Parking on a hill — New York Permit Test
Parking on a hill on the New York permit test — 2 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
After parking on a hill a driver should set the parking brake and put the transmission in Park, or into first gear if the vehicle has a manual transmission.
Gravity works on a parked car all night. The brake and the gear are what hold it.
After you park on a hill, make sure to set your parking brake.
A driver parking on a hill should turn the wheels toward the curb or side of the road, so the wheels will keep the vehicle from heading into traffic.
If the brake lets go the car rolls into the curb rather than into the road.
Turn the wheels toward the curb or side of the road, so they will keep your vehicle from heading into traffic.
On the test
What should a driver do first after parking on a hill?
Set the parking brake. Gravity works on a parked car all night. The brake and the gear are what hold it. New York State Driver's Manual, p.42: “After you park on a hill, make sure to set your parking brake.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against New York State Driver's Manual, published by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-15.