Everything you ever wanted to know about parking… but were afraid to ask.
Parking your car can be a veritable nightmare. Maze-like underground car parks, clogged city centres, other road users and the general stress of depositing your vehicle where you want, when you want…. If this all sounds familiar, read on.
Our guide will take you through the in and outs of parking, ensuring that next time you find that perfect space, you’ll most definitely be more 'in' than 'out'.
Why parking is difficult
During your driving test you’ll be expected to reverse into a space roughly the length of two cars. You’ll perform this manoeuvre precisely once, with the beady eye of the examiner scrutinising your every move. It’s likely that this will be done on a quiet road, just like all the times you practised during driving lessons. Yes, it’ll be nerve-wracking, but not half as nerve-wracking as the first time you park on your own in city centre traffic.
There’ll be a plethora of distractions and dangers to make your solo parking debut an unsettling and stressful experience - smaller spaces, agitated road users driving up behind you, unruly pedestrians getting in the way, horn-blowing, vertiginous hills, darkness. To execute a perfect park, you need to be aware of all that’s going on around you, be adept at operating your vehicle, and remain calm. All at the same time. Which can be a big ask even for seasoned drivers.
How to parallel park perfectly
It’s generally accepted that parallel parking is the most stressful and fear-inducing member of the parking family. To complete this manoeuvre, you’ll need to break it down into several easy steps.
Firstly, draw up next to the parked car in front of your space. Make sure you’re no more than a metre in front of it. This allows the cars behind you to give you room and not drive up behind you (or worse, into you), blocking access into the space.
Secondly, take time to prepare to park: signal, use your mirrors to make sure the road behind you is clear and engage reverse gear. Doing all this smoothly ensures that you won’t panic. When you’re ready to park, look over your left shoulder and through the passenger side rear window. Then turn the wheel gently and reverse slowly towards the kerb at a 45-degree angle. Once you’re comfortable that your car is within the space, select first gear and straighten the wheel, leaving ample distance between you and the parked cars in front of and behind you. Parallel parking takes practice. The more you do it, the smoother and more efficient you’ll become.
How not to park
When looking for a place to park on a busy road, don’t tear around like a hooligan. Suddenly stopping in the middle of a busy high street when you’ve seen an agreeable slot won’t endear you to fellow road-users, who will most likely brake suddenly behind you and administer a much-deserved horn-lashing. Just take your time so other drivers will be able to anticipate your movements. Another absolute no-no is to drive front-first into a space, leaving your rear-end sticking out into the road, blocking traffic. All this will achieve is a further horn-lashing, most likely accompanied by swearing. It’s essential that you remain unflustered.
Never try to get into a space that’s too small. If you don’t think you’re going to fit, abort and move on. If you do find your perfect spot, always make sure that the car is parked as close to the kerb as possible. Parking too far away is a danger to other traffic, and could earn you a parking ticket. If you don’t know what too small looks like, here’s a pointer.
Parking in car parks
Next to parallel parking, negotiating a car park is a walk in the, er, park. But just because it’s easier to deal with doesn’t mean that you should get complacent. Car parks are full of hidden hazards. On entering, always make sure to position yourself close to the barrier (if there is one) to ensure that you can reach the ticket machine. Too far away and you’ll either be clambering out of your window to reach the ticket or reversing into the car behind you in order to reposition yourself.
Once inside the car park, proceed with caution. Other drivers will be frequently reversing out of spaces and possibly into the side of your car if you’re speeding by in a world of your own. Be aware.
When parking, it’s always a good idea to reverse into a space. Yes, it’ll take a bit more time, but will ensure that you don’t blindly reverse into another car or pedestrian on the way out. Also, if you happen to be a high-profile politician or international celebrity, it’s far easier to get away in the unlikely event of a kidnapping attempt. The same applies to a straightforward carjacking.
Always leave enough space on either side of your car for you to get out and the neighbouring vehicle’s owner to get in. And finally, if for any reason you have to get out of the car while in a car park with the engine running, please put the handbrake on. Sounds ridiculous, but it’s oh-so-easy to forget. Don’t repeat the lesson set by this unfortunate motorist.
Parking made easy
What if you just can’t get your head around parallel parking? Only a few years ago the solution to this problem would have been easy: hire a chauffeur. But now, technology has provided another solution to parking woes - the self-parking car.
Using an on-board computer system, aided and abetted by a host of sensors installed in and around the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle, the car is able to calculate the size of the parking spot and the distance to the curb, before reversing and steering itself into position.
All you have to do is press a button, gently press and depress the brake pedal to control the speed, and let the car take care of the rest. Hey presto, you’ve parked. You can see the new self-parking Lexus LS460L in action.
Related links:
