Hill parking — South Dakota Permit Test

Hill parking on the South Dakota permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

When parking uphill with a curb, turn the wheels sharply to the left.

If the car starts to roll, the back of the front tire catches the curb and stops it.

Turn the wheels sharply to the left if there is a curb and facing uphill.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.43

When parking downhill, or uphill with no curb, turn the wheels sharply to the right so that if the vehicle rolls, it rolls away from traffic.

Wheels left straight on a hill let a rolling car run right out into the lane.

Turn the wheels sharply to the right if there is no curb or if facing downhill.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.43

After turning the wheels on a hill, set the emergency brake and place the vehicle in park; with a manual transmission, shift into reverse parking downhill or into the lowest gear parking uphill.

A stick-shift car left in the wrong gear on a slope can creep off the hill once the brake slips.

If the vehicle has a manual transmission, shift it into reverse if parking downhill or into the lowest gear if parking uphill.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.43

To park on a hill, first check mirrors and blind spots, signal right, pull over as far to the right as possible and stop, slowing as you move out of traffic.

Stopping in the lane before you pull over leaves a car behind you braking hard on the slope.

Check for traffic in the mirrors and blind spots.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.43

On the test

Parking facing uphill next to a curb, which way do you turn your wheels?

Sharply to the left. If the car starts to roll, the back of the front tire catches the curb and stops it. South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.43: “Turn the wheels sharply to the left if there is a curb and facing uphill.”

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.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against South Dakota Driver License Manual, published by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.