How to Park on a Hill: Uphill vs Downhill, With and Without a Curb
Official sources: California and Pennsylvania driver manuals — see Sources. Driving on the left? Everything is mirrored: see the UK or Australian guide.
Which way do you turn your wheels when parking on a hill?
- Uphill with a curb: turn the front wheels left, away from the curb, then let the car roll back a few inches until the tire touches the curb.
- Downhill with a curb: turn the front wheels right, into the curb.
- No curb, uphill or downhill: turn the wheels right, toward the edge of the road.
- Every time: set the parking brake, and leave an automatic in Park or a manual in gear.
All the hillside parking rules come down to one idea. If the brakes or the transmission let go, you want the car to stop against the curb or roll off the road. You don’t want it heading into traffic. Once you see that, you don’t have to memorize three rules. You can work out the answer standing next to the car.
Uphill vs downhill parking: wheel direction at a glance
Uphill parking with a curb
This is the one people get wrong, because it feels backwards to steer away from the curb you’ve just pulled up to. How to park uphill with a curb:
- Pull up close to the curb, as for any parallel park.
- Keeping your foot on the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way to the left.
- Ease off the brake and let the car roll back slowly, a few inches, until the back of the front right tire touches the curb. California’s handbook says the wheel should “gently touch” it.
- Set the parking brake, then put the car in Park.
Now if the car rolls back down the hill, the tire is already against the curb and can’t go anywhere. If you’d turned the wheels toward the curb instead, the front tire would roll back away from it, and the car would be free to head backwards down the street.
The usual way to remember this is UCLA: Uphill, Curb, Left, Always. It’s the only case where you turn left. Every other case is right.
Downhill parking with a curb
Turn the wheels all the way to the right, into the curb. If you’ve stopped a little way out, let the car creep forward until the front of the tire touches the curb. Then set the parking brake and put it in Park.
This one feels natural: if the car rolls forward, the tire runs straight into the curb and stops.
Parking uphill or downhill without a curb
Turn the wheels to the right, whichever way you’re facing. With nothing to stop the tire, the best you can do is make sure the car rolls off the road and not across it. California’s handbook puts it as rolling “away from the center of the road if the brakes fail”. Pennsylvania’s manual gives the same answer for downhill: wheels turned completely to the right, with or without a curb.
Without a curb there’s also nothing to touch, so pull as far off the roadway as you safely can. Pennsylvania asks for that wherever there’s no curb.
Brake, gear, and how far from the curb
- Distance: Pennsylvania says to park as close to the curb as you can, and no more than 12 inches away. If you’re much further out, the tire has a long way to roll before it reaches the curb.
- Automatic: both manuals say to set the parking brake and shift to Park. Many instructors teach setting the brake before moving to Park, so the brake holds the car rather than the small locking pin inside the transmission. It also makes the lever easier to move when you leave.
- Manual: Pennsylvania says to leave it in Reverse or First. The usual choice is First when facing uphill and Reverse when facing downhill, so the gear works against the direction the car would roll.
- Sloping driveway: California says to turn the wheels so the car won’t roll into the street.
Hill parking FAQ
What is the difference between uphill and downhill parking?
Only the uphill-with-a-curb case is different. There you turn the wheels left, away from the curb, so the back of the tire catches it. Downhill with a curb, and either way without a curb, you turn the wheels right.
Which way do you turn your wheels when parking uphill without a curb?
Right, toward the edge of the road. Without a curb to stop the tire, you want the car to roll off the road rather than into traffic.
What does UCLA mean in hill parking?
Uphill, Curb, Left, Always. It’s a driver’s ed memory aid for the one case where you turn your wheels left: facing uphill with a curb.
Do I need to let the tire touch the curb?
Facing uphill, yes. California’s handbook says to let the car roll back a few inches until the wheel gently touches the curb. A tire that’s a foot from the curb can build up speed before it gets there.
Is hill parking on the road test?
It depends on the state, so check your state’s handbook for what the road test covers. Hill parking is in the handbooks the written knowledge tests are based on, so expect to need the answer either way.
Sources
About the simulator
The simulator does not model hills, so it can’t help you practise hill parking. Practise turning your wheels toward or away from the curb in a real car with a supervising driver.