For many new drivers, parallel parking is the scariest thing about an upcoming driver’s test. As much as you should practice parallel parking, there are a few other parking manoeuvres that will help prove that you’re ready for your P1 licence.
If you’re looking to win over your testing officer with your parking skills, then you’ll want all the practice you can get. But before you get behind the wheel, it’s good to know what you should be practicing and how to master your technique. This Parkhound guide to parking perfection is here to help.
In this parking rundown, we’ll cover:
- The most common types of parking on the driver’s test
- When and where to practice parking
- The most common parking mistakes that could come up during your driver’s test
While practicing is a great way to ensure that you’re comfortable during your test, these helpful insights and tips will give you the foundation you need to pass your driver’s test!
The more you know what to expect, the better you can prepare
One of the common mistakes that new drivers make going into their test is under-preparedness. Maybe they assumed that the officer would only test them on their parallel parking skills. So they didn’t practice perpendicular parking. Or, they heard that reverse parking probably wouldn’t be tested, so they stuck to more simple parking techniques.
A better approach is to know all of the possible types of parking that could be on the test. Then become comfortable with each one. There will always be some parking manoeuvres that are easier for you than others. However, you should make room to practice all of them so that they are second-nature on test day.
Here are all the types of parking you may encounter during your driver’s test. And here are the basics of how they work:
1. Perpendicular parking or 90° parking
Perpendicular parking is one of the most common types of parking methods that you’ll find out on the road. However, that doesn’t mean that you’ll get the habit right away.
90° parking requires you to get a feel for the turn radius of your car as you pull into a spot. And that turn radius will differ depending on which side of the road you’re on when you make your turn. Turn too early and you’ll risk scraping the car closest to you. Turn too late, and your front bumper will knick the car on the other side of the parking space.
A good thing to remember when parking perpendicular is that as you approach the parking space, swing wide—that is, turn the car slightly away from the parking space to give yourself a wider turn radius.
Then, once your front bumper has passed the taillights of the car parked closest to you, start your turn into the space. Once your hood passes the midline of the parking space, straighten out the wheels and pull forward into place.
2. Angle parking
Angle parking is similar to perpendicular parking, but—you guessed it—at an angle. These parking spaces are much easier to manoeuvre, especially for new drivers, since the turn radius isn’t as drastic.
There are a few special considerations for angle parking success. One, remember that they are only open to cars driving on the same side as the parking space. Unlike perpendicular parking, which allows cars on both sides of a 2-way road to access them, you can’t pull into an angled parking space from the opposite direction.
Another thing to keep in mind is how far forward you should pull into the space. With perpendicular parking, you can often gauge when to brake based on your alignment with the cars on either side of you. But every parking space in a set of angled parking bays will have a different stopping line. As you practice, you’ll want to put the car in park and get out to check that the back of your car isn’t protruding into the road.
3. Parallel kerbside parking
Parallel parking is, arguably, the most challenging of the parking methods, but don’t be so afraid of it that you don’t practice! This is one of those parking techniques that will get easier over time, especially if you’re consistently practicing in the same car.
Let’s cover the basics of the parallel kerbside method with this tried-and-true method.
To successfully parallel park, you want to choose a parking space that is about 1.5 times the length of your car. In order to reverse into the space, you’ll pull up alongside the car parked in front of the parking space until your rearview mirror is in line with theirs. Make sure there’s about 50 centimetres between your car and the parked car.
As you brake and put the car in reverse, turn the wheel all the way towards the parking space. This is going to give you the sharp turn that you need to get into the space. Then, put the car in reverse, take your foot off the brake and glide slowly backwards into the parking spot.
Once your front wheels are in line with the back wheels of the car parked in front, turn the steering wheel back to center to straighten the wheels. You’re now sideways in the parking space, backing up towards the kerb.
Once your outside tire is in line with the outside rear tire of the car parked in front, turn the steering wheel all the way away from the parking space. This will allow you to clear the back bumper of the front car without going up onto the kerb with your back wheel.
All you have to do from here is straighten out the steering wheel or turn slightly towards the kerb, put the car back into drive and pull forward a few centimetres until you’re parallel to the kerb.
Remember to revisit the parallel parking rules that exist in your area. In most parts of Australia, parallel parking regulations are similar: no parallel kerbside parking within 3 metres of the dividing strip, and at least 1 metre of space between your car bumpers and the vehicles in front and behind you. If you’re asked to parallel park during your driver’s test, you can assume that your monitoring officer will be looking for these details! So study up on the parking rules NSW handbook or wherever you’ll be taking your driver’s test.
4. Reverse parking
When it comes to reverse parking, there tends to be confusion. On the one hand, some people use the phrases “reverse parking” and “reverse parallel parking” interchangeably. But the truth is, you can reverse park in any type of parking space.
Another question that comes up often is whether reverse parking will show up on your driver’s test. Will your monitoring officer ask you to reverse park into a perpendicular parking bay? The answer is: probably not. Most likely, you’ll be asked to show mastery of other types of parking like parallel parking and perpendicular parking.
But here’s why you should practice reverse parking, anyway: there’s no guarantee that it won’t show up on your driver’s test. Plus, more and more suburbs are adopting reverse angle parking because it’s easier and safer to drive out of! Whether or not you decide that reverse parking is for you after your driver’s test, it’s still worth your time to master it now.
