Parallel parking - step-by-step instructions for dummies

Parallel parking is a special maneuver, the essence of which is to place the vehicle sideways in a line with other parked cars. This exercise is mandatory when passing the traffic police exam. Having skillfully mastered it, you can quickly park your car in the city without traffic jams or accidents.

The main task when performing a parking maneuver is to place the car on the side of the road between several standing ones. This action becomes more difficult against the backdrop of a tight schedule and narrow streets. To quickly complete a race, initial skills will not be enough. The driver will need to gain good experience. Therefore, in the first year of driving, it is necessary to systematically work on a special exercise. It is better to practice it on empty areas with the placement of conditional cones.

Parallel parking is a necessary skill that will always be useful to you in heavy traffic conditions in megacities, regional and district centers. Having brought it to perfection, you will be able to quickly place the car to the curb in limited space. Before performing the maneuver, pay attention to the following points:

1. There is enough space to place the car. In the parking lot there should be a reserve of 2 meters in length.
2. Convenience for others. It is prohibited to perform a maneuver if your vehicle will block the passage for pedestrians or create a danger for traffic.
3. Make sure there are no traffic violations. You should focus on markings and road signs, and not on other cars.
4. Assess the surrounding situation (damaged buildings, trees, repair work, etc.).
5. Consider the turning radius of the vehicle. It is smaller on all-wheel drive models.

Improving driving skills is important for men and women. You should be fluent in this skill, especially if you live in a large city.

Parallel parking: where is it useful?

Parallel parking in reverse is an assistant in urban conditions and an acute shortage of free space.
The ability to park the car correctly allows you to take a seat even in conditions of limited space.

In addition, parallel parking is one of the mandatory exercises when passing your license.

This is not surprising, because the ability to park a car indicates the ingenuity of the person behind the wheel, the ability to feel the technology and the presence of sufficient practical experience.

How to learn to drive in reverse?

Knowing how to drive a car is good, but being able to go in reverse is the height of perfection. To learn how to drive in reverse, learn how to drive backwards in a straight line. It should be noted that when using it, it is important to feel the size of the car, because this will allow you to avoid emergency situations.

Don't trust the mirror

Exterior mirrors are a very important element of a car. It is very important to understand it, evaluate it and how correctly and accurately the external review mirror reflects it. Only experience, as well as an understanding of the principles and essence, can understand how they are set up - right or wrong.

Dimensions

A rather banal thing: you need to learn to feel the dimensions of the car. What does it mean to feel? Grow nerve endings on the bumper? Develop a sixth sense like a bat? Everything is simpler and more prosaic: you need to learn to approximately determine the distance to an obstacle from the picture that you see in the windshield or rear window.

I won’t recommend the “contact parking” method based on the crack of the bumper of a neighboring car as a training method. But getting out of the car and assessing its position as you park is a good habit if you want to develop a sense of size. And in general, constant practice, as in the case of any other driving techniques, in this case is the best thing you can come up with.

A good helper in this case is parking sensors, and they are useful not only at the rear, but also at the front. Indeed, despite its apparent simplicity, determining the gap in front of the hood is just as problematic as behind the trunk - I judge, among other things, by my students, who all the time timidly stand up in their chairs, trying to see something behind the bumper. If the original configuration did not have parking sensors, and you are going to install them, it is better to install them both forward and backward - it will be calmer. And don’t save money, because there is nothing worse than a combination of “buggy” parking sensors and a mediocrely developed eye.

External cameras are also great helpers that will come in handy both from behind and from the front. It's great if you have all-round visibility, but it's now only found on very expensive cars. And even if you have a full set of sensors and cameras, you shouldn’t give up training your eye – you’ll need it!

Legislation

Despite the fact that after receiving a driver’s license, a citizen independently chooses his driving style and priority parking methods, there are legislative acts that are directly related to them:

• Federal Law No. 196-FZ “On Road Safety”.
• Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 1408 “On approval of exemplary professional training programs for drivers of vehicles of relevant categories and subcategories.”
• Traffic rules of the Russian Federation.

In cases where a driver violates parking rules, the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation (Administrative Code Art. 12.19) ,” which provides for penalties in the form of a fine from 500 to 5,000 rubles.

Parallel parking technique

If you are learning the basics of driving at a driving school, you can rest assured that this exercise will be included in the program somewhere at the very end, when you already have passable driving skills. But do not expect that you will be able to master this technique properly in one, maximum two times. Therefore, it makes sense to practice this yourself.

Here are step-by-step instructions for parallel parking, as it is taught at the race track (assuming there is both a front and rear car, and sufficient space between them):

• before starting the maneuver, turn on the hazard warning lights;
• then try to approach the front car at a distance of about 50 centimeters so that your front right wheel is located near the left rear corner of the car;
• engage neutral gear, regardless of the type of transmission - this is a mandatory requirement;
• carefully observing what is happening behind you, turning your head, engage reverse gear and slowly start moving;
• quickly turn the steering wheel to the right all the way so that your car moves as steeply as possible towards the right rear corner of the parking area;
• as soon as you see the right headlight of the car standing behind you in the left mirror (your seat will be level with the bumper of the car in front), align the steering wheel to a straight position and continue to slowly back up;
• when your front bumper is level with the bumper of the car in front, turn the steering wheel to the left and drive until the car is parallel to the sidewalk;
• if your car has become a little crooked, or closer to one of the neighbors, correct it;
• after completing the maneuver, put the steering wheel straight; if you have an automatic transmission, turn on the parking mode and do not forget to put the car on the parking brake;
• When you get out of the car, make sure that everything is done correctly, and you will not inconvenience your neighbors in the parking lot.

