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Parallel-parked cars in Washington, D.C.

A motorist gets assistance parallel-parking

Parallel parking animation

Parallel parking is a method of parking a vehicle in line with other parked cars. Cars parked in parallel are in one line, parallel to the curb, with the front bumper of each car facing the back bumper of the adjacent one. Parallel parking requires initially driving the car in reverse gear into the parking space. Roads that facilitate said parking have an extra lane or a large shoulder for parked cars. It is also employed anytime parking facilities are not available—usually in large metropolitan areas where there is a high density of vehicles and few (or restricted) accommodations such as multi-storey car parks.

Parallel parking is considered to be one of the hardest skills for new drivers to learn. Parallel parking allows a vehicle to park in a smaller space than would be true of forward parking. Driving forward into a parking space on the side of a road is typically not possible unless two successive parking spaces are empty. Reversing into the spot via the parallel parking technique allows one to take advantage of a single empty space not much longer than the car (in order to complete the parking within three wheel-turns the parking space would generally need to be about one and a half car-length long).

Beginning drivers learn to use reference points to align themselves in relation to the car in front of the space, to determine the proper angle for backing, and to determine when to turn the steering wheel while backing. They may find it easier to briefly stop at each reference point and turn for the next step.

Two major types of parallel parking technique differ in whether they will use two or three positions of the steering wheel while backing. A skilled driver may be able to parallel park successfully by backing with the steering wheel turned all the way to the right (or left, in right-hand drive countries or when parking on the left side of a one-way street) and then immediately cranking the wheel all the way to the left (or right, in right-hand drive countries or when parking on the left side of a one-way street) at a critical point. For beginning drivers, those with larger cars or bad sight lines, this may risk collision with either the car in front of or behind the parking space, or it could also result in the car being parked too far away from the curb. Such drivers may find it easier to include an intermediate step, where after having achieved the ideal angle for backing up they back up with the wheels straight until the rear end of the car is far enough back to allow them to make their final reverse turn. While steering wheel positions in between full-right, straight, and full-left are possible to use, beginners may be able to gauge their progress more effectively by turning the wheel all the way to the right or left.

A 2009 Ruhr University Bochum study argued that a driver's gender may affect parking ability. According to the research, female drivers took an average of 20 seconds longer to park than male drivers, yet were still less likely than men to park accurately.^[1] However, this study was completed using an extremely small sample group - 65 people - such that the conclusion that women are inherently worse at parking or deficient in spatial reasoning is questionable.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 21st century, car manufacturers are addressing this need by introducing automatic parking.

See also[link]

• Advanced Parking Guidance System
• Parallel parking problem: the mathematics of parallel parking
• Door zone

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Parallel parking

• Flawless Parallel Parking Video
• Video Tutorials
• The parking game
• Passing Parallel Parking on a Driving Exam
• Practice exercises for learning how to parallel park
• How to do a Perfect Parallel Parking?