Driving With the Hand Brake On: See What Happens
What happens when you drive without lowering the hand brake lever?
When you drive with the handbrake you weaken its grip. The tension cable it may even snap making the hand brake unusable.
How do you tell that the hand brake engaged? If you notice that the hand brake indicator on the dashboard is ON while on the move it means you need to disengage the hand/leg brake (You don’t need to stop the vehicle). Sometimes you may hear a screeching sound from the rare wheels, which alerts you the hand brake is engaged. Those outside the car will notice the rare part of the car rising up like an athlete waiting for the GO! Shot; or a giant spider getting ready to attack.
The hand brake may not be affected immediately; especially if you drove only a little distance you may not notice any damage.
And if it was a long distance you can park on a slope, then put the car on neutral, engage the handbrake and slowly release the brakes just to test if the hand brake is working. The car shouldn’t move. If it's still working there's no cause for alarm.
NOTE: People drive on handbrake everyday even experienced drivers sometimes forget.