You park facing downhill on a street with a curb. Which way should you turn your front wheels?
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A.
Toward the center line
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B.
Away from the curb
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C.
Toward the curb Correct
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D.
Straight ahead
The answer is "Toward the curb"
On a downhill grade with a curb, turn the front wheels toward the curb so any roll carries the vehicle into the curb instead of into traffic. Choice B is the uphill rule dropped onto the wrong slope, which is where drivers land when they memorize one hill-parking direction and reuse it for both grades.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Toward the center line
Turning wheels toward the center line would send a runaway car directly into the travel lane. This answer reverses the goal of the rule and points the tires at oncoming traffic instead of at the curb.
B. Away from the curb
Away from the curb is what the manual prescribes for uphill parking, not downhill. This answer carries the uphill wheel direction over to the downhill grade, an easy swap when the two hill rules blur together in memory.
D. Straight ahead
Leaving the wheels straight ignores the whole point of the hill-parking rule. This answer treats flat-ground habit as the default and skips the wheel-turn step the manual adds for any slope.
This question tests your knowledge of Parking in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Parking - Hill Parking," p.34..
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