Should You Shift Gear or Pull the Handbrake First When Starting the Car?
2 Answers
When starting the car, you should shift into gear first and then release the handbrake. This is because when starting, you may not know if the ground is level. If it's on a slope, releasing the handbrake first will leave the car in a neutral coasting state, causing it to roll in the direction of the slope without any braking, which can easily lead to a safety hazard. When parking, you should first engage the handbrake and then shift into neutral. This ensures the vehicle won't move, as many people tend to release the clutch and brake after shifting into neutral. If the gear isn't correctly shifted into neutral or the parking spot is on a slope, the vehicle may move. However, for automatic transmission cars, you can directly shift into P (Park) and then engage the handbrake when parking.
As a logistics driver with over a decade of experience, I can't stress enough how crucial this issue is! Vehicle startup safety should always come first. If you're on a slope, engaging the gear before releasing the handbrake prevents rollback. Once when driving a heavy truck uphill, I habitually engaged the gear first before releasing the handbrake and discovered the brake pads were stuck - timely detecting a brake failure. Imagine the danger if I'd released the handbrake first before engaging the gear - the sudden vehicle movement could have been disastrous. For automatic transmissions, the safest sequence is: start the engine, press the brake, shift to D, then release the electronic parking brake. For manual transmissions, press the clutch, engage first gear, then release the handbrake. Developing this habit protects your transmission - many novice drivers neglect this, leading to transmission noises.
