Does parking car have to be so intimidating?

Parallel parking a car can be intimidating, we agree. It is one of the most difficult parts of driving — even for the most seasoned drivers amongst us, especially in our ever-expanding and congested cities. Dread not, here we have compiled a simple guide on how to parallel park in four easy steps.

PSA

This guide is based for India where we have the steering on the right and drive on the left.

Finding the right spot

The foremost thing to do is to find a proper space where you can park your car safely. If you are a new driver, you should start with wider spaces until you get better at parking in tighter spots. Most importantly, check whether it is legal to park in that area. Look around for ‘no parking’ road signs, sometimes you’d see boards marking odd and even dates when you can park there, or some may have single-lane parking signs. Pay attention to these boards and road signs. Also look for open gutters, big rocks or any other obstacles before parking around the available space.

Now, to judge whether your car will fit in the available parking area, we recommend at least 3-4 feet of space in addition to your car’s length, or one and a half times your car length to park comfortably.

Mastering the art of car parking in four steps

1. Position your car

Drive up to the car parked in front of the available space. Align your car in such a manner that there’s a minimum one arm’s distance between the two cars. However, this distance depends on the length of your car, the available space, and the turning radius. So, one arm’s distance is the least, but do not spare more than half of your car’s width between your car and the car parked in front. Some would recommend aligning the rear wheels of your car with the rearmost part of the adjacent parked car. And some insist on aligning the mirrors of your car and the parked car in a way that they are adjacent to each other from the driver’s point of view. The latter is relatively easier to view from the driver’s seat. If the parking space is large enough, even placing your rear tyres beyond the rearmost part of the parked car works.

Things to look out for while positioning your car:

Since there is a relative difference owing to various factors like length of the parked car, length of your car, and turning radius, it is recommended to double-check before you start turning in.

While at it, turn on the indicators, and double-check your mirrors. You should also adjust the ORVMs to see the area around your wheel while backing in.

If you are one of those lucky few that has a car with the 360-degree camera system, enable the top view mode and pay attention to the left side as your move your car in.

Turn on your headlights as they can be a good reference point for how close you are to the vehicle in front.

2. Reversing in

The second step in parallel parking your car is to lock your steering wheel and start reversing in. The parking spot should be on your left, so lock the steering to the extreme left, engage the reverse gear, check the mirrors, and start backing up. You’d need to keep an eye out toward the car at the back through the IRVM, and the rearmost part of the car parked ahead as well. It is recommended to look over your shoulder towards where your car is reversing in by shifting in your seat and holding the passenger side seat for better support. Keep reversing until the front wheels of your car are aligned with the rearmost part of the front car, although it could be difficult to judge this at first from the driver’s seat. But while at it, keep looking into your driver-side ORVM, and you should see the entire front of the car parked behind.

If you are using the reverse camera for parking car, then ensure you follow the path of the dynamic guidelines as you move the steering wheel. The parking sensors and cameras are programmed to give a wide berth in terms of spacing and you do get a little extra room to manoeuvre which you would need to judge by doing a combination of both methods.

Things to look out for while reversing in for parallel parking:

This is the most important part of parallel parking, mind you. So if you make a mistake at this step, you’d have to go back and try it all over again.

It is in this step when you set various reference points for yourself – fixing a point on the curb for example.

The tail of your car (or around two-thirds of your car) should have entered the parking area, and your car should ideally be at an angle of around 45 degrees in reference to the parking space.

3. Straighten up and turn the car back in

The next move is to turn your steering wheel back into the middle position. Keep reversing as the rear of your car starts approaching the pavement and the rear parked car while the nose of your car is clear of the front car. It’s better to watch the passenger side ORVM – which must be tilted enough for you to see the surroundings – and check where your car is moving among the parked cars. Now right at this point, start cutting the steering wheel in the opposite lock. While at it, you’d still need to keep an eye out for the front of your car turning in the space behind the front car; while also maintaining enough distance between your car and the car at the back. As we said earlier, the reverse camera and parking sensors give you a wide berth in terms of spacing, so you do get some more room to manoeuvre but this must be judged by eyeing the space around you.

Things to look out for when turning your car back in:

When reversing in, get a reference of the rear car through the window and ORVMs. Also, remember that it might appear closer than it actually is.

Apart from that, you can also take reference of the curb, so that your car is parallel to it when aligning in place.

4. The final alignment of the car

Finally, when the car is in the parking area, you might need to straighten up the steering and adjust the car. There are a few indicators here, like the license plate of the front vehicle aligned to the centre of your windshield, or you’d only be able to see some part of the rear car through your ORVMs. Look back over your shoulder and outside the window and adjust the mirrors if you want to survey the space around your car.

Things to look out for during the final alignment while parallel parking the car:

Remember to leave enough distance between your car and the ones in the front and at the back.

This space between the cars should be enough for all three cars to pull out of the parking space without bothering the other parked vehicles.

Moreover, the other two cars between which you are parallel parking might not have been parked properly, keep an account of the same when parking.

If you have a 360-degree camera system, run through all angles to ensure you have parked within the parking slot (if marked) and that you have no part sticking out on the road.

Conclusion

New cars these days come with reverse sensors, reversing camera, dynamic guidelines, and more. Some cars can even parallel park on their own. But nothing beats doing it yourself and the satisfaction of watching a perfectly parked car after getting down. Therefore, follow these instructions and keep practising to master the art of parallel parking. It isn’t that difficult when you get a hang of it. Plus, it can save precious time when you are in a hurry and parking space is scarce.

Dos and Don’ts of Parallel Parking Car

- Try to park in a place where the roads are empty, and you aren’t blocking the flowing traffic while attempting to park a car.

- If you do not find a place as mentioned in the above point, be patient until the traffic is clear before you start parking in.

- Find a place which is well-lit, clean, and is legal to park in. If it is a pay-and-park, make sure you pay the correct parking fare.

- Ensure everything is visible around the vehicle before and after parking. You might be parking on or around an open manhole cover if not paid proper attention.

- While parking car, do not harm the surrounding cars in any way possible. If in doubt, always keep more space between the cars than you anticipate.

- Align the car so that it doesn’t stick out of the space and cause a hindrance to other road users.

- Be careful with your controls when behind the steering wheel, one small mistake could end up being very costly.

- Use the indicators correctly before, during, and after parking.

- Use a combination of your mirrors, rear sensors, and rear-view camera/360-degree camera to parallel park a car.

- Avoid parallel parking your car on a curved road, it would be much more difficult and unruly.

- Don’t park a car on the corner of the curb, it creates a blind spot for both drivers and pedestrians.

- Make sure the wheels are straightened and not turned out after you have finished parking as they may cause problems to other road users.

- If you are parking on a slope, turn the wheels to the wall side so that in the event of a brake failure, the car will roll into the wall arresting as much momentum as possible.

- Do take a picture of your perfectly parked car on your phone before walking away; that’s indeed something to be proud of.

Photography - Kapil Angane and Kaustubh Gandhi