Why Smart Drivers Park Their Car in Neutral

During the 11 years I worked at my uncle's auto repair shop the question of when it was appropriate and safe to keep the car in neutral was a frequent topic of discussion. He taught me and told me to teach the customers who came into the shop that "neutral is both you and your car's friend!"

I was taught that when you park your car, you should always leave it in neutral with the front wheels turned in toward the curb so the car would never roll ... even if your car was "tapped" when someone was parallel parking behind you. My uncle didn't like the "park gear" on cars and felt that if you were hit from behind while parked, the car would withstand it better if the car was in neutral rather than in park. Of course, being an "old school mechanic", my uncle constantly reminded everyone that you never, ever parked without cutting your front wheels toward the curb ... even if you were parking on perfectly flat ground.

Another advantage to keeping the car in neutral while parked is that if there were ever a starting problem, it would be easy to just push the car and try to give it a "running start". Strange as it seems, the few times I tried this, it worked>

We also always told our customers that putting the car in neutral when stopped at a traffic light or stuck in traffic was the thing to do. Keeping the car in neutral, rather than in one of the drive gears, helped conserve gas and save money. Even though my uncle made money through gasoline sales as well as repairs, he was more concerned about his customers and saving them money. In a small town like ours, this was a smart business practice.

Putting the car in neutral when stopped at a light or in traffic also helped prevent the car from overheating during the summer. Overheating can to serious and costly damage to a car's engine, something we always tried to help our customers avoid.

There were 2 caveats, however, we ever made about keeping an unattended vehicle in neutral. The first was to always keep your car locked, so children couldn't get in and accidentally cause the car to roll. Secondly, always park your car with the front wheels cut toward the curb. If you followed these two rules, parking a car in neutral would never pose a problem.