Parking in gear

[tut]

Can't remember if it is Morvie or Heds that is the driving instructor, but this is one for them.

Clare, Ian and Amber have all told me that their driving instructors told them not to leave their cars in gear when they park them. Verian also told me that she was taught the same in the police force. Net result of that was when we bought a new Citroen CX 2400 and on the third day she left it on a slope, five minutes later it rolled down and went into a garden wall at the bottom.

Tonight Ian parked the TT outside a friends house on a hill, and just called us to say that after ten minutes it rolled down and hit a garden wall. Just checked the hand brake when he got home and it will not budge in first gear when pulled up firmly. I know my physics is not great, but as I understand it, the disks and pads get hot after driving so expand, hand brake is applied, they then cool off and contract, so less force on the disk. And that is why we leave it in gear.

First question is are there any drivers on here who do not leave their car in gear when they park, and if so for what reason?

Secondly, is there any valid reason why driving instructors should teach their students not to park in gear, other than they may try and start it in gear when they get in the car? Which of course they should never do as they should have been taught that the last action before they turn the key is to check it is in neutral.

tut

[Rusty]

Tut,

i remember my car lessons i was taught the same thing, but my dad used to own a really old golf which the hand-brake was rubbish so he left it in gear,

so i learnt from that, with my polo the hand-brake was rubbish, my laguna is quite good but i still park in gear just for the extra safety.

Your physics are correct (i'm terrible at physics) but i remember the purple/navy blue s1 exige (wallsy?) at the amp trackday who had their car roll forwards cause it wasn't in gear,

i thought it was for the basic reason of keeping it in neutral to avoid the car moving and hitting/crashing into something?

is Ian's tt ok?

Adam

[tut]

He got away lightly Adam, the front nearside bumper area is gouged fairly deeply, but no splitting or body damage. Alan Ramsay who did N1 should be able to sort it out for around £50.

The owner of the garden wall wants compensation for the green paint on it. Just off to get my chequebook to write him a biggy..........

tut

[tenkfeet]

Is its so VX owners do not mount other Vx's when they start their cars ?

Sorry

[Rusty]

go buy a tub of green paint and paint the wall, tell him your being eco friendly and making the wall "green"

or get ian to pay for the wall? teach him for not parking in gear!

i park the bike in gear as well, but only facing up hill and in first, pity there is no reverse gear to allow me to park facing down hill (would roll off the stand)

btw, its morv thats the instructor.

(i wanted to mention the vx incident but i thought i'd keep sshhh lol.

[cstrachan]

I thought the driving instructors tell you to turn the wheels towards the kerb so you stop on it if the hand brake fails. I always park in gear after owning lots of dodgy sheds with poor hand brakes in my younger years.

[r055]

i seem to remember being taught to put it in neutral when stopping the car - not being taught not to park it in gear - same thing I suppose!

To be honest, I very rarely park it in gear - i'll do it if its on a steep slope and i'll point the wheels into the kerb

He must have been ragging the car about the roads to get that amount of warmth into the discs. Either that or the handbrake wasnt applied enough

[BiggestNizzy]

Was never taught to leave it in gear but it was a few years ago that I passed my test.

I always leave it in gear and start the car with my foot on the clutch.

I can't think of any reason not to.

[Brian J]

I thought the driving instructors tell you to turn the wheels towards the kerb so you stop on it if the hand brake fails. I always park in gear after owning lots of dodgy LOTUSES with poor hand brakes in my younger years.

Ditto - Original Lotus Elan handbrake never worked for more than 5 minutes after being fixed

[heds]

This happened to me on Saturday in the Elise!

Parked up in a carpark on a slight slope after a spirited 1.5hr drive (hot brakes) came back to the carpark 2 hrs later and I thought it had been stolen!

Thankfully it had only rolled one car length back and not hit anything. Some people had then rolled it back a bit more so it wasn't blocking the road!

I was never told to park in gear by my driving instructor but do now!!

[VXJON]

Is its so VX owners do not mount other Vx's when they start their cars ?

Sorry

[cjm]

I always park my car in gear after my first car (charade GTti) rolled down the drive and crashed through the garage door 10mins after I had parked it!

Colin

[Sanjøy]

I never leave it in gear. Dunno why, pretty sure I was taught it. Health and safety should you forget when starting it up ?

[cjm]

I thought the driving instructors tell you to turn the wheels towards the kerb so you stop on it if the hand brake fails. I always park in gear after owning lots of dodgy LOTUSES with poor hand brakes in my younger years.

Ditto - Original Lotus Elan handbrake never worked for more than 5 minutes after being fixed

My dads Elan was the same, handbrake work for the MOT and for about a week after that!

[meatball]

When on the flat in the garage, handbrake off and in 1st gear.
Out on the road, handbrake on, in 1st gear.
That is how I was taught and how my employers also taught me.
HTH