How to secure your car on a slope

BERLIN: When you park your car on a slope what's the best way of preventing it from rolling downhill? We have some advice from a safety expert.

Whether it's for a short time, overnight or for a long time: If you park your vehicle on a slope, you must secure it properly. The danger if it rolls away is a serious one.

"That can lead to serious or, in the worst case, fatal injuries," says Markus Egelhaaf, an accident researcher with Dekra, an auto expert organisation in Germany.

In addition to the danger that an uncontrolled rolling vehicle poses to others, any attempt to bring the vehicle to a stop involve great risks. Trying to stop the roll using your body weight carries the danger that the car will crush or roll over you.

Attempting to pull the parking brake by first opening the driver's door is equally hazardous, Egelhaaf says. In that case the open door may trap you and pull you under the front wheel.

Egelhaaf advises that to prevent the risk of rolling, "you should engage the lowest gear that counteracts the slope direction, i.e. first gear or reverse gear." In automatic vehicles, the selector lever should be set to P.

Of course the parking brake should always be firmly applied as well. Another tip is to turn the front wheels into the kerb or the edge of the road in the direction that the car would roll.

In the case of trailers, wedging the wheels can be used as an additional safeguard to supplement the car's brakes. However, don't forget the wedges when you go to drive away.