Turns, lanes, passing and parking
You park on a hill next to a curb. Besides setting the parking brake and putting the transmission in Park, how should you turn your front wheels?
- Toward the curb or side of the road, so the car cannot head into traffic. Correct answer
- Away from the curb, toward the center of the road.
- Straight ahead, so the car rolls in a straight line if the brake fails.
Why
After parking on a hill, the manual lists three steps: set the parking brake, put the transmission in Park (or in first gear with a manual transmission), and turn the wheels toward the curb or the side of the road. The purpose the manual gives is that the wheels keep your vehicle from heading into traffic. Turning them toward the center of the road points the car the other way, and leaving them straight does not do the job the rule asks of them. The manual gives this one direction for parking on a hill, without separate cases: toward the curb or the side of the road.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is Toward the curb or side of the road, so the car cannot head into traffic.
More on turns, lanes, passing and parking
- You stop to pick someone up and want to wait at the curb 10 feet from a fire hydrant. Under state rules, when is that allowed?
- You want to park near an intersection controlled by a STOP sign. What is the closest you may legally park to the STOP sign?
- There is a fire station driveway on the opposite side of the street from where you want to park. What is the closest you may park to it?
- You need to stop briefly at the curb to unload a box of merchandise for a store. Which of these signs still allows that stop?