You park on a slope where there is no curb. Which way do you turn your front wheels?
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A.
To the left when headed uphill, to the right when headed downhill.
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B.
To the right, so the vehicle would roll away from the center of the road if the brakes failed. Correct
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C.
Straight ahead, and rely on the parking brake.
The answer is "To the right, so the vehicle would roll away from the center of the road if the brakes failed."
Without a curb, turn the front wheels to the right on either slope so a runaway rolls away from the center of the road. The split-by-slope answer at A carries the curbed-street rules onto a street where no curb is present, treating the direction of the hill as if it still changed the wheel position.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. To the left when headed uphill, to the right when headed downhill.
Without a curb, the manual sets the wheels to the right for either slope; the direction of the hill does not change the wheel position. This answer applies the with-curb uphill/downhill split (wheels into the curb going down, away from the curb going up) to a street where no curb is present.
C. Straight ahead, and rely on the parking brake.
The manual pairs the parking brake with a specific wheel position on a hill; leaving the wheels straight is not the no-curb rule. This answer carries a flat-ground habit of trusting the parking brake and leaving the wheels straight onto a hill, where the rule also fixes a wheel position.
This question tests your knowledge of Parking in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Parking on a Hill," p.27..
Related California questions
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- You park facing uphill with a curb to your right. Which way should you turn your front wheels? →
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