As you can see, the technique of parallel parking in reverse is not complicated, but mastering it requires three components:

• first study the algorithm in theory and remember its automaticity;
• practice performing techniques on the race track;
• remember how the car behaves when moving in reverse and at the same time actively turning the steering wheel.

When performing a maneuver, the driving school will install marking equipment that cannot be knocked down when passing the exam, which is why it is so important to master the skills of driving using rear-view mirrors when parallel parking in reverse.

Video

Full video tutorial on reverse parking (38 minutes).

Training to enter the box at the traffic police circuit.

Useful 3D lesson - how to park correctly.

Tips for Newbies

A novice driver needs to understand that there is no need to rush on the road. Therefore, if he needs additional practice, he must do it. When following the instructions for parallel parking, it is advisable to pause in time to think about each further action.

For example, wheels must be turned while standing still to avoid confusion and damage to neighboring cars.

It is recommended to practice the exercise yourself by first selecting a free area and drawing the boundaries of the proposed parking area. This way you can improve your skills and prepare for the exam.

Basic Techniques

To avoid penalty points and pass the exam without any problems, it is important to know the step-by-step instructions for parking in reverse:

• Drive to the Start line and stop.
• Turn on first gear and drive to the first “virtual” car (chip “B”). Stop the car as soon as the rear wheel reaches the counter. It is important that the distance between them is minimal. Here, use the capabilities of the legal side mirror.
• Engage reverse gear and turn the steering wheel to the right as far as possible, then start driving.
• Move and control your movement using the left mirror. The car gradually enters the parking space. As soon as the “G” chip is visible in the mirror, you should stop moving.
• Now place the steering wheel straight and start moving slowly until the rear wheel on the left crosses the broken line.
• Turn the steering wheel to the left and start driving again. As a result, the car becomes behind the broken line in the gap between the “virtual” cars.
• Stop, turn off the speed and engage the handbrake. Now turn off the engine.

Features of parallel parking on the autodrome

When performing an exercise at a race track or exam, you will have to navigate not by other cars, but by cones.

1. Cross the start line of the exercise, stopping as close to cone 1 as possible.
2. Then back up so that the right wheel is aligned with cone 1, guided by the mirrors.
3. Stop, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right and start moving backward until cone 2 appears in the mirror.
4. Stop and straighten the steering wheel, then continue to back away slowly. In the left mirror you will see how the car crosses the markings with the left rear wheel, after which you need to stop again.
5. Turn the steering wheel to the right and check the position of the car relative to the markings.

Common mistakes

The most common driver mistakes are:

1. Students press too close to the left edge of the marking in order to minimize the alignment process in the future and get up as correctly as possible from the first twist. This risks the fact that when backing up, you can accidentally knock down the flag or go off the line. During the exam, this, of course, seems like a trifle, but in life such carelessness would lead to damage to your own and other people’s cars, so you will be fined very heavily for it.
2. Not turning the steering wheel completely . In order to get up as correctly as possible the first time, it is necessary to turn the steering wheel completely when turning. This will make the alignment process easier, but many people neglect it. Of course, driving schools do not fine you for this specifically, but such inattention can result in a loss of time, which, as you know, is limited during the exam.
3. Not completely crossing the sideline. As was said earlier, the car should not stick out from the general row of cars, and if the marked line is not completely crossed, this is exactly what will happen on the road, which means the main movement will be difficult.

Why is this method needed?

For most students in driving schools, the “parallel parking” maneuver becomes the least favorite and most difficult to perform. In order to drive a training car between the chips without losing points on exams, a long period of practice and precise execution of the maneuver algorithm is required.

But in real city conditions, such parking skills will help a novice or experienced driver park a car in a free space, limited on both sides by already parked cars or other objects, without accidents or other troubles.

By correctly assessing the size of the “pocket” you will be able to park the car where it would be simply impossible or prohibited to park the car in any other way.

Why are points reduced in the traffic police exam?

Today, the driving test includes several important exercises. One of them is called “Parking a vehicle and leaving a parking space.” This discipline tests skills that allow you to enter and exit a parking lot within a certain period of time without touching the marking equipment.

At racing tracks, special markings are installed, with the help of which assessment is carried out. All its cones and lines imitate the following real landmarks:

Name of the conePoint on the car bodyCar

This marking simulates a real situation, and therefore allows you to successfully perform such parking in the future.

When performing this exercise, errors are taken into account and the following penalty points are awarded:

• failure to complete the exercise within 2 minutes – 3 points;
• damage to fences, collision with solid lines – 3 points;
• the car did not cross the “CB” line - 3 points;
• engine stalled – 1 point.

If the examinee scores 3 penalty points, he fails.

Fines for illegal parking

The size of the fine for illegal parking in the Russian Federation is determined by the Code of Administrative Offenses or the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

This document provides for all possible violations, according to traffic rules, and also defines what parking is and how it differs from parking.

The amount of fines provided for various violations in the parking of vehicles, whether trucks or cars, can be viewed in the table:

The issue of forced evacuation is considered separately in each case, however, most often in places where such measures are carried out, there is a special sign “Tow Truck Operating”.

It is also important to note that the amounts of fines for violating signs and parking in unauthorized places in the table are accurate only for regions. If we are talking about Moscow or St. Petersburg, the fine will be 2 times larger.

What actions to take if your car is scratched in the parking lot, see the article: What to do if your car is scratched in the parking lot. How to return the illegal seizure of a local area for parking, read about it here.

Fine for unpaid parking, information in this publication.

Parallel parking, although it requires some experience, especially if you need to park in a bus or truck, is actually not that difficult. You can learn it very quickly, and this must be done in order to be a full-fledged participant in traffic.