Debate erupts over how drivers should correctly use handbrakes

Millions have engaged in a heated debate over how drivers of automatic cars should use their handbrake without damaging the gearbox.

Debate has erupted in the wake of a viral video from an Australian woman who took to the internet for advice on how to correctly use her car’s handbrake.

In TikTok user Emmy’s video, she confessed she had “so many questions” after seeing different advice about when an automatic car’s handbrake should be applied.

She showed how she would normally operate the function – by putting her car in park and then pulling up the handbrake lever.

“Everyone on TikTok has been coming to tell me that I don’t need to do that if my car is in park," she said in the viral clip.

Stream the news you want, when you want with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Emmy said she was confused over the correct handbrake use. Picture: TikTok/emmy66991799

People on TikTok told her she was doing it wrong. Picture: TikTok/emmy66991799

“But I always put the car in park and then put the handbrake on. Is that not what you’re meant to do?”

Emmy was bombarded with responses following the video, with fellow creators replying with videos of their own showing her how they believed the handbrake should be properly used.

An Australian user, Jean McDonald, urged drivers against taking the same approach to Emmy, arguing it applied too much pressure on the car’s gearbox which could end up being costly.

“When you put your car in park and then put your handbrake on, the entire weight of the car is resting on the park break rather than the handbrake, which means it’s resting on the gearbox,” he told viewers, telling them that was what “f***s your gearbox up”.

The correct approach was to put the car in neutral, apply the handbrake, then shift it into park.

“That way the weight of the car is resting on the handbrake and not the gearbox,” he said.

His advice, which also features on car education website Hot Rod, has received more than two million likes and has been viewed more than 16 million times.

Millions debated the correct use of the handbrake. Picture: TikTok/emmy66991799

While several other creators spruiked the same advice, others argued applying the handbrake at different stages of parking had essentially no impact on the health of the car.

Many said what Emmy demonstrated in her initial video was perfectly fine and wouldn’t cause any serious damage to her car’s gearbox.

It appeared US drivers had greater reliance on the “park” function on their automatic cars and were less inclined to use the handbrake.

In Australia, however, it’s common for the handbrake to almost always be applied.

Originally published as Debate erupts over how drivers should correctly use handbrakes