Parallel parking.
Two words that struck fear into my heart the moment I started Drivers Ed.
The saboteur that caused me to fail my driving test…twice!
Well, now that I’m “a little” older and I have much more driving experience under
my belt, let me share some of my tips with you so that you’re cruising and parking
in style!
Ok, no guarantee on style but definitely in comfort!
Let’s start with the easy stuff.
The things you probably take for granted or just fallen into the habit of forgetting to
do if you’ve been driving for a while, like…
- Adjusting your seat: This should be the first thing you do when
getting behind the wheel.
Making sure your seat is positioned the best way for your body will make driving safer
and less exhausting – even on short trips.
You want to adjust the height of the seat so that you can see the dash panel and the
road clearly.
If you happen to be a bit on the shorter side and can’t see over the dash even after doing
everything the seat will allow, get a cushion or wedge to sit on.
As for the seat’s incline, keep it at about 100-110°.
I know it looks super cool when you’re leaning way back like a boss, but, again, comfort
and safety over style, folks.
The headrest should be adjusted so that your head is right smack-dab in the middle of it.
This will help prevent a bad neck injury in case of an accident.
- Next, mirrors: Starting with the driver’s side.
Once your seat is adjusted, lean left and get as close to the side window as you can.
Then adjust the mirror until you can see the rear fender.
Once you’re sitting correctly, you should just barely see the side of the back bumper.
Moving on to the passenger side mirror – here you want to stay in the driver’s seat and
lean to your right until your head is just about in the middle between the two front
seats.
Now, adjust this mirror so that you can see the back fender too.
Again, when you move back to a normal driving position, you should just get a glimpse of
the side of the rear bumper.
Finally, we get to the rearview mirror.
I know, it’s beginner stuff, but this mirror gets bumped and re-positioned all the time.
It’s always a good idea to take just a second to adjust the rearview mirror and make sure
it shows a perfectly centered view of your back window.
One last thing before we get to the parking tips…
- Hand positioning: I can’t stress enough how important this
is.
There’s no beverage worth sipping, no text worth texting, or song worth skipping that’s
more valuable than your safety.
(Well, maybe Neil Diamond’s “Porcupine Pie” – but that’s it!)
Jokes aside, make sure you can clearly see all the instruments on the dash and have at
least a foot (30 cm) of space between it and your body.
Your hands should be slightly lower than your shoulders and placed on the wheel at 9 and
3.
Oh yeah, the ol’ steering wheel clock analogy.
Imagine the wheel like the face of a clock (not the digital kind on your phone but the
old-fashioned analog types!
…Ask your grandpappy about it…).
Left hand at 9, right hand at 3, and there you go!
You might prefer 8 and 4, and that’s ok too.
Just remember that the old 10-and-2 position they used to teach is no longer the go-to
because, in the event of an accident, the airbag can send your hands shooting right
into your face.
And what sounds like the most epic facepalm ever is pretty serious – you can break bones!
Alright, Bright Siders, on to PARKING!
(Cue the horror music.)
Before we get into the ultimate challenge of parallel parking, let’s start with…
- 45° parking: You’ll need this trick whenever you pull
into a parking lot and the spots are kinda slanted, hence the whole 45° thing.
First, make sure you’re going down the aisle the right way!
The spots should be slanted down toward you, not away from you.
(Hey, I’ve seen people try to park their car after coming in from the wrong direction,
and it’s an embarrassing struggle to say the least.)
Next, move to your left as far as you can.
Keep moving until your right side-view mirror is lined up with the left taillight of the
car on your right-hand side.
After that, turn the wheel to the right and pull into the spot.
You might have to straighten it out a bit, especially if you have a longer vehicle.
- The next level up from that is perpendicular parking:
This is kind of similar, but the parking spots aren’t angled – they’re your typical
straight-line variety.
Again, start off by getting as far to the left as you can.
Watch out for incoming cars first!
The further you are to your left, the easier it’s going to be.
Align your right side-view mirror with the right line of the parking spot.
Then, cut the wheel to the right, and pull in!
Turn the steering wheel to the left and straighten the car.
If you follow the “right mirror with right line” trick, you shouldn’t have to back
up and straighten the car out too much.
- Next up, backing into a parking space: I feel like there are two types of parkers
in this world: those who pull in and the ones who always back in (and that one guy named
Peter who walks around in a spider costume…you know, “Peter Parker parked a pod of prickly
Priuses”?
). Which type are you?
I’m probably a little bit of both depending on the circumstance.
Anyway, first, locate the spot you’re going to back into and drive 2 spots past it.
Then, and this is crucial, make sure drivers around you know what you’re about to do.
Flip on your blinker, and before going into reverse, make sure to look out for oncoming
vehicles from the front and approaching ones from behind.
Check your mirrors (they’re nice and adjusted for you now, right?) and make sure everything’s
clear.
You can now throw ‘er in reverse.
Now turn your steering wheel to the right and slowly accelerate backward.
Continue moving back and start to straighten the steering wheel as soon as your rear wheels
are inline in the parking spot.
Keep checking those mirrors so that you don’t hit any cars next to you.
Once you get yourself aligned in the spot, straighten your steering wheel and continue
backing up until the front of the car is lined up with the others in the row.
Also be careful not to continue in reverse so that you don’t crash into the curb or
parked car behind you!
Finally, put her in park, and you’re good to go!
And last but not least (drumroll please), the type of parking that studies have actually
shown 3 out of 10 drivers will park over a mile (1.6 km) from where they need to be just
to avoid having to do it!
It’s even an actual condition: “parallel-o-phobia” – the fear of…
- Parallel parking: First thing’s first: make sure the spot
you want to park in is one your car will fit into.
You want no less than one and a half times the length of the car.
Found a spot?
Good, here we go!
Drive forward until your car is next to the one in front of the parking spot.
We’ll call it car #1.
Now look over your right shoulder through the lower corner of your back window and drive
backward in a straight line.
Once you can see the back of car #1 in the right corner, turn the wheel to the right
and slowly begin to back your car into the space.
Look into the left-side mirror when you can see the full front of the car behind the spot
– and I’ll dub this one car #2 (original, I know).
Now straighten out the steering wheel and back the car in a straight line.
Using the right-side mirror, when you see the taillights on car #1, turn the steering
wheel left, and you should be moving into the parking space.
Check your nerves.
Breathe.
You got this!
Aaand park your car parallel to the curb, giving car #2 and yourself, enough room to
drive out.
Again, if your vehicle isn’t a standard size, you’ll probably need to drive a little
further before you start getting lined up.
Now, was that REALLY SO HARD?
Yes…Yes, it was.
But once I took parallel parking seriously and practiced – a lot - I had it down pat.
And – wouldn’t you know it – 3rd time was a charm and I got my license!
I think I remember angelic music playing when they handed it to me, but that could just
be my imagination!
Your turn now.
What’s something you were always afraid to learn to do?
Let me know down in the comments.
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Park yourself on the Bright Side of life!