Should You Engage the Handbrake or Shift Gears First When Driving?

[StAdrian]

For manual transmissions, you should shift into gear first before releasing the handbrake. This is to prevent the vehicle from rolling backward if parked on a slope—releasing the handbrake first could cause the car to roll, but shifting into gear first ensures it stays in place. For automatic transmissions, the order doesn't matter as much; you can either shift into gear or engage the handbrake first, as long as safety is ensured. Here’s an introduction to manual and automatic transmissions: 1. A manual transmission uses a manual gear-shifting mechanical transmission (also called a manual gearbox, MT) to adjust the vehicle's speed. This means the driver must manually move the gear lever to change the gear engagement inside the transmission, altering the gear ratio to achieve speed changes. 2. An automatic transmission does not require the driver to shift gears manually. The vehicle automatically selects the appropriate gear based on driving speed and traffic conditions.