Straight wheels are unsafe on hills
If a parked vehicle on a hill has its wheels straight and the parking brake fails, the car can roll downhill into another vehicle or into the road.
Hill Parking Explained for North Vancouver Learners
This video explains how to park safely on hills by turning the wheels the correct way for uphill, downhill, curb, and no-curb situations. For North Vancouver learners, the key road-test habit is knowing why the wheel position matters: if the parking brake fails or the vehicle gets pushed out of Park, the tires should guide the car into the curb or away from traffic.
Watch the hill parking video
The lesson uses real parked vehicles and neutral-roll demonstrations to show what happens when wheels are straight, turned the wrong way, or positioned correctly on uphill and downhill streets.
Video breakdown
Key hill parking sections from the video
Use these timestamp cards to review uphill parking with a curb, downhill parking with a curb, what goes wrong with straight wheels, and what to do when there is no curb.
Uphill with a curb: turn wheels left
When parking uphill beside a curb, turn the front wheels fully left so the front tire catches the curb if the vehicle rolls back.
Turning uphill wheels the wrong way can miss the curb
If the wheels point the wrong way uphill, the rear wheel may contact the curb too late, after the vehicle has already picked up momentum.
Correct uphill wheel position stops the car
The neutral demonstration shows the front tire striking the curb and stopping the vehicle instead of letting it continue downhill.
Do not leave the tire resting on the curb
The wheel should be positioned to catch the curb if the vehicle rolls, but the tire sidewall should not sit pressed against the curb while parked.
Wrong uphill wheel position can jump the curb
With the wheels pointed the wrong direction uphill, the car can roll back, hit with the rear wheel, and still jump or slide past the curb.
Downhill with straight wheels has the same problem
When parked downhill, straight wheels can let the vehicle roll forward into traffic or into the vehicle ahead if the parking brake fails.
Downhill with a curb: turn wheels right
When parking downhill beside a curb, turn the wheels right so the front tire rolls into the curb and stops the vehicle.
Do not use the uphill setup downhill
The uphill-with-curb wheel position does not work downhill. If the car moves, it can swing out into the road instead of resting into the curb.
No curb: turn wheels right
If there is no curb, turn the front wheels right so a rolling vehicle moves away from the middle of the street rather than into traffic.
Want to practise hill parking?
Book a driving lesson in North Vancouver with Zula Driving School and practise uphill parking, downhill parking, curb judgment, parking brake order, and safe roadside parking with a local instructor.