Is the Space Big Enough?

A common rule of thumb is a gap about one and a half times the length of your car. Smaller than that and you’ll be tempted to force it, which is how curbs and bumpers get hit. Bigger is easier while you’re learning.

Before you commit, check that the spot is legal. Signs, driveways, hydrants, crosswalks and intersections all limit where you can park, and the distances are set by your province and municipality, so obey the posted signs and check your handbook. Rules also set how close to the curb you must finish. The Yukon handbook, for example, says to park within 50 centimetres of the curb, and other provinces set their own limits.

The Method, Step by Step

These steps are for parking on the right-hand side of the road. For a left-side space, such as on a one-way street, mirror the steering directions.

These angles and positions are guides, not exact measurements. Every car is different, which is why the next section matters.

Find Your Reference Points

Experienced drivers don’t parallel park by feel. They use reference points: a place on the car lining up with a place on the other car, the curb or the mirror view. Your points depend on your vehicle, so find your own by practising in an empty lot with cones or cardboard boxes as stand-in cars.

• Note what you see in each mirror when your car is at about 45 degrees.
• Note where the curb appears in your mirror when you’re close and parallel.
• Practise until the same points give the same result several times in a row.

Keep Observing

Parallel parking isn’t only about the space. Keep checking all the way through:

• Traffic approaching from behind, which may need to wait for you
• Pedestrians crossing behind or beside your car
• Cyclists in a bike lane next to the parking spot
• The swing of your front end as you straighten up

When you’re done, check for cyclists and traffic before you open your door.

When It Goes Wrong: Reset

If you end up at a bad angle, too far from the curb or too close to the car ahead, don’t force it. Stop, pull forward to straighten up, and try again. A smooth reset shows better judgment than a rushed attempt that ends in contact. Our parking guide on contact and positioning errors explains why corrections aren’t a failure.

Leaving the Space

1. Check mirrors and blind spot, and signal.
2. Wait for a gap in traffic.
3. Creep forward with the wheels straight until you’re clear of the car behind.
4. Steer out gradually, watching your rear corner and the car ahead.

Common Mistakes

Starting in the wrong place

The problem: You stop too far from or too close to the front car, so the angles never work.

Better approach: Set up about a metre out, with your bumper roughly level with theirs.

Reversing too fast

The problem: You have no time to correct before something is touched.

Better approach: Creep. If you can’t stop within a few centimetres, you’re going too fast.

Steering too late or too little

The problem: You don’t turn the wheel fully, so the car doesn’t swing into the space.

Better approach: Turn the wheel fully at each stage and let the car move slowly.

Watching only one mirror

The problem: You focus on the curb and miss the car behind you or the front swing.

Better approach: Move your eyes between mirrors, over your shoulder and ahead.

Finishing far from the curb

The problem: The car is parked but sticking out into traffic.

Better approach: Take the extra few seconds to adjust until you’re parallel and close.

Practice Exercise: Cone Drill, Then the Street

Start in an empty lot and set out two cones or boxes about one and a half car lengths apart. Each of you has a job.

Your job

Do the six steps slowly, saying each step out loud. After each attempt, rate yourself before anyone comments: Was my setup right? Did I creep? Did I check all around? Did I finish close and parallel?

Your supervising driver’s job

From the passenger seat, watch the whole manoeuvre, not just the finish. Note setup, speed and observation separately from the result. The eight-skill table in our parking guide works well for this. Then compare notes, starting with what you noticed yourself.

Once you can park between cones several times in a row, move to a quiet street with a real gap. For more on structuring practice, see teaching a new driver.

Road-Test Connection

Whether parallel parking appears on your road test depends on your province and the type of test. Some tests include it, such as Ontario’s G2 road test (the second stage of its graduated licence), while others focus more on driving. Check your provincial driver’s guide for the manoeuvres you may be asked to perform, and read The Road Test: What to Expect for how tests are scored overall.

What carries across every province is the skill set: observation, slow speed, smooth steering and an accurate sense of where your car is. Once you’re licensed, your first weeks as a driver are a good time to keep practising.

The Bottom Line

Parallel parking is a setup, a few slow steering stages and constant observation. Find your own reference points, creep instead of rushing, and treat a reset as good judgment. A calm method you can repeat beats a clever trick you can’t.

Get the setup right, go slowly, and pull out and reset if you need to.