This surprises me. In Australia, the way I was taught to park an auto was: * Apply the brake (the pedal) * Place the transmission into park * While the brake

This surprises me. In Australia, the way I was taught to park an auto was: * Apply the brake (the pedal) * Place the transmission into park * While the brake pedal is still pressed, apply the handbrake * Release the brake pedal. This means the car is held in place by the handbrake with the transmission park as a backup, rather than the transmission park being the only thing holding the car. Bonus: if you park on a slope, turn the wheels towards the pavement so that if the car starts moving, it will hit the pavement edge instead of running straight down the road.