Skirt Cafe is an on-line community dedicated to exploring, promoting and advocating skirts and kilts as a fashion choice for men, formerly known as men in skirts. We do this in the context of men's fashion freedom --- an expansion of choices beyond those commonly available for men to include kilts, skirts and other garments. We recognize a diversity of styles our members feel comfortable wearing, and do not exclude any potential choices. Continuing dialog on gender is encouraged in the context of fashion freedom for men. See here for more details.
Funny how many in the US refer to the parking brake as the emergency brake. In fact, in MA you cannot take a test in a car that doesn't have a central handbrake that the examiner can operate (which rules out every Mercedes).
Maybe not best practice, but I only use the parking brake in the US when I'm on a big hill (with the wheels turned the appropriate way, of course ). I love that little rocking movement you get after putting the car in park and then taking your foot off the brake - reminds me of all the old American films and TV shows I used to watch as a kid.
Many cars how have electric rather than mechanical hand brakes (this is the case on my current Ford Escape / Kuga) that automatically disengage when you drive off. Hill start assist is also pretty common - the car holds the brake for you whilst you do the accelerator / clutch balancing act (pretty useful on a manual car - saves you messing around with the handbrake).
Story time: I was moving a fuel truck with 1500 gallon of diesel fuel on it. I came to a long low grade and down shifted an as I apply the brakes pedal it went to the floor. As I traveled on down the grade I came around a turn, there was a tractor trailer with a lowboy trailer on it high centered at the bottom of the hill with just enough room to get a car between the bumper of the truck and the guard rail on the opposite side of the road. I picked the first driveway, I saw and with the emergency brake pulled as hard as I could I got the truck stopped. Fuel was splashing out of the top from the sharp turn and the emergency brake was glowing red. What a wild ride, the emergency brake was one that went around the driveshaft.
I have driven a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton truck as a work truck most of my working days that had standard shift 4 on the floor and I have never used the emergency brake to start on a hill and have never back into one getting started even when I worked on William mountain in West Virginia.
). I love that little rocking movement you get after putting the car in park and then taking your foot off the brake - reminds me of all the old American films and TV shows I used to watch as a kid.