Reverse parking is made up of a fairly simple two-point turn. To reverse park into a parking bay, you drive forward past the parking space while turning your wheels away from the parking space, put the car into reverse, turn your wheel to a full left lock (or right if you’re parking on the right side of the road), and back in.
Those three parking techniques are key to passing your driver’s test. The more that you can become comfortable with them, the better chance you have at getting that provisional licence!
Where and when to practice parking
Trying to learn how to park in a busy suburb where you’re nervous will put you at higher risk for making a mistake. So, it’s important that you practice in a calm, neutral setting until you’re ready for more challenging parking environments.
Here are a few tips to choosing the right place to practice parking:
#1: Start at zero
When you are completely new to parking, you’ll want to try it with zero risk of damaging your car or anyone else’s. This is especially true when it comes to parallel parking, which is one of the leading reasons for motor vehicle insurance claims even with experienced drivers.
The best place to start is in an empty car park with cones or other markers. Every time you’ve completed a parking manoeuvre, take the time to step out and see for yourself how you did. Did you park too close to the parking space lines? Is the car crooked?
While certainly tedious, practicing parking with small adjustments will help make parking part of your muscle memory.
#2: Choose the right time
Eventually, you’ll need to break away from the parking cones and get into some real life parking scenarios. But that doesn’t mean that you have to throw yourself into rush hour traffic. Here are a few of the best times to practice parking:
- Early morning. If you can get yourself up before rush hour traffic, you will be rewarded with peaceful streets to practice driving and parking. Just make sure that you’re able to get out of the busier areas as morning traffic starts to pick up. On weekends, this early morning period tends to last longer, so you should be set any time before noon.
- Weekdays, mid afternoon. Right after lunch and before the evening traffic starts, you’ll be able to practice with a moderate amount of cars on the road. Just make sure to steer clear of school areas where kids may be adding some pedestrian traffic.
- At night. Learning to park at night is a valuable skill, but it won’t necessarily help you with your driver’s test. And, since your depth perception will be limited at night, practicing parking in the dark isn’t something you should try until you’ve mastered the basics. Still, once you’ve started to get comfortable behind the wheel, you’ll enjoy the peace and quiet of nighttime parking practice.
#3: Find new neighbourhoods
It’s natural that you would start your driving and parking practice in your own suburb. You’ll eventually want to start exploring new areas. Plus, you’ll notice that some areas are great for parallel parking, while others are good for practicing reverse parking.
Take a look at our recent articles for a review of the Best Suburbs to Practice Driving and Parking —Sydney and Melbourne, to get a sense of which neighbourhoods to try for different parking methods.
One thing we suggest to new drivers is to consider renting a parking space in the area you plan to practice driving. Or where your driving supervisor lives. That way, you don’t have to navigate high traffic areas to get to your practice ground. Or even making your driving supervisor travel out of their way to monitor your driving.
To find cheap parking spots to rent in your area, take a look at Parkhound. Whether you’re in Melbourne, Sydney or Canberra, you’ll be able to find convenient parking spaces in your ideal suburb.
#4: Increase the difficulty
One way to increase parking difficulty is to explore new suburbs, but you can also try parking on busier streets or reverse parking where you would otherwise park normally.
Gradually increasing the parking challenge is important for building confidence, but it will also prevent you from getting too comfortable behind the wheel. After all, you don’t want to start parking in autopilot! That’s a good way to get in an accident or make a mistake on your driver’s test.
#5: Never pass up an opportunity
As we mentioned before, the more you practice parking, the better. So, see if you can say yes to every parking opportunity that comes your way. If you’re driving around with your parents, older siblings, or anyone else qualified to be your driving supervisor, why not ask them if you can park when you arrive at your destination?
As long as you can safely pull over and swap seats, you’ll benefit from the little bit of extra parking practice.
Be aware of these common parking mistakes
Old and new drivers alike can fall into bad driving and parking habits. And if you want to increase your odds of passing your driver’s test, you’ll want to keep these common parking mistakes in mind so that you can avoid them:
1. Not indicating when appropriate
Signalling is a huge part of parking. It lets the drivers around you know that you’re going to be pulling off of the road. And in some situations, like parallel parking or reverse parking, signalling can alert the drivers around you that you will need even more space to complete your parking manoeuvre.
But signalling isn’t just for when you’re pulling into a parking spot. One of the most common errors on driving tests is failing to signal at least five seconds before you pull away from a parking space. That includes situations in which you are parked perpendicular, angled or parallel.
2. Forgetting to check your blind spots.
No matter which type of parking space you’re pulling into, checking your blind spots is vital to keeping yourself and those around you safe. Failing to do so during your driver’s test could count against you.
3. Rushing the parking process under pressure.
One thing that the testing officers like to see is that you stay calm and alert even under pressure. If you can park slowly, safely, and correctly even when there are cars waiting for you, you’ll make your monitoring officer happy.
4. Not reading the parking signs
You could probably guess that parking in a clearly marked No Parking Zone or in front of a driveway will force your monitoring officer to lower your score. Always check that you are parking in the right place.
Before you know it, you’ll be parking with your license!
If you put in the time and effort to become a better parker, not only will you breeze through your driver’s test, but you’ll have a much easier time on the road. Parking is one of the most challenging tasks on the driver’s test, so make sure that you build it into your practice sessions.And if you have any other questions about parallel parking or best parking practices, make sure to check out the other articles in the Parkhound Blog!