Park on full lock?

reeac

A thread concerning tyre wear mentioned someone who parked on full lock. This made me think about my obsessive habit of leaving my parked car with the front wheels exactly ahead. Walking around car parks, however, I see that not many people do this. I think that my habit comes from two concepts , 1. Leaving the steering rack boots in an unstretched condition and 2. Avoiding the car moving off at an angle when driving away (especially relevant in a tight parking situation). My only exception is if parking on a steep hill when I'll set the front tyre close to the kerb and pointing downhill towards it (San Francisco style). What are the views of forum members?

facade

In a car park, I tend to swerve into the space, and then straighten the steering whilst shunting the car so I can get the boot open.

At home I reverse into the drive, and leave it on lock, as I am going to put it back in forwards and drive out again on the same path.

In other words, I just abandon the thing with the steering pointed wherever it last was. When I set off. if it is about to crash into something, I turn the wheel whilst it is creeping forwards.

forgotmyname

If parked on a hill that the wheels are turned to face the kerb, an extra
bit of safety if the handbrake and gearbox both fail.

Otherwise they end up pointing the direct i pulled into the parking space.

Noticed that i seem to be in the minority that leave the car in gear when
parked. And lost count of the number of new drivers that put the
headlights on before starting the engine.

scaredofdebt

If I am on a hill then I turn the wheels so that they and touching the kerb as an extra insurance policy!

Otherwise I leave everything straight just in case - some people suggest leaving the steering at an angle can cause issues with power steering but I suspect that's false.

facade

I should have added that if I were forced to park on a hill, I normally let it creep on lock until the wheel meets the curb.

I once had difficulty in getting a car out of P on a slope, as it had crept forwards on the handbrake enough to jam the transmission.

TadleyBaggie

In San Francisco you can get a ticket if you don't park on a hill with the steering on full lock.

[Deleted User]

I normally straighten the wheels up and I always leave the car in gear so I don't purposely full lock the wheels if on a hill.

I have been known to turn my wheels if I'm parked down my back lane. I've had door mirrors damaged in the past due to other drivers getting to close while trying to avoid a wheelie bin on the opposite side. They don't get too close when they see the wheels sticking out.

~Beanie~

forgotmyname wrote: »

And lost count of the number of new drivers that put the headlights on before starting the engine.

I've been driving nearly 30 years and I do this, is there a reason why I shouldn't?

reeac

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

In San Francisco you can get a ticket if you don't park on a hill with the steering on full lock.

That's what I was referring to. We lived in the SF Bay Area for a couple of years in the 1960s ....had a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 with the Thunderbird Special V8 which was Ford's most powerful engine at that time ....good for getting up the hills but the all round drum brakes required care when descending.

Mercdriver

~Beanie~ wrote: »

I've been driving nearly 30 years and I do this, is there a reason why I shouldn't?

Only reason I can think of is if your battery is low on juice...

Head_The_Ball

~Beanie~ wrote: »

I've been driving nearly 30 years and I do this, is there a reason why I shouldn't?

Starting a car engine puts a heavy load on the battery so it is helpful not to have any other unnecessary loads on the battery at the same time.