Why Your 'Park' Gear Is Not Enough to Hold Your Car

#1 · 10 January 2026, 04:45

Quote from aaacardrivings on 10 January 2026, 04:45
Most drivers operate under a false sense of security. They pull into a spot, shove the gear lever into "P," and walk away. They assume the transmission will hold the car. AAA Car Driving School is here to challenge that assumption and explain why relying on the transmission alone is a recipe for disaster. The "Park" gear is not a brake. It is a locking mechanism, and a fragile one at that.

Inside an automatic transmission, the parking pawl is a pin roughly the size of a finger. When you engage Park, this pin slots into a notched ring on the output shaft. That small piece of metal is the only thing holding your 4,000-pound vehicle stationary. On a steep hill, gravity exerts massive torque on that pin. If your car is bumped by another vehicle, or if the mechanism is worn, the pin can snap. Once it snaps, your car is a free-rolling projectile.

This is why we aggressively teach the concept of "curbing your wheels." By turning your tires into the curb, you are using the solid concrete infrastructure of the city as your safety net. You are taking the load off the transmission and transferring it to the chassis and the curb. It is a fail-safe. If the parking pawl snaps, and if the handbrake cable stretches or snaps, the curb will physically block the tire from moving.

We also challenge the lazy habit of ignoring the handbrake. Many drivers think the handbrake is only for manual cars. This is dangerously incorrect. The handbrake (or parking brake) clamps the brake calipers directly. It is a redundant system designed to hold the vehicle. Not using it puts unnecessary stress on your transmission components, leading to premature wear and expensive repairs. We see it all the time: a student struggles to shift out of Park on a hill because the weight of the car is jamming the pawl against the gear. Using the handbrake first prevents this "torque lock."

When you attend a Top Drive Driving School, we don't just teach you to pass the test; we teach you to protect your property. We challenge you to use every safety system available to you. Curb the wheels. Set the brake. Save your transmission. It takes two seconds to do it right, and it could save you thousands of dollars in liability.

Stop trusting a tiny metal pin with your safety. Learn to secure your vehicle like a professional.

Challenge your bad habits and learn correct techniques with AAA Car Driving School.

Visit us at: https://aaacardrivingschool.com/

Most drivers operate under a false sense of security. They pull into a spot, shove the gear lever into "P," and walk away. They assume the transmission will hold the car. AAA Car Driving School is here to challenge that assumption and explain why relying on the transmission alone is a recipe for disaster. The "Park" gear is not a brake. It is a locking mechanism, and a fragile one at that.

Inside an automatic transmission, the parking pawl is a pin roughly the size of a finger. When you engage Park, this pin slots into a notched ring on the output shaft. That small piece of metal is the only thing holding your 4,000-pound vehicle stationary. On a steep hill, gravity exerts massive torque on that pin. If your car is bumped by another vehicle, or if the mechanism is worn, the pin can snap. Once it snaps, your car is a free-rolling projectile.

This is why we aggressively teach the concept of "curbing your wheels." By turning your tires into the curb, you are using the solid concrete infrastructure of the city as your safety net. You are taking the load off the transmission and transferring it to the chassis and the curb. It is a fail-safe. If the parking pawl snaps, and if the handbrake cable stretches or snaps, the curb will physically block the tire from moving.

We also challenge the lazy habit of ignoring the handbrake. Many drivers think the handbrake is only for manual cars. This is dangerously incorrect. The handbrake (or parking brake) clamps the brake calipers directly. It is a redundant system designed to hold the vehicle. Not using it puts unnecessary stress on your transmission components, leading to premature wear and expensive repairs. We see it all the time: a student struggles to shift out of Park on a hill because the weight of the car is jamming the pawl against the gear. Using the handbrake first prevents this "torque lock."

When you attend a Top Drive Driving School, we don't just teach you to pass the test; we teach you to protect your property. We challenge you to use every safety system available to you. Curb the wheels. Set the brake. Save your transmission. It takes two seconds to do it right, and it could save you thousands of dollars in liability.

Stop trusting a tiny metal pin with your safety. Learn to secure your vehicle like a professional.

Challenge your bad habits and learn correct techniques with AAA Car Driving School.

Visit us at: https://aaacardrivingschool.com/

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