Who, what, why: How do you parallel park?
A video of a driver spending 30 minutes repeatedly failing to reverse into a generous parking space has become an internet hit. But how do you parallel park successfully?
As an instructional video on how not to do something it's masterful.
Over the course of half an hour a hapless but determined driver tries and spectacularly fails to parallel park between two cars a good distance apart.
The duration and infamy of the episode aside, it's an experience that many people can relate to.
Sometimes everything just falls into place - you turn the wheel and the car slips elegantly backwards into a space that barely accommodates its length.
At other times - usually with a queue of traffic building up - a wheel mounts the kerb, a hubcap is scraped, the bumper of a neighbouring car is nudged, or the car is left stranded several feet from the pavement.
There are many other failed attempts to complete the manoeuvre on YouTube to underline the fact that this is a common problem.
Among the offerings are a bid to park a Mini in a space simply not mini enough for it, a man using a space so small that he has to turn his wheel a dozen times and jolts the neighbouring cars with every movement, and a car reversing heavily into the one behind it - repeatedly.
So, how are drivers supposed to parallel park?
"We as human beings are not genetically programmed to go backwards, so reversing in general is really quite difficult when you're learning to drive," says Kevin Delaney, head of road safety at the Institute of Advanced Motorists.
"If you're driving forwards you turn the wheel quite a way and you get a gentle turn of the car. Going backwards it doesn't work like that - you get a really sharp turn with little use of the wheel.
"Parallel parking complicates the issue further - you're aiming for a defined space."
So, some pointers are needed to ensure success.
Delaney, who admits that he "still has to concentrate" when parallel parking uses the method below and credits it with getting his daughter through her driving test when she was 18.
It assumes that you are parking on the left, so reverse the turns of the wheel if parking on the right.
- Pull up alongside the gap you want to park in and check it's big enough - allow a minimum 2ft (60cm) at both ends
- Move slowly forwards until the back of your car is alongside the back of the car in front of your space
- Turn the steering wheel to the left, just how far will depend on your car
- Move slowly backwards - using the rear view mirror to keep an eye on the car behind you and the nearside mirror to check the position of the kerb
- When your car is close to the kerb, your car should be clear of the one in front - turn the steering wheel to the right, to bring the front of your car close to the kerb
- Straighten up the wheels by turning the steering wheel to the left
Source: Institute of Advanced Motorists
To make this work there are two other things to bear in mind, says Delaney.
One is that you need to feel confident, the other is to accept that you're going to have to keep on practising until you get it right.
The results are mixed.
"There are some people who will not parallel park - they would sooner drive the extra half mile to use the supermarket car park," says Delaney.
"There are other people whose skills leave me gasping with amazement - it just seems absolutely effortless."
And then there are those drivers who are able to leave the whole problem to their cars.
Well aware that there are many motorists who would prefer to never parallel park a number of manufacturers have introduced park assist systems, which allow onboard computers to take charge of the manoeuvre.
"It seems like an extremely good idea to me," says Delaney.
What are your tips for parallel parking? Have you had any memorable experiences while attempting the manoeuvre?
Firstly, you want to be slightly ahead of the car you have pulled up alongside. With the Institute of Advanced Motorists advice you need to start turning almost immediately whereas if you are slightly forward you can move backwards a bit before turning, allowing yourself time to settle and judge what you are going to do. Secondly, a neat trick I learnt many years ago, when power steering was only on big expensive cars, is to actually allow your rear wheel to gentle kiss the kerb. If you turn the steering wheel back towards the kerb before moving forward to straighten out you will find you are at an optimum distance from the kerb when you have finished.
I have just passed my driving test and my instructor had a brilliant method that he taught his pupils. It is pretty much foolproof, if you time it right anyway. You need to pull up alongside the car in front and then when reversing, once your front bumper is just about in line with the other car's back bumper, turn slowly left into the space and then once you can see in your left wing mirror that the door handle is sitting on top of the kerb, turn the car to the right and straighten up!
The method I use is to pick a spot in the gap approximately two feet ahead of the car you want to park in front of and reverse towards it. Once the far corner of your car has reached that spot then straighten up, keeping an eye on the cars in front and behind of course. Works for me.
Best tip is one my dad gave me. At around stages 3-4 in the above illustration, you look in your right wing mirror and point the right side of your car at the middle of the car behind's number plate. This way you'll not come in at too sharp an angle. If the nearside wing mirror is angled down, you'll be able to see when the rear tyre's getting close on the kerb and can bring it round to straighten-up (phase 5).
I passed my driving test in 1972 in Guernsey, when an obligatory part of the test was to parallel park between two cars in one movement and be less than six inches from the kerb. I passed my test first time and since then always reverse park, parallel or otherwise. It makes life so much easier. Who said women couldn't park properly!
Buy a car with park assist.
It's all about having the confidence to have a go. With experience it becomes easier and easier. The other trick is making very small movements, at slow speed, and thinking about how the car is reacting. Having a tiny car is also useful!
My driving instructor taught me the series of manoeuvres in the diagram with specifics of "turn the steering wheel until the car is at 45 degrees, then straighten up and reverse back until the front of your car is in line with the rear of the car you are parking behind, then right hand down to straighten up". It really does work every single time and I have never had problems parking.
I run a motoring club for women so I should know, but still don't always get it right. 1) If you've got it wrong, don't be afraid to drive out and have another go 2) Don't give up 3) It's always easier to reverse in.
This is what I learned in 'driver training' in High School in California over 50 years ago, and it (usually) works. Pull up even to the car in front, reverse to an angle of 45 degrees, then ease into the space. Using this method it is possible to get into a space less than 18 inches longer than your car. Possible, but not assured!
