How to Park a Car

Your driving test will include two special exercises called manoeuvres.

You need to know five manoeuvres for your test. They are Bay Park; Parallel Park; turn in the road; left reverse and right reverse. They are in the test for good reasons. They are useful skills to have.

It is up to the examiner which manouvres you do on the test. They will ask you to park the car and then tell you what they want you to do. Listen to their briefing. It will tell you precisely what they are expecting to see. You must demonstrate accuracy, observation, judgement, car control, correct steering and consideration for other road users as you carry out the exercise.

This sound very scary, and worries many learner drivers. If, however, you put the manoeuvres into context they are not as scary. Each manoeuvre is marked for Control and Observation. That is four possible minors. Your driving instructor will have spent several driving lessons teaching you he manoeuvres. Nearly every driving school insists that you are proficient at the manoeuvres before your test.

This article looks at the two parking manoeuvres: the parallel park and the bay park. It will tell you a technique for each of them.

Parallel Park The parallel park was added to the test in the 1990's. Most parking is on street. You need a lot of room to drive straight into a street space. If you reverse into it, you need half as much room, about twice the length of your car. This manoeuvre gives you a wider range of parking spaces from which to choose.

Check the following before you start to reverse the car: That you will not cause an accident, that you are allowed to park there, that you are not going to cause a hold up and that the parking space is big enough. Draw alongside the target car as though you are going to pass it in a narrow road.

Make sure that the steering wheel, wheels and car are straight. Select reverse gear as soon as possible. You might think about a signal for cars coming towards you.

Reverse the car back until you see the corner of the target car in the rear left passenger window.

Steer left as quickly as you can. You need to get an angle of 40 - 45 degrees to the kerbs.

Steer gently to the right, until you know that you are not going to hit the target car.

Steer the car close to and parallel with the kerb. Stop and secure the car.

The secret to this manoeuvre is the speed of the car and observations. Ask your driving instructor to let you in on the secrets.

The Bay Park

This was added to the test later in the 1990's. It was a response to accidents involving people leaving parking spaces.

If you reverse into a parking space, you will see more when you pull out again. It reduces the chances fo you having a crash. You should reverse into a parking bay, unless it is at an angle or other drivers have parked badly.

This manoeuvre is a version of the reverse around a sharp corner. There are two techniques for this manoeuvre. They are the straight and the angle bay parks. You need to know them both. The straight bay park does not work in busy car parks. This article we will look at the straight bay park. The examiners seem to like this method. Make sure that it is safe, legal, and convenient to do the bay park. Make sure that is possible to do the manoeuvre.

This article only looks at the straight bay park.

Chose your bay. Make sure that you can get out of the car once you have parked it. It does happen. Position the car a little beyond your target bay. Make sure that the car is straight and slightly to the left of the lane.

Select reverse gear as soon as possible. It lets other road users know what you are doing. You might think about a signal.

Steer the car into the parking bay. Keep the car slow. Check for other road users, especially to the back of the car.

Once the car is in the centre of the bay straighten the car and reverse back until you are in the parking bay.

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com