When parking facing downhill, which direction should you turn your front wheels?

PARKING ON A HILL — wheel position is a testable DMV topic in all states because a failure to turn wheels correctly has caused parked cars to roll into traffic and cause serious crashes. THE RULES: FACING DOWNHILL WITH A CURB: Turn wheels TOWARD THE CURB (right); if the brakes fail, the vehicle rolls forward slightly until the tire contacts the curb, which stops it from rolling into the street; FACING UPHILL WITH A CURB: Turn wheels AWAY FROM THE CURB (left); the vehicle rolls back slightly, the tire contacts the curb, stopped from rolling; FACING UPHILL OR DOWNHILL WITH NO CURB: Turn wheels TO THE RIGHT — toward the shoulder; if the vehicle rolls, it goes off-road away from traffic rather than into traffic; MEMORY AID: 'Away from traffic' — when facing uphill, curbing means wheels point away from the curb (but still away from traffic flow); when facing downhill, curbing means into the curb. PARKING BRAKE: Always set the parking brake in addition to turning wheels — the wheels are a backup in case the parking brake fails, not a substitute for it. MANUAL TRANSMISSION: Leave in gear (1st for uphill, Reverse for downhill) as additional protection. The DMV test typically asks about both scenarios (uphill vs downhill) and whether there is a curb or not — know all four combinations.