How to Park a Car

Though parking a car may sound easy enough, it can be one of the hardest things to learn for a new driver. From parking a car in a shopping center parking space, to parking at an incline, to parking along a busy street, they all pose different challenges. Luckily parking a car in different environments can be learned fairly quickly and hopefully without any new scratches or dents.

Parking Spaces

The common parking spaces that you see at shopping centers across the United States are nothing for a new driver to be afraid of. An important factor when parking a car is knowing the size of the car and its blind spots. Some cars have a long front end, while others may be stubby or short. When preparing to park your car into a parking space, evaluate the size of the space and the size of the car. Is there enough room to open both the driver’s door and passenger door? Is there going to be enough length to accommodate the length of the car?

Once you find a suitable parking space, you want to make a wide turn and nose into the space. Making a wide turn will allow you to pull straight into the parking space and it makes it easier to center the car in the space. Because unforeseen hazards, such as a pedestrian, child or someone opening a car door can happen quickly, you should not accelerate into a parking space. Use the idling power of the car to slowly pull into the parking space.

When backing out of a parking space, you should slowly pull straight out. Avoid turning the wheels until the side view mirrors are next to the rear of the car that you are parked next to. Ensure that you constantly check your mirrors and look for other cars and pedestrians as you back out of a parking space.

Parking on a Hill

Parking a car on a hill is not that difficult. However there are extra steps that should be taken to ensure that the car does not roll down the hill. If you park a car on a hill or any type of incline, you should turn the wheels all the way to the right, or toward the curb. Turning the wheels toward the curb will prevent the car from rolling very far, if for some reason the car starts to roll. You should also set the parking break and make sure that the transmission is in park (for automatics) or that the transmission is in gear (for manual transmissions).

Parallel Parking

Parallel parking is the most difficult parking methods to learn. To parallel park, you back into a space that is not much bigger then the size of the car. For beginners, it takes practice. You need to familiarize yourself with different reference points that you can use to guide you into the parking space. The most common method to parallel parking is the 3 position method. To parallel park, pull up just past the empty parking space. In reverse back up the car with the wheels turned all the way to the right. Once the rear of the car is in the space, turn the wheels all the way to the left, then continue to back in. Then pull forward to center the car in the space. It is easier to stop the car at each position. As you practice and get more experienced, you will be able to parallel park without stopping.

Photo Credits: JaseMan

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blind spots, busy street, car door, car on a hill, cars, challenges, dents, environments, parking space, parking spaces, pedestrians, scratches, shopping center, shopping centers, wheels

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Car Tips, Driving Tips, New Drivers

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