If you are in the process of learning the fundamentals of driving in anticipation for taking a driver's license test, you will most likely need to know how to properly parallel park your vehicle between two others. This is a little tricky even for experienced drivers. Here are some parallel parking tips that will help you be more likely to pass your exam.

How To Parallel Park

To parallel park, you must first find a spot that appears to be large enough to fit your vehicle. Pull your vehicle next to the vehicle in front of the space you are trying to get into and line up the back of their vehicle with the back of your vehicle. Put your foot on your brake, turn your steering wheel all the way to the right and put your vehicle into reverse. Slowly let your foot off the brake as you start going backward into the spot as you are turned around watching out your back window. 

When you see the right edge of the vehicle behind you lined up in the middle of your back window, you can stop backing up by putting your foot on the brake. While you are stopped, return your steering wheel to the middle position. Let your foot off the brake slowly and keep backing up. Once you clear the bumper of the vehicle in front of you, stop again and turn your steering wheel all the way to the left. Take your foot off the brake again and back in the space the rest of the way. 

When you are first learning, staying stopped while you turn the wheel will better help you think through your actions before you move the vehicle. As you learn to parallel park, you will be able to do these methods without needing to stay stopped as you turn the wheel.

Set Up A Practice Area

When you are learning to get a driver's license, you are required to have a licensed driver along with you while you practice. Make sure to bring along your permit to prove you are learning in case you do get pulled over for any reason. It is best to set up a practice area away from crowds when learning how to parallel park. The licensed driver can help guide you into the spot by giving you simple instructions on which way to turn the wheel and where you should be looking.

Set up an area in a parking lot where there are no other vehicles. Draw lines where proposed parking spaces are located with a piece of chalk. Set a cone on the ends of each of these chalk lines to use as a guideline as you try getting your vehicle into the space.

Consider Getting Extra Help

Enrolling in a driving school is a wonderful way to get the help you need in learning rules of the road. Many professional driving courses will first teach students in a classroom setting using film strips and text books. After fundamentals are taught, a driving teacher will take each student out on the road to get hands-on training on the things they had learned in class. If you are nervous about parallel parking, your instructor will spend extra time on this topic so you feel confident when it comes time to take your exam.

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