Despite the fact that parking is probably the most common driving maneuver you perform on a daily basis, this is also the skill that is quite hard to master. When parking on hills, you have to take a number of safety measures to prevent the car from rolling should the parking brake fail you. Questions on parking always appear on the Massachusetts permit test and that is why we could not omit them in our practice permit test MA sample quiz. Today, we will discuss how you can safely park the car uphill in a way that has been approved by the Massachusetts RMV.
Sample Permit Question
The practice permit test question is as following:
“If parking uphill and there is a curb present, you must turn your front wheels:”
There are three possible answers to this practice question. Remember, only one of these answers is correct.
A. Towards the curb
B. Towards the road
C. In the direction of traffic
In order to answer this Massachusetts practice permit test question correctly, you have to understand what will happen should the parking brake fails and the car starts rolling. Let's work through these questions together and pick the right answer.
Massachusetts Permit Practice Test Answers
Answer A to the practice permit test MA sample question tells you that you need to turn your wheels towards the curb. If you do this while you are parked uphill and your car starts rolling backwards, the front of your vehicle will start moving to the left, towards traffic, while the rear end of the vehicle will skid along the curb. If the hill is not steep, there is a chance that your rear tires will push against the curb with enough force to stop the vehicle, however on steep hill, gravity will win and the car will just keep on skidding along the curb until it stands ACROSS the lane, blocking traffic and possibly damaging other vehicles in the process. You certainly don't want that to happen.
Answer B to this permit practice test MA quiz question offers you to turn the wheels towards the road while being parked uphill. In this situation, should the parking brake fail, the front end of the vehicle will start moving to the right, towards the curb and your front wheels will immediately press against the curb, preventing any further movement. This sounds like something we would want.
Answer C to this MA learners permit practice test question offers you to leave your wheels in the direction of traffic, which means parallel to the curb. Once again, if the car starts rolling, it will just move downhill, picking up speed, until it crashes into an obstacle. Doesn't sound like the right option at all.
Let's pick up a copy of the Massachusetts drivers handbook and see what it has to say about parking uphill.
Correct Answer To The MA Permit Practice Test
This is what the official Massachusetts drivers manual tells us about parking uphill. You can find the answer to this question on page 103, section “Rules of the road”.
“No Curb — Turn your wheels inward, toward the edge of the road.
Uphill Against a Curb — Turn your wheels outward, toward the travel lane.
Downhill Against a Curb — Turn your wheels inward, toward the curb.”
This tells us that answer B - turning the wheels towards the road, is the correct answer to this sample question. Make sure to select this answer should you get this question on your real Massachusetts permit test at the RMV.
If you want to learn more about parking uphill, downhill or parallel parking, make sure to check out our Massachusetts practice permit test and the official drivers license manual that is provided by the RMV free of charge and can be downloaded online.
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