Originally Posted by TongMan

I think that the car kind of prevent you from shifting into first gear if your car is still rolling. At least that is true in a manual transmission. I have tried to put the shifter in first while the car was still moving, but the shifter would lock and not be able to go into first gear until I had slowed down to almost a stop.

In a manual transmission, second gear has plenty of power to push you forward. Avoid going into first gear while your car is in motion.