Ideas For Parallel Parking

By Author: Augustine Joseph
Total Articles: 16
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Parallel parking is a method of parking a vehicle in line with other parked cars. Cars parked in parallel are in one line, parallel to the curb, with the front bumper of each car facing the back bumper of the adjacent one. Parallel parking requires initially driving the car in reverse gear into the parking space.
Usually parallel parking is considered to be one of the hardest skills for new drivers to learn. Parallel parking allows a vehicle to park in a smaller space than would be true of forward parking.
Driving forward into a parking space on the side of a road is typically not possible unless two successive parking spaces are empty. Reversing into the spot via the parallel parking technique allows one to take advantage of a single empty space not much longer than the car in order to complete the parking within three wheel-turns the parking space would generally need to be about one and a half car-length long.
For the benefit of non-drivers and future drivers, let us first know what parallel parking is. You should have the hand-eye coordination for parallel parking, the following ideas / tips will help you ...
... improve with parallel parking.
S method:
This method can be followed using the below steps,
1. Signal and pull up approx, up to 3 feet away from the car you want to park behind, and then align your rear tires with the other car’s rear bumper.
2. Put your car into Reverse, and turn wheels all the way to the Right.
3. Slowly back up until you are at a 45 degree angle. Then Stop.
4. Turn the wheels all the way to the Left.
5. Slowly back-up until you are parallel with the curb.
If you have done correctly you should be less than 12 inches from the curb. Also Practice will bring more improvement.
Start of the Parallel Park:
When you’re about the do your parallel park there are some provisions you must take when setting it up. First of all,
*You need to be about 1-2 feet away from the vehicle you’re parallel parking onto.
*Then make sure when you pull along the side the vehicle that you use have your blinker. It will be your right blinker since we drive on the right side of the road in the US.
When you are pulling up to the car, go slowly, yet steady speed. Make sure you don’t stop too hard.
Mirror-to-mirror Measurements:
When you do pull your vehicle along the side you should line your right side view mirror up with their left side view mirror if your car and their car are nearly the same size. It’s a bit tricky, but that’s alright.
*If the car your parallel parking on is bigger than your car then align your mirror up about 6-12 inches behind theirs mirror i.e. you should be able to see the actual mirror part of their side view mirror; your car should be moved somewhat back towards the back of their car by foots.
*If the car you’re parallel parking on is smaller than your car, then move up towards the front of their car about 6-12 inches, depending on how much smaller the car is compared to yours.
Some other factors that you need to take into consideration are the space that they are away from the curb, driveways, and the dreaded curb in itself. It’s better to be a little further away than even tipping the curb.
Cut the Wheel:
When you’re fully aligned then cut the wheel. In doing this you can turn the wheel in a specific way that allows your tires to adjust to the parallel park. When you cut the wheel try to cut it clockwise 75% from the bottom of the wheel.
If it helps you, put a marker or something at the bottom of the wheel for practice. When the wheel is turned correctly from a standard, straight position, then the marker should be all the way to the right of the wheel. Now you’re ready to perform the sinister parallel park.
One of the Strong Suggestion is “Lots & Lots of Practice & experience will make you perfect”. The key is to practice in calm environments first, then gradually move to tighter and tenser situations. Then you’ll discover that fearsome parking technique has become your favorite.