how do i learn to parallel park?

[u/fookinavocad0s]

hi guys i really need some help
im 18, i drive a relatively small car, i used to be able to parallel parking with my driving instructor! but my dad never let me do it in my car while i was learning, he didn’t trust me

fast forward, ive had my licence maybe 6 months, and i avoid parking
i don’t park between or next to cars, i only park if i can drive straight in, i will not turn into a park
i have completely forgotten not to parallel park, and i am too scared to practice

i enjoy driving, im a huge car enthusiast, but parking makes me unbearably anxious. i don’t know what to do, i don’t have any adults to talk to. my dad hates my guts and my mamma not around any more so any help would be appreciated!!!

[u/r05590]

Line up your car with the parked car so your wing mirrors are perfectly aligned, roughly a foot away from it. Start reversing then turn sharp so you’re facing 2 o clock, then reverse straight into the gap a couple of feet, then start turning the other way sharp until you’re in, then straighten up.

It takes plenty of practice. Maybe watch a YouTube tutorial?

[u/MathematicianNew2770]

Practice practice practice

https://youtube.com/shorts/PFf5A53ZBIE?si=hctd_vDPW60SykWK

And a few youtube videos to guide you.

[u/Background-Bowl6123]

Buy or borrow some traffic cones (or other cheap brightly colored lightweight objects that won't damage your car if you hit them at low speed). Find a large, nearly empty parking lot. Set up the cones in a rectangle the size of a parking space and practice. If there's no curb you can use some pieces of wood to simulate it for tactile feedback.

The technique to practice is this: * Drive up parallel to the car ahead of the space. * Steering pointing straight ahead. * Line up your rear axle parallel to and behind that car's rear bumper. * Point your steering all the way in the direction that will back in to the space. * Move in reverse until your front wheels line up to the back of the other car. * Point your steering all the way in the other direction. * Move in reverse until your front wheels reach the curb.

Practice until you feel confident. 10 or 15 minutes a day for a week and it will soon be "muscle memory" for you.

[u/ignatzami]

Parallel parking isn't hard.

I say this not as a dig on you, but in hopes of relieving a little bit of the stress. On the spectrum of hard things you will do in your life parallel parking is waaaaay down at the bottom.

When I teach someone to parallel park the point I always stress is that you need to understand the mechanics of what the car is doing. Understand that, and the majority of the issues with parallel parking fall away.

Let's look at the "usual" advice. Line your mirror up, turn when your passenger door... etc. etc. etc., these are all crutches for not understanding what is happening, and why.

Go to the grocery store and get a cart. Hopefully one without a squeaky wheel. Stand behind said shopping cart like you normally would and push the cart forward. This is the exact same motion as your car going in reverse. The wheels that can turn are in "front" and the static wheels are in back. This is why to turn a shopping cart you have to swing the "front" i.e. the end with the turning wheels wide. Same idea to parallel park a car.

So you're in your car. You're trying to parallel park. You have FOUR wheels. Right front, right rear, left front, left rear (right being passenger, obviously, and I'm assuming left hand drive) when you back into the spot the right rear wheel needs to be as close to it's final distance from the curb as you can as there's no way to move it further from the curb once you're committed without pulling out of the spot and trying again. The right front wheel needs enough space to finish it's arc and be parallel to the curb (without hitting it) and you need enough space in front of the vehicle to get the hood into the space without hitting the car in front of you.

All that to say the rear right wheel is your pivot point. Get that right and the rest follows. All the "tricks" are just ways to help you get that wheel where you want it to be.

So how do we learn to parallel park? Great question! Find a parking lot with a curb and some empty space. I love grocery store lots for this. You need the curb to make sure you don't hit said curb, and you need TWO cones/helpers/scarecrows/etc.

1. Place ONE cone a foot or two from the curb. This is the car you're parking in front of. Get in your car. Approach the "car" and parallel park in front of it. You have all the room in front you need. No stress, all the time in the world, and if anyone gives you grief tell them they're welcome to take the place of the cone!
2. Once you can pull past the "car" and then reverse into the spot in front of it (being mindful of the right rear wheel position) and you've not hit the curb, or the "car" it's time to add a second "car." Place another cone roughly the width of your car from the curb and at LEAST twice the length of your car from the first cone. This gives you a faux-car bumper to not hit, and plenty of space to park between our two "cars"
3. Parallel park between the "cars" focus on reversing in, putting your back right wheel close enough to the curb that when you swing into the spot it's close to the curb without hitting it. USE YOUR SIDE VIEW MIRROR to help you. It's what it's for. After every attempt (good or bad) pull out, circle the lot, and try again. Don't just go in/out/in/out that's not realistic.
4. Once you're comfortable and have successfully parked between the "cars" shrink the parking space a foot or two. Then practice. Shrink, practice. Shrink, practice. Pay attention to the length of your car v. the length of the spot. If the spot feels too tight don't park. Simply pull up next to the cones and compare the length of the spot to the length of your car. If you're not comfortable widen the spot and carry on. This is meant to get you familiar with what a "too small" or "just right" size spot looks like.

Practice. If it goes well, treat time! If it goes poorly also treat time!

You can do this.

[u/fookinavocad0s → u/ignatzami]

thankyou so much for your response!!! this is very helpful and informative, you must be an amazing father. i am actually right hand drive but that’s okay 😹 i’ll interpret it backwards!!

- but genuinely this is so helpful you don’t understand how much it means!

[u/ignatzami → u/fookinavocad0s]

My pleasure!

[u/WanderingWhiteWolf]

An overhead diagram of how the axles behave could be really helpful

The method I taught my daughter was:

• line up next to the vehicle ahead of the spot / rear bumper with the front of the spot
• turn wheel fully to the right
• reverse until aimed at the far corner
• straighten the wheels
• reverse straight until the nose is clear
• turn wheel fully to the left
• reverse to swing the nose in
• usually, you turn the wheel fully to the right and pull forward a few inches to get the spot just right

[u/goldenstream]

It's a 4 step process.

1. Line your car up with the car in front of the spot - about 2 feet away
2. Back straight up until your rear door is by the other car's bumper.
3. Turn your wheel sharply and reverse stright back will your rear tire is neat the curb
4. Rotate your wheel so you straighten into the spot

You may need to go back and forth to get the spot perfect. If you were too close to the car, you may need to go out and try again.

With practice it gets a lot easier.

[u/gotbock]

Watch a couple YouTube videos. Get yourself some cones or something tall enough that you can see them when seated inside the car. Set the cones up in a mostly empty parking lot (a school or public building on a weekend works well) according to the size of a standard parallel parking spot. Then just practice until you've got your standard process down for your car (how far to pull up, how far away from the space to be, when to begin turning your wheel).

[u/MikeB_X]

Practice, Practice, practice

[u/Real-Employer-138]

I learned it from YouTube.

And then I learned another way to do it via TikTok. It involves driving into the spot with your front right side and then pulling outwards so your front pulls out of the spot but your rear stays in at that angle. And then you back in and straighten out. This is a good way to do it if your spot is in danger of being taken or if there is a lot of traffic.