Basic Car Maneuvers: 3 Parking Skills You Should Know

The way you park will determine how convenient it’d be for you to return and drive again your vehicle once you have to use it again. Aside from that, proper parking is a sign of courtesy towards other drivers, as an awkward parking would bring them – and in turn you – a bit, if not a lot, of hassle.

Thankfully, there are different kinds of parking, each of which is used in different situations. And in order for you to be versatile, you need to be familiar with them. So turn off your engine and cool down your muffler: it’s time to learn how to park.

Angled Parking

As its name suggests, angled parking is the kind of parking that is angled against a wall, curb, or a line. This kind of parking, which is usually found in parking lots of establishments, requires the driver to drive forward, fill the empty slot perfectly, and stop.

It’s a relatively easy kind of parking, especially if the parking area is open and wide. But if it’s small, walled up, and has a lot of pillars, it becomes harder, as there will be more blind spots. Either way, regardless of what the parking space looks like, the main concern you have to pay attention to with angled parking is the blind spot when you’re getting off your parking spot, as you won’t be able to see any incoming cars when you’re reversing your way out. For better visibility, don’t park too close to other cars. Also, when you still have yet to park, watch out for other cars that are leaving their parking slots, as you might hit them.

Perpendicular Parking

Perpendicular parking is pretty much just like angled parking; the only difference is that the angle is at 90 degrees. Follow the same guidelines as angled parking and you’ll be fine. Also, be courteous to other people who will be parking by making sure that your car is perfectly centered on the slot.

Parallel Parking

A lot of drivers, even those who have been driving for quite some time already, find parallel parking to be quite challenging. But no matter how difficult it is to pull off, it is an important skill to learn, as this is the only way to park when the only way to park is positioning the car parallel to a curb, line, or wall. It’s also the only way to park in between two cars.

Parallel parking is easier to do if there are no cars. If there are cars, however, here are a few tips to make sure that you parallel park successfully:

• Make sure that you signal first and the space between the two cars is at least five feet bigger than your car. Once that’s done, position the car right in front of the car in front of the empty slot and parallel to the car behind it. Do this by checking that the space behind you is clear, and then shift to reverse.
• Back up slowly, turn your wheel to the direction of the wall and then go in reverse slowly until your car is 45 degrees aligned to the wall, line, or curb.

You can’t be on the go forever; that’s why you have to learn to park. And not just park, but to park right, or else you’ll be pissing off your fellow motorists. And you definitely don’t want that.