When you need to park on the street, you might struggle if you don’t have much experience behind the wheel or rarely drive in the city. Fortunately, there are several ways to improve your skills so that you can park in these types of spaces quickly and without hassle. Use the following driving lessons to make the process easier. 

4 Parallel Parking Tips

1. Choose the Right Space

To fit comfortably, select a spot that’s about one-and-a-half times the size of your car or truck. This will give you enough room to back into the space and pull out of it without hitting the curb or other vehicles. Prior to pulling into the space, check your mirrors and blind spot to make sure no one is behind you.

2. Put on Your Blinker or Hazards

As you get ready to back into the spot, put on your right blinker to let drivers behind you know that you’re trying to parallel park. If traffic is particularly busy, or if the weather is inclement, put on your hazards so that oncoming traffic can clearly see and avoid running into you. 

3. Line Up Your Vehicle 

Align your front passenger’s side mirror with the front driver’s side mirror of the vehicle in front of the space. This will give you enough room to back into it at a 45-degree angle, which optimizes a symmetrical parking job. Stay about two to three feet away from the vehicle alongside you so that you don’t run into it. 

4. Back Into the Space & Adjust 

Put your vehicle in reverse, and turn the wheel all the way to the right to secure the correct angle before backing into the space. Once you’re about a foot or two from the curb, stop your vehicle, turn the wheel all the way to the left, and put the car in drive to straighten out into the spot. Leave equal amounts of space between the vehicles in front and behind you.

Perfect your parallel parking technique with driving lessons from Sure-Drive Driver's Training. This driving school offers instruction to students of all ages throughout Villa Hills, KY. Call (859) 331-0007 to enroll in driver’s ed for teens or adults. Visit the website to learn more about how they can help you stay safe and defensive behind the wheel with driving lessons.