How to parallel park, step by step

Pick a space that fits

Look for a gap about one and a half times the length of your car. Smaller than that and you’ll be doing a lot of back and forth; bigger is fine while you learn.

The steps

1. Check traffic and signal toward the curb.
2. Pull up beside the car in front of the space, about a metre away from it. Stop when your back bumper lines up with its back bumper.
3. Reverse slowly, turning the wheel all the way toward the curb. Look over your shoulder and check around you as you go.
4. Watch for the back corner of the car in front of your space. Once you can see its outside rear corner, straighten your wheels and keep reversing slowly.
5. Turn the wheel all the way toward the road. The front of your car swings in, and the car straightens up beside the curb.
6. Fix it if it’s not straight. Pull forward a little and adjust. Nobody is marked down for a small correction.
7. Park properly. Parking brake on, shift to park, engine off. Check for traffic and cyclists before you open your door.

Fixing the usual mistakes

You end up too far from the curb

You probably straightened out too early, or started too far from the car beside you. Try turning toward the curb a moment longer.

Your back tire hits the curb

You turned toward the curb for too long. Straighten the wheels a little sooner, as soon as that rear corner appears.

The front of the car sticks out

You turned toward the road too late, or not far enough. Turn the wheel fully, and do it a touch earlier next time.

Parking on a hill

• Facing downhill, curb or no curb: turn your front wheels toward the curb or the right shoulder.
• Facing uphill with a curb: turn your wheels toward the road. If the car rolls back, the tire catches the curb.
• Facing uphill with no curb: turn your wheels sharply right, so a rolling car goes off the road, not into traffic.

Every time: parking brake on and shift to park. Hamilton gives you plenty of hills to practise on, especially in Dundas and Ancaster.

Practise somewhere quiet

An empty parking lot with two markers, like recycling bins or pylons, is the perfect place to start. Set them a little more than one and a half car lengths apart and repeat until the steps are automatic. Then try it on a quiet street.