What is a parking brake?

The parking brake, also called a handbrake, is a braking system used to prevent the car from rolling when it is parked. On older cars, only the rear wheels are braked via a cable. Newer cars have an electric handbrake that engages all wheels. A warning light comes on when the parking brake is applied. Good to keep in mind: To be extra sure that the car will not start rolling when it is parked, you can in addition to applying the parking brake also put in first or reverse gear on a manually geared car. On an automatic car, the car locks in place when you take the gear lever to park, but use the handbrake also to be extra safe.