Yeah I don’t disagree with you whatsoever, and the only time I actually use the handbrake in this situation is for one set of lights in my hometown because they take 5 minutes to goddamn change.

I’m more pointing out that driving instructors will have little quirks about things like this so going for a test in a manual can be more of a nightmare, especially now that manual trans is considered a hobbyist/enthusiast thing nowdays.