Many new drivers have difficulty parking parallel. Some drivers make the mistake of trying to navigate into a tight spot with the front of their vehicle headfirst but this doesn’t ever work; the way to correctly parallel park is to reverse into space. It’s not just new drivers that have difficulty parallel parking; I am a very experienced driver with over 15 years of driving under my belt and I still have difficulty performing this maneuver. Parallel parking was just never covered during Drivers Classes which I took when I was a teenager. Below are some basic guidelines to help you get your car into that tight spot!
1. Finding a place that you want to park in
Make sure that the spot that you choose has sufficient room for you to maneuver into. If you are a novice you may want to pick a bigger space to start out with. Utilize your turn signals in order to indicate that you would like to park. Don’t panic and feel like you have to hurry if there is another car behind you. Drive your car to a parallel position next to the car right in front of you and return your car.
2. Getting your car into the spot
You accomplish this by turning your steering wheel all the way to the right and slowly back your car up while making sure you don’t make contact with the vehicle behind you. Once you are almost situated you will need to steer the steering wheel to the left and try to get the car into a parallel position with the curb. Center your vehicle so that it isn’t too close in proximity to the cars in front and behind you in order to make it easy for all parties to drive out of their parking spot.
It takes time, dedication and persistence in order to master the skill of parallel parking. In the beginning, you may want to practice in a quiet street so you can get used to the steps before you attempt to park in a busy area which may be a bit unnerving. You may want to practice to park in a larger spot and once you conquer that proceed to practice parking into a more compact space.
You probably don’t have to parallel park very often if you reside in the suburbs as I do. However, it’s a nice skill to have handy for those rare occasions when it’s needed.
