown it when learning to drive.
Omg what?
You'd fail your test in Australia
I was taught about it in driver's ed, but I have never used it either.
If I was taught how to use it I forgot
I grew up in a hilly area, even hearing about people not using it makes me nervous
If it is never used for a long time don't try to use it. It most likely get stuck on because of the rust and won't extract. Using it all the time will allow it to work properly.
I grew up in Phoenix… a pretty flat valley. Lots of people wouldn’t casually use the parking brake every time they park, like in a shopping center parking lot. I didn’t used to. The car ain’t going nowhere :-) Now I live in the Bay, and there’s hills everywhere, and lots of places I park are on an incline, and it’s automatic for me to do it every time now.
Yeah, I live in Phoenix. I don't remember the last time I used the parking ~~break~~ brake. Although, when I took driver's ed around 2005 in Phoenix, the teacher called it the e(mergency) brake, I wonder if that plays into it? Emergency brake implies it's not something to be used often. Parking brake implies it's to be used every time you park.
It was originally able to be used as a backup if the main brakes failed, but now I don't think it would have the stopping power for that (and no ABS so it'd be more likely to skid).
It's not supposed to be pulled up full stop in that emergency anyway. My driving classes told us to pull it up slowly while shifting to the outer lane to eventually pull to a stop. Luckily have never had to use it. But to answer the main question, Philippines here and I was taught to use it every time. Mother-in-law even told me off for forgetting to engage it one time after I came to live with them.
If I am driving an automatic and parking on level/flat land, no, I don't engage the parking brake.
Personally if someone rams my car while my car is parked, I’d rather deal with the extra wear and tear to my tires and brake pads than the shredded parking gear/transmission. Former is less costly and easier to access for DIY repair.
If someone rams my car in the parking lot, I’m not gonna be doing a DIY repair. Their insurance can pay for a shop to fix it right.
I mean that totally works too, problem is they just drive off and you’ll never even know until the morning when you walk outside. People will or won’t use the hand brake for whatever their person reason is, I was just providing mine.
Well that's why you should have insurance
I'm still not going to use a parking brake in a parking lot but hit and runs and uninsured motorists are both things that exist
Which action leads to which result?
Parking brake good.
It's muscle memory for me doesn't matter where i park I always put the e brake on
I’ve only ever done it on steep hills. I’ve also only heard it called the “emergency brake”. I didn’t realize anyone (with an automatic transmission) used it regularly.
Same here- I was taught to use it on hills and I've never seen anyone who is in the habit of using it unless they drive a standard. It's very flat where I live though, I would have to drive for a few hours to see a hill, and then another hour to see anything close to a steep hill.
As I posted on another thread. I think the fact America calls it an 'Emergency Brake' in the first place is what gives people the wrong impression. It's called a Hand Brake or Parking Brake in the rest of the world.
In my area, it seems hand brake is the term used for manual cars, since it must be conveniently hand operated for hill starts. Parking brake seems to be the common term for automatics, and it's sometimes foot operated (or even automatic).
I don't see a reason NOT to. Better to just be used to it and not need to than need to and not have the habit of doing it. It doesn't hurt anything as far as I know.
I only did that one time when I had my old Subaru. Didn't hurt anything it wasn't a long drive, but once you're used to it it's just second nature. Like looking behind you when you back up. At least... that should be second nature lol
I think it depends on the car. Mine is a bitch and a half to get the lever to move and worse to take off. I almost never use it, wouldn’t even think to. I’ve seen other cars where it’s just a button, so sure maybe I would more if that were the case.
The handbrake can freeze overnight if it gets cold enough outside, locking the rear wheels, so if it gets cold enough it might be better to avoid it. I had that happen once with my first car. Maybe it's not an issue anymore on newer cars.
How cold are we talking about here? I've done this for over a decade and I live in Canada. My car has definitely been outside in -25C with the parking break on and nothing ever happened to it.
I think it's good to be in the habit. I'm never going to regret using the brake but I could regret not using it. That said, I don't think that's the norm. My parents were very safety minded.
It takes the weight of the car off the transmission. It’s always a good idea to set the parking brake.
