If you are looking forward to drive around the city, parallel parking should be your topmost concern. Long known for having limited space and restricted design, many parking lots in the city are designed parallel. Whether it is your fist time driving or you have never faced the need to Parallel Park, there is no need to avoid such parking space. If you avoid such spaces, you may end up not having any space to park in at all! Listed here are some useful hints to guide you on how to parallel park effectively. What’s more important is to practice these steps. As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect”.
To park your vehicle neatly, you will first need to locate a spot that will fit in your car. It should have an extra space of a few feet in between the next car. Drive slowly as you look for a parking. Make sure that you don’t brake abruptly when you spot a parking space. This may cause traffic accident and harm both yourself and the driver behind you. Observe your rearview and side mirror to ensure that you have space to reverse into the parking space. Signal to indicate that you are parking and give way to the driver behind you. When traffic is clear, line your car parallel to the car in front of the parking space. Keep a distance of two to three feet away from the car. This enables you to move into the spot with ease. If too near, you might scratch the other car and if too far, you will not be able to park successfully.
The next step is to shift into reverse gear and assess the side mirror. You can also look over your shoulder to better assess the gap. Slowly begin to back into the parking space, while observing the front at all times. The last thing you want to do is to hit the rear bumper of the car in front of you. Beware also not to hit the curb. If you do, it indicates that you have gone too far in. as you are halfway through reversing, navigate your steering wheel in the opposite direction. As you adjust the position of your car and maneuver your way completely into the space, feel free to engage the drive mode so that you can work on straightening the position of your vehicle until you’ve reached a satisfactory position. If not successful, try again.
These general hints are meant to guide you on how to parallel park. To get a real grasp of the situation, take your car out for a try today. To master the art of parallel parking, take some time to practice and learn to gradually develop a good sense of space estimation.
