Parallel parking is a technique of parking parallel to the road, in line with other parked vehicles and facing in the same direction as traffic on that side of the road. To do this, you pull up parallel to the vehicle in front of the parking space and slowly back up into the parking space.

Is parallel parking really that hard?

Parallel parking, for many people, is really hard. Nerves, a lack of practice, poor instruction or some combination of those can mean a car winds up two feet from the curb, wedged in at a hopeless angle or smack up against another parked car.

Parallel parking is a way of parking a car in a small space that drivers may not be able to drive straight into. Normally drivers position themselves parallel to the car in front of the space they want to park in, then reverse in.

When should you start parallel parking?

It requires practice to master this maneuver. Always signal first, and then position your vehicle parallel with the vehicle parked (rear bumpers of both vehicles are aligned) in front of the empty spot. Keep at least two feet away from this vehicle (see figure).

Parallel parking allows you to park in a smaller space than would be possible if you were driving forward into it. Driving forward into a roadside space is usually only doable if two spaces in a row are unoccupied. By reversing in, a driver can take advantage of a single empty space, not too much longer than the car.