Parallel parking is one of the most challenging manoeuvres for learner drivers and even seasoned motorists. The task requires parking your vehicle in a line of other cars, parallel to the road, which demands a great deal of coordination.
This includes knowing when to turn the wheel while reversing, how much to turn it, and being aware of your surroundings. Typically, the space is too small to drive straight into, so you need to position yourself parallel to the car in front of the desired parking space and then reverse.
Fortunately, a Driving Test Success expert has shared a tutorial on how to master the parallel park in a straightforward and stress-free way. After positioning yourself, start reversing while looking into the rear window.
Taking to TikTok, the driving expert continued: “When I’m about halfway down this vehicle, and it is a small car, I’m going to lock my steering wheel to the left. I look in my mirror, and my right shoulder to make sure it’s safe. I’m going to swing out to about 30 to 35 degrees, maximum 45, and straighten my wheels.”
Then the driving expert starts backing straight into the space, and when the back of the car on his left side starts to disappear behind his car’s pillar, that’s when he starts turning the wheel to reverse it in. He continued: “If at this point, I need to do a correction, I can do it here. Bring the car slightly closer to the curb, get myself nicely lined up with the vehicle in front, and then straighten my wheels.
“Checking my mirror to make sure I’m nicely lined up with the curb, and then a little bit towards the rear window, just to finish off.” You can see the full tutorial below.
According to another driving instructor, it’s easier to parallel park if you have ‘reference points’. First off you need to pull up level right next to one of the parked vehicles, around a metre away. Some people use the wing mirrors as reference points.
When it’s safe, you can start reversing, but one of the main problems is that people tend to turn too early. Instead, keep reversing slowly until the first reference point, which is when the back of the other vehicle is half way across your back window. Another reference point is when the curb starts to disappear in your left wing mirror.