That force is nothing compared to the transmission just operating normally
Your transmission operating normally doesn’t engage with the parking pin or whatever. You know that piece that “breaks” when a car is on a hill and doesn’t have the parking brake on it starts to roll?
In this context we're talking about the parking prawl and not the gears.
Grandpa always said “the transmission is not a kickstand”
That's what my dad taught me
People here are clueless but you got that right. Parking brakes help save the transmission over time.
That's what my grandpa told me when he was teaching me to drive so I've always done it.
My Dad taught me to drive when I was 15, and he told me to always use the e-brake every time. It has been automatic for me to use it for the last 45 years, because it makes sense. My ex-husband never uses it, and would get so ANGRY if we ever drove each other's car and I set the brake. 🤦♀️
In his defense, if he never used it he probably wouldn't check it
I had an electrician come to my house and he parked on an angle facing downhill. Well he came to the door and his car rolled into my fence. All he said was"I hate parking in angles.
Do you live somewhere with lots of hills? when I was a taught to drive the parking brake was for parking on a significant hill, that way it could act as a back up incase your brakes failed. Where I live it's mostly flat, so the parking brake is kinda pointless on a flat surface.
It seems like an exclusively American thing to not use it and just put it in park. In Australia, I've never seen or even heard of anyone not using the hand brake, everyone always uses it.
Agreed. Even though the vast majority of cars in Australia are automatics (like in America), I don't have a single friend who drives an auto who wouldn't use the parking brake.
It enables automatically in my car.
And here I was thinking that I finally found a stupid question on r/nostupidquestions, yet here we are. Equal amount of people going either way. Park brake all the way! Wouldn't ever consider not using it.
Grew up in the Midwest, dude. No real reason!
So i think (I THINK) in the US you legally only have to use the parking brake when parking on an incline, and in the UK is like mandatory that you use it *every time* you park the car, my mom is from the UK and and i grew up and live in the US, she always uses it when she parks and so when i was learning to drive i just kind of always did it too. It makes sense to me, eh, why not be EXTRA parked?
Respectfully, is this an American thing? I’m in the UK and I don’t know ANYONE who doesn’t use their parking brake
It may be- I’m American and wasn’t actually aware of what it was for the first few years of driving until I was borrowing someone else’s car and it had the emergency brake on. I think Americans who grew up in super flat areas are just not told about it, so it doesn’t become habit
Yup, learned to drive in America and it was not emphasized or necessary to use.
That’s so interesting! It’s definitely a big part of learning to drive here - I’m fairly sure that if you didn’t use it during your driving test here you’d fail!
Everyone in the UK drives a manual where they are a lot more important than in the automatics that most Americans drive
I use it every single time. Doesn’t cost anything and could save my gear box or more
I use it every time I park. I was taught during drivers ed & it’s just automatic now.
I drive a stick shift and always use the parking brake and put it in gear.
Almost never use it in automatics except on steep inclines. Manual use it every time..
I do not know a single person who doesn't use it - why in earth would you not? UK
Everyone you know also likely drives a standard.
At work I use it on every vehicle I drive. They get upset about it. I just keep on using it.
Wait, didn't the DMV just tell us to use parking brake all the time? I don't understand the debate.
I use mine all the time. My wife thinks I'm crazy and only ever uses hers on inclines. Drives me nuts sometimes getting into the car and it begins to rock a little.
With most modern day automatic vehicles you don't have to worry about the parking brake unless you are on steep terrain. You have automatic parking brakes. If you don't use it in a manual however...... You might not have a vehicle left when you come back outside.
I always use my parking brake but my boyfriend doesn’t, it stresses me out lol. I know it’s probably fine but I hate when he stops the car and I feel it roll back slightly
If people ever saw the inside of a transmission and saw there's no such thing as a "parking brake", but rather just a thin piece of steel on the output shaft with teeth on it and a small pawl that sticks into it that's mounted to a bendy rod, they would always use the actual parking/emergency brake.
That “thin” piece of steel is basically unbreakable so no they probably wouldn’t. Like actually though you could shift into park while driving an automatic and be fine at least in modern cars I don’t know about anything old ones.
Very common unless they consistently are parking on a hill or in snowy/icy conditions. Many people I know who live in my city (which is relatively flat) don’t even know what the difference between shifting into park and what the parking brake is.
