Parallel Parking

[caleshire]

Does anybody wants to give me an advice about how to parallel park right?I've been practicing a lot but still don't get it.

[work778]

I still can't parallel park.  I did it for my driving test many years ago and then never again.

[lynnc35]

I don't know about doing this, I have never done it.

[swogden]

I can parallel park,  but I avoid it at much as possible.

First thing I do is stop my car parallel to the spot I want to use.  If it is at least a foot longer than my car, I make the attempt.  I drive past the spot so the rear of the car is just up to the rear of the forward car.  (and with about 6 inches of space between the 2 cars)
Gently reverse your car, turn the wheel so the back end of your car eases into the spot.  You don't want to turn too sharply (you'll run into the curb).  When the front of your car is just past the forward car, turn the wheel sharply to straighten out your car into the space.

Allow the car to back up (that extra foot comes in handy).  Then turn your wheel  so the wheels are straight; put your car in forward and inch forward to be in the middle of the space.

If you're within a foot of the curb, good enough.  As Annie Hall says:  We can walk from here.

If you run into the curb, you'll probably need to pull out again and try again with a softer angle of entry.

[demaina]

I learned by placing cones around so I would know how to do it for my test and so if I hit something, it wasn't a big deal.  I made the space smaller than I should've, but I was able to park within it so parking in an area bigger was no problem.

Well, first, do you want to do it in one fluid motion, or do you mind stopping every so often.  The second method is good for learning and eventually you will get the fluid motion.

First, pull up next to the car.  I would have my mirror be in line where their steering wheel, it may be different for your car though.

Put the car in reverse and back up about two feet or so.  Stop.  Look back and see if your back, right wheel is next too / slightly behind their rear tire.  You will be more or less pivoting on the back right wheel, so being too far forward can result in hitting their car.

Turn the wheel to the right as far as it will go.  Then back up into the spot.  Stop when your car is about halfway into the spot or at about a 40-45 degrees with the curb.  If you hit the curb with your back wheel, you've backed up too far.  Just shift into drive and pull forward a few feet and then shift back into reverse.  You will be pivoting on the back, left wheel, so if it is not in line with the wheel of the car behind you or it looks far out of the spot, you will be far out of the spot.  Or, if the wheel is really close to the curb, you will hit the curb.  Adjust accordingly before continuing.  If you will be far out of the spot, you can adjust by turning the wheel completely to the left and then turning back towards the right a bit, though it may be easier just to back up a few inches.

Slowly back into the spot.  Your front wheels will swing into the spot as the car goes back a little bit.  
If you worry that you are going to hit something, park, get out and check.  The more you turn to the right, the more your car will roll back instead of swinging the front.  If the front of your car is in the spot, stop and straighten out the wheel.  Stay at least this far back in the spot so you can pull out of the spot easily.  If you pull too far forward, a car parking behind your might block you in.  


For a more fluid move, you do all this without stopping in between and turn the wheel while backing up slowly.  When doing it fluidly, consider that you will continue to roll back as you turn, so you can turn a second or two sooner than you would the other way.  Also, when you turn back to the left, you may hit the curb doing it fluidly unless you turn the wheel kinda fast because your car will continue backing up as you turn, so keep that in mind and either slowly down more or turn the wheel faster.


Going slowly is the best advice I can give you.   If you can tell me which part you are having the most trouble with, I can try to give a better idea of what might help you.

[kilophkadamas]

I still don't do it very well either, and I avoid it like the plague lol. I can honestly say though that i've never really put in the effort to learn it properly just because i'm ashamed of myself lol. Best advice I can give is to do the cone practicing also, so you don't hit other cars trying to practice. We just have to realize that some people pick up on skills faster than others, persistence will pay off.

[oldbuddy]

Get one of those new cars that does it for you hands free.

[malgron]

Get one of those new cars that does it for you hands free.

I second OldBuddy! hehe

[Timberlan127]

I still can't do a good job of parallel parking. I thankfully don't have much opportunity to have to parallel park living in the country so my lack of expertise is not a problem.

[hvnlydevil]

Line up your car with the one you want to park behind. When the front of your vehicle gets to about their drivers' door handle, start cranking the wheel. by the time you are at about 11 o'clock, start easing the wheel back. practice with a couple picnic tables set a little further apart than you need until you are comfortable with it. Good luck!

[ShadeTree]

I didn't have a difficult time with it, but I've only ever done it maybe 3 times and each time there was only one other vehicle. I don't have a need to parallel park, but could probably still do it if I had to. Just keep practicing and always make sure the space you are wanting to park in is larger than the length of your vehicle by at least 1 - 1 1/2 feet. Try using an open section of your street or maybe a parking lot and use empty trash bins that are big enough for you to see them instead of trying with other people's vehicles or things like cones that are too small to really see and aren't tall enough/noticeable enough for you know whether or not you would have hit it if it were someone's vehicle. Good luck!

[kapeh12]

Outside of practice and the tips others have provided, this is a perfect example of applied geometry.  If you are visual learner, maybe you can try some visualization trials using blocks or toy cars to see how you need to angle your car to get it into the spot - then translate that to actual driving.  When practicing for real, maybe look for opportunities that have markers you can use - like a spot with a tree in the center that you can use to target your backing into the spot - until you get the hang of the angles.  Also being familiar with your car will help too - having the spacial awareness of how your car is fitting into these spaces.

[samrhett2]

Yesterday my 13 year old asked me if parallel parking was hard.  I said, I don't know the only time I ever did it was for my driivers test.  After that I just avoid it.

[djohnson43]

Back in 82 when I was learning to drive I learned on a big 73 station wagon. Trying to manover that thing was impossible. Thank g-d They didn't make me do it for my driving test. I couldn't do it then and to this day I still can't. The only way I can is if there are two spaces open and I can pull into the first one then straight onto the other so I'm parked correctly.

[Liquidfire_43]

Never did parallel parking except for driving test (which my driving admins were lenient about)... All I remember for the parallel parking is that you drive next to a car (up to the side view mirrors of it), then reverse until you are near the curb at 35-40 degree angle, and then put it back to drive to fix ur position... Not sure if that is the correct method.