Do you leave your car in gear?

If parking on a hill, always in gear, and the handbrake on. On the flat, probably in neutral with the handbrake on. When parking in the garage, or long term parking in the open, in gear and handbrake off, to prevent the shoes or pads rusting on to the drums or discs.
Honest John of the Daily Telegraph has reported that modern handbrakes can relax after the car has cooled down from a run, allowing it to move some time after parking.
I have known handbrake cables to break.

I drive a Saab 9-5 and always have to put the gearbox into Reverse when parking. If I don’t I can’t remove the key! I once saw a car that had rolled down a grass slope in a cliff-top carpark straight into another car. If it had been left in gear that wouldn’t have happened.

TL;DR the previous comments, but my opinion is this:

First and foremost, *always* *always* *always* depress the clutch and the brake when starting the car. Gear or no gear, there may be a time you’ll think you’re not in gear when you are. So always start the engine with the clutch depressed.

Secondly, I do put my car in gear whenever I’m parked on an incline or decline, no matter the steepness. I did find it hard to remember to put it in reverse or forward depending on the direction faced. Uphill = forward, downhill = backwards, in other words, choose the gear that you would use to move the car uphill from its present position.

Again as a 60 year old I was taught to park the car in gear and on inclines to turn the wheel so that if the car moved the kerb would help prevent it rolling away. However, I was told not to leave the handbrake on as well, The ‘reason’ for this was that if the car is left overnight the drop in temperature leads to the handbrake cable stretching. A little stretch each night soon leads to a handbrake that won’t hold.

I am missing something here – I thought the space above would allow me to add my vote – there is no available link/ icon whatever – but I must be doing something wrong. In any case I have advised my wife to park in gear – she was a no before now, but I am a definite yes. I thank you for the advice on depressing the clutch on starting up – after driving 50 years , this is a new one on me, but you learn something new every day, even golden oldies like me LOL.

SO, handbrakes are obviously controversial! What about my motorcycle? Very few m/c have a parking brake so IN GEAR is the order of the day. Furthermore, the electrics have an interlock to prevent starting if in gear. Could not car manufacturers consider this relatively simple precaution in an age of electric windows, seats and handbrakes…

The design of hand brakes in the older cars even up to early 80’s were never good at holding car in an incline. Therefore the old generation of people like myself were taught not to rely too much on handbrake only and we had to leave the cars in gear. Hand brakes in modern cars are much better designed. In general, it is good practice to use the gear as an additional precaution regardless of whether you are of the old generation or the young generation.

A neighbour across the street from me which is on a hill learned the hard way after her car came across the street and demolished my garden well she didn’t leave her car in gear with the handbrake on and what do you think happened 2 months later same thing happened only it was a neighbour 3 doors down from me got their garden wall demolished, this tool didn’t learn a lesson the first time , which goes to prove leave your car in gear and make sure handbrake is well applied an expensive lesson she learned as she had to pay for 2 walls to keep her no claims bonus intact.

Would you believe that up to 13% of UK Drivers and Driving Instructors surveyed in 2012 had experienced a vehicle rollaway. 12 out of 20 cases reported in the media resulted in pedestrian fatality and in each case the vehicle was not parked in gear.

Well I am 58 I passed my driving test at 18 and was never taught to leave the car in gear in any circumstances. I do leave my car in gear if I’ve park on a hill, I will start turning the wheels as well as this makes complete sense to me. It seems most people over 60 leave the car in gear, I wonder if this began because cars built 40 years ago were very basic and far more likely to fail. Cars today seem to be far more sophisticated and far less likely to fail. I had a Renault Scenic with an electronic handbrake, it was brilliant so easy to pull off etc. It seems to me it is a matter of choice, if a car is damaged when parked car insurance companies do not ask if it was left in gear (they probably will now).