Parallel parking

khw

Hi, it seems in this forum you can ask any kind of motoring question, not just those that involve saving money

I was hoping someone could give me some parallel parking tips. I recently passed and luckily did a three-point turn as my manoeuvre. My parallel parking needs some work. I park on a busy street and I only drive weekends so there's usually space, but if I took the car out on a weekday, I'd find myself with a small-ish space to park into. This is where I have trouble. I'd only ever practiced in larger spaces.

My method is this (let's assume the car I'm parking behind is facing my way), using the mirror as my guide:
Drive up parallel to the car, stopping about a metre ahead of it, then reversing back. I get as tight to their car without hitting it, that's how worried I am!
One left turn when mirror is next to their front door handle
One right turn when mirror is next to their rear lights
One right turn around 1-2 secs later
One left turn to straighten the car

Even then I'm usually wonky and once halfway in, I find it very hard to correct. I often steer frantically towards the kerb, then end up at an angle, which I can't really offset. Usually I come all the way out and start again, hoping it works!

I wonder whether it's the second right turn, maybe I do it too soon.

Does anyone have a more foolproof way to parallel park? Thanks.

bod1467

There are loads of guides to parallel parking online.

(Sort of) off topic ... who remembers Reginald Molehusband?

charbar_2

Sounds like your are doing it correct from my driving lessons

BeenThroughItAll

I've never understood the whole 'turn the wheel this much at this point' approach. Because every car is different (steering lock, ratio of turns to lock, visibility, mirror position, comfortable seat position) I don't believe there's a magic formula to get it right every time.

Ultimately, it's something you just need to learn to do... no substitute for practice, though, so I'd suggest just trying to parallel park as often as you can (use bigger spaces if you can whilst learning), and get the feel for doing it - don't get too hung up on how many turns of this that and the other. If you make a !!!! of it, pull out and start again.

I honestly believe half the people I see struggling to parallel park are doing so because they're trying to apply a rule they learned in their instructor's Micra to their Volvo/BMW/Audi/whatever else.

Double_V

I can't parallel park. Well I can but on tight spaces I struggle.

Strider590

Wow, that's over complex.........

Pull up next to the front car, reverse whilst aiming the middle of your rear window at the corner (usually their LH headlight) of the car behind, only turn to straighten once your front corner is past the back of the front car, then apply full lock.

It's never the same each time though, there are no hard/fast rules, you just have to use a degree of spacial awareness and adjust accordingly.

You should always aim end up perfectly in the space with the front wheels left pointing right for an easy exit. No adjusting/shuffling.

19lottie82

I was always rubbish at this too. Like you, luckily, it never came up in my test.

I just kept practicing and eventually got the hang of it. Just keep trying and it will come to you. I got fed up doing it how I was taught in my lessons (it never worked with me anyway!) and just used my judgement....... eventually I got the hang of it.

Cornucopia

I agree, there are no fool-proof cheats for this. You have to visualise what you are trying to achieve, as well as understanding the car's dynamics in terms of how it steers, the position of the wheels, the feel of the power-steering, etc. etc.

Broadly it is as others have said, bring the car round the corner of the car in front, to point diagonally across the space. Then edge back until the nearside rear wheel is close to the kerb (whilst not hitting the car behind). Then swing the front of the car into the space, not hitting the car in front.

Most important thing: not hitting the other vehicles... all other considerations (including looking silly) are secondary.

Also bear in mind why we parallel park - which is because the vehicle is much more manoeuvrable in reverse than moving forwards.

colino

Unfortunately if you are sticking with methods and guides, your never really going to get beyond the learner stage. By all means use the method your instructor taught you, but go beyond that and work out why you reverse park (you can't steer the back axle) and how much lock you need to move the car substantially sideways and for little forward/backward movement on the clutch, how quickly you can change steering angle. Practice makes perfect and good for you for wanting to develop your skills beyond just getting a licence.

Retrogamer

Parallel parking is always a joy for me, especially at night with a combination of 40 profile tyres and 5% tint on the rear windows.

InsideInsurance

khw wrote: »

Does anyone have a more foolproof way to parallel park? Thanks.

1) pull up level to them

2) Turn on the self park function :beer:

As others have said, these techniques are different depending on your vehicle, their vehicle, size of the space etc. Most instructors give rules that are suitable for their vehicle and factors in the fact the space you have to park in is relatively generous.

In real life its simply a case of practicing and learning things in your own car. Personally I am ok at it though not fantastic where as my uncle can step into any car and get it into a space only a foot or so longer than it first time, every time and at a reasonable speed. On the flip side he hates driving on narrow roads and that doesnt phase me at all.