Parallel Parking

A high majority of the population will say parallel parking is the most disliked manoeuvre they have to complete, therefore avoiding it at all costs.

Nevertheless, there’s no need to worry! At CarCliq, we go through the individual steps it takes to perfectly execute a parallel park.

1. Drive alongside the car you wish to reverse park behind – the distance should be fairly close, as you want to be sure other drivers around you are able to still pass by safely.



2. Line up your left-hand door mirror with the back of the other car and change into reverse gear and apply your handbrake to observe all around you before reversing.

3. Reverse slowly in a straight line and look over your left shoulder out of the rear window, meanwhile making sure you stop for any other approaching motorists.



4. When the front or back of the other car is lined up with your passenger side door pillar, stop as this is your point of turn and observe all around – this is because the front of your car is going to swing out.

5. As soon as you release the handbrake and reverse slowly, turn the wheel one whole turn to the left (not full lock) and this will make the back of your car go towards the kerb.
     
Remember to always keep observing around over your left and right shoulder and stopping for any oncoming drivers.

6. In your left-hand mirror, you should start to see the bottom of the kerb. Once it looks like it goes into your car approximately an inch under the door handle, then steer two times to the right – this should be done quickly, but still at a slow speed.

By steering to the right, it allows the front of your car to go towards the kerb.

7. Once the front of your car has come in and it feels straight, then straighten the wheels one whole turn to the left.

Steer more to the left if you’re going too wide.
Steer more to the right if you’re getting too close to the kerb.

To conclude, we hope this has given you a better outlook on parallel parking. Remember practice makes perfect, so maybe go somewhere quiet and take someone with you to guide you, to begin with.

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