Tips & Tricks for Parallel Parking During Your Road Test

Ah, parallel parking. We've all had our fair amount of trouble with this feat, especially during their road test. The pressure is on, the judge is watching your motions, views, and precautions, and the fate of most of the road test lies within this one task that takes less than a minute. All of your practice is building up to this one point in time. I personally remember the high amount of anxiety when I first took my road test. I too hit the curb on my first try, then cursed out loud (that's a no-no). The second time I used some secrets I learned when personally parallel parking, and other secrets I got from my Drivers Education teacher.

The Start of the Parallel Park
When you're about the do your parallel park there are some provisions you must take when setting it up. First of all, you need to be about 1-2 feet away from the vehicle you're parallel parking onto. Make sure when you pull along side the vehicle that you use your blinker (it will be your right blinker since we drive on the right side of the road in the US).

When pulling up to the car go at a slow, yet steady speed. Make sure you don't stop too hard, it can show that you're not ready and that you're also nervous. Of course most people are gonna be nervous, just try not to show it.

Mirror-to-mirror Measurements
When you do pull alongside the vehicle you should line your right side view mirror up with their left side view mirror if your car and their car are nearly the same size. Now it gets a bit trickier, but that's alright. If the car your parallel parking on is bigger than your car then align your mirror up about 6-12 inches behind theirs mirror (meaning you should be able to see the actual mirror part of their side view mirror; your car should be moved somewhat back towards the back of their car by a footish - use discretionary judgments). If the car you're parallel parking on is smaller than your car, then move up towards the front of their car about 6-12 inches, depending on how much smaller the car is compared to yours.

Other factors you need to take into consideration are the space that they are away from the curb, driveways, and the dreaded curb in itself. It's better to be a little further away than even tipping the curb (which could be counted as an automatic failure depending on your judge).

After Alignment - Cut The Wheel
When you're fully aligned you "cut the wheel". In doing this you turn the wheel in a specific way that allows your tires to adjust to the parallel park. When you cut the wheel you cut it clockwise 75% from the bottom of the wheel. If it helps, put a marker or something at the bottom of the wheel for practice. When the wheel is turned correctly from a standard, straight position, the "marker" should be all the way to the right of the wheel. Now you're ready to perform the sinister parallel park.

Parallel Parking - In Motion
During the parallel parking process you must look out the rear window at all times. However, I have a dirty little secret to help you all out anyway.

While you're parallel parking you'll notice that the judge will generally be looking at their computer on their laps. While they are preoccupied with this, take seize the moment and check your right side view mirror to see if your close to the curb with your back wheel. Merely glance though, as the judge will periodically check where your eyes are looking. Don't move your whole head, as this can disturb the judge from doing what they're doing and draw attention to you. Merely move your eyes instead of your whole head.

Another trick is to essentially not pull too close to the curb. Instead, fix yourself slightly when you put your car into drive when you're fully backed in. Driving forward is much easier for newer drivers. As long as you're within a foot of the curb, you should be fine. Most judges won't make you redo it, although it may reflect a bit badly on you. Sometimes a judge will ask you to redo the parallel park, which isn't a big deal either.

Parallel Parking - The Aftermath
When you've completed the parallel park you will need to put the car into park, unless the judge states otherwise. Sometimes the judge will say "just go", which means you should just pull out and drive away as soon as you can. Of course you should check to ensure that no other cars are coming, that you signal, that there's no pedestrians in the way, and that it's a smooth transition back onto the road.

Other Helpful Information
Although the parallel park is the most difficult part of the road test for many people, the test as a whole can be stressful. For more information on how to pass your road test, go to my article Tips to Help You Pass Your Road Test.