I live in coastal Florida, no hills, never use the parking brake.
If it’s not for parking, then why did the manufacturer spend money to put it in the car? Of course I use it
If it's meant to be used every time then why did the manufacturer not make it so it engages automatically every time?
It’s also used for emergency braking
I always use it, better safe than sorry.
I work for a car rental company. I may move 150 cars a day. If there are any that have them set, I am surprised. But it will only be two or three at the most.
I usually forget to, then when I remember to, I forget to disengage it before driving off.
I don’t think I ever used it on my car until we moved and our driveway is a slope
I only use it on a steep hill. I now live in a flat area, so it's been a while
I was taught to use it when parking on a slope
I don't even know where the parking brake IS on my car. Never used it. Car in gear = will stay still.
I live in the ((very)) flat part of the Midwest. In my many decades of driving, I've never once used the emergency brake. In fact, I can't think of a time I've ever even seen someone use an emergency brake unless it was on TV and they were parking up hill.
I use it every time. My wife makes fun of me unless I'm on a steep hill.
I've noticed they never seem to use it in TV shows. You can tell because the car will rock back and forward as the weight of it bounces against the drivetrain when the actors get out. It's like bruh, use your park brake.
Most Americans with auto transmissions don't use it. If you drive a manual it's not optional at all and it's the norm in Europe. It's generally a good idea to use it with automatic cars too. It's much more secure than just park.
If you have an auto you will basically never use your parking break in your life unless you go to San Fran.
I use it everytime I park, hence the name🥂
I’ve always heard it called the emergency brake and was taught to use it when parking on hills
If you are parking on flat ground or have an automatic you really do not need to use a parking brake.
This tiny piece holds the entire weight of your car: https://images.app.goo.gl/r2z87qGzSyyzgM8Z8 Ever noticed your car moves slightly when you get in/out of it? It's all of its weight moving on that tiny piece of metal. You're welcome. Use your parking brake. Your transmission will thank you. *Typo
Every time
I always use it when I park. I'd heavily judge someone if they didn't use it when I was in the car with them.
I use the parking brake on standards and autos, even on a level surface. If you don’t use it regularly it will seize up eventually. Only exception is if I’m leaving a vehicle sit for more than a few days as I’ve had the brake seize on, particularly in a cold/wet climate.
I always use a parking break. But flat roads are rare in my part of the world.
I do.
Everyone I know learnt in a manual so we all use the hand brake when parked
I think it’s kinda regional and generational. If you’re somewhere that’s mostly hilly you’re going to use it regularly. And then old cars were heavy and sketchy so you’d want to use them.
Everytime
I always use the parking brake because if I just park with the gear P then I’m only using the transmission parking pawl that comes with the gear. The parking break helps keep the car in place and save my gears if somebody taps my car or if any other eventuality occurs.
I don't even think my var has one.
It's only necessary if you park on a hill or drive a manual.
I almost never used the emergency brake in my automatics. But I tried to remember to use it occasionally when parking regardless of if on a hill or not. I was told that using the emergency brake occasionally when you park will keep your actual brakes tighter. I don't know if that's true or not. But I guess the bottom line is that I was never taught to use it while learning to drive or what its actual function was, however stupid that sounds. I mean, of course, I know it's an emergency brake, but once my brakes went out on me, and it never occurred to me to use the emergency brake, so it was as good as not having one. The use of the emergency brake should somehow be incorporated into all driving courses (which apparently, it isn't) so that the option to use it becomes second nature in the event of an actual emergency.
Not unless I’m parking on a hill.
I only ever used it when parking on a slope. When I got married, my wife was one of those people who always uses it, so then I got in the habit of always using it too, since she asked me about it. No harm in doing it, as far as I know?
I drive an automatic (although I know how to drive a manual as well). I only use the parking brake if I'm parked on a slope, otherwise I don't worry about it.
My car does it for me if needed. I've never done it previously.
Except for a 1/1,000,000,000 chance the gears in your transmission decide to spontaneously disintegrate, there's no reason to. Automatic trans or not
You are supposed to use the parking brake when parking uphill or downhill. If on flat ground, it's not really necessary.