How Not To Apply Car's Hand Break

Engaging Parking Brake

Hand brake, also known as the parking brake is one of the most misunderstood brake mechanism in an automobile. It is widely believed that a hand brake is more of a backup thing and used only in emergencies. But this is a very wrong notion and can in some situations result in endangering the life of occupants of a vehicle. We normally tend to put the car into gear (or Park in an automatic) and then engage the handbrake. This is not the correct way as in this situation the transmission has to take most of the load and not the handbrake.

Whenever you are parking a car, especially on a hill, keep the foot-brake engaged to hold the car stationary, next disengage the gear to bring the car into neutral and then pull on the handbrake fully. Now you can select 1st gear in a manual or Park mode in an automatic for added security. Following this sequence ensures that the parking brake holds the car’s weight and prevents putting vehicles transmission under undue load. Also note that the correct way to apply the handbrake is to press the button in first as you are pulling the brake on.

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