Burger here. Statistically, 96% or more of our vehicles are automatics. For the most part, people just throw the shifter into Park and turn the car off unless they're on a hill, in which case they may or may not set the cable brake as well. This is generally quite reliable; I've never heard of a transmission parking pawl failing or requiring adjustment. I would imagine that manual transmission owners would use their brakes much more regularly than automatic drivers, but there are so few manual transmissions where I am (<0.5%, probably) that I don't actually know for certain what the common practice is. I have a couple of 1960s Chevrolet service manuals where it is interestingly referred to as the parking brake. I would imagine that as automatic transmissions became the majority the name changed to reduce confusion with the transmission's parking pawl. I personally drive nothing but automatics, call it the parking brake except when doing so causes confusion, and use it almost every time I turn the car off.

I'm a burger and I also call it a parking brake. >>18654 is correct though, most Americans have automatics and we park almost exclusively on level areas, so almost no one including me uses the parking brake except on an incline, or if they're pretending to be in a fast and furious movie.

Baltanon here. Don't know anyone with an automatic and have not heard it called anything other than handbrake. Though "Emergency brake" is the most appropriate from the two.

>>18656 >handbrake That's sensible as long as the brake is actuated by your hand. Everything I own and almost everything I've ever driven has a pedal on the far left instead. Pic related.

>>18653 The more i think about it, both terms seem correct. Manual drivers can park in gear and their car will not roll off, as long as they are not on a steep hill. Shouldn't classical automatics easily roll away in gear even on level surfaces, because there is no clutch/hard connection to the engine but some weird liquid between the gearbox and engine?

>>18659 Putting an automatic in Park locks the output shaft in place and keeps it from turning, so a parked automatic shouldn't roll away. It's still necessary to use the parking brake on steep hills, to prevent undue stress from being placed on the locking mechanism.