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Step 1 Claim the Spot: Drive past the empty space to pull up even with the vehicle in front of the space. You will be side by side with this other parked car.
Step 2 Back up: Change gears to reverse. Turn your steering wheel to the right while simultaneously backing up.
Step 3 Turn and Stop: Once your car is at a diagonal angle, turn your wheel to the left as you continue slowly backing up. Move backwards slowly and carefully as you straighten the vehicle and get into the spot.
Step 4 Straighten Up: Switch gears to Drive. Pull forward and turn your steering wheel to straighten out your wheels and get centered in the parking spot.Your wheels should be 6-18 inches away from the curb.

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Parallel parking is more intimidating to most new drivers than your typical perpendicular parking (the kind you do in most parking lots). It involves steering in reverse, precise positioning, and quite a few obstructions you could accidentally scrape. You'll need to learn parallel parking if you plan on driving in the city, and there's a good chance you'll be tested on this skill at the DMV or DPS test center when you upgrade from your permit to your driver license. Yeah, that's right. This could be on your driver test. But it's going to be okay. Like most driving techniques, parallel parking just takes some practice. Once you understand the steps for successful parallel parking, it's pretty easy to do without tapping a rear bumper or ending up embarrassingly far from the curb. And trust us, this is one parking skill you're going to want to have.

Step 1: Claim the Spot

While you're driving, look for available parking spaces on the curb along the side of the street. The ideal parking spot will be at least one and a half times the length of your vehicle. Don't try to squeeze into tiny spaces between other cars, especially if you're a beginner and you don't drive an equally tiny vehicle. Also, make sure you're not too close to a fire hydrant, intersection, tow-away zone, etc.

Got your eye on the perfect spot? Claim it! Turn on your turn signal ASAP so that any drivers, pedestrians, or bicyclists behind you understand that you're about to park. Using your signal is an important step, especially when there's a lot of traffic on the roads. You don't want to confuse or endanger other drivers by stopping or reversing in a lane of travel without warning them. Drive past the empty space to pull up even with the vehicle in front of the space. You will be side by side with this other parked car.

Step 2: Back It Up

Check your rear-view mirror, your side-view mirrors, and over your left shoulder again. If you have a back-up camera, check that too. Once you're sure there's no oncoming traffic to get in your way, change gears to reverse. You're ready to start maneuvering into the parallel parking space. Turn your steering wheel to the right while simultaneously backing up. (Most of your parallel parking conquests will be to the right, with left side parking being reserved for one-way streets.) This will guide the rear of your vehicle at a backwards angle towards the parking space.

Step 3: Turn and Stop

Once your car is at a diagonal angle, turn your wheel to the left as you continue slowly backing up. Move backwards slowly and carefully as you straighten the vehicle and get into the spot. Keep your foot over the brake pedal in case you need to stop quickly. Stop when you get close to the parked vehicle behind you. You don't want to tap bumpers, and you also don't want to park so close that getting out later will be hard. A little wiggle room is always nice.

Step 4: Straighten Up

If nothing has gone horribly wrong, you should be in the parking space at this point. You will be fairly close to the vehicle behind you and have several feet of clear space in front of you. Switch gears to "Drive". You do NOT want to accidentally drive in reverse and hit the car behind you. Pull forward and turn your steering wheel to straighten out your wheels and get centered in the parking spot. Leave several inches of space in front of your car. Park and throw that parking brake into action! Your wheels should be 6-18 inches away from the curb. Closer is better, since you don't want to block the traffic lane or get side swiped by a passing vehicle. A couple feet is too far. We recommend trying out your parallel parking technique in a parking lot before taking on the real world. This will give you a low-pressure chance to really get down the moves.

That's it! You parallel parked! If you continue to practice these steps, you'll be a parallel pro in no time! Check out more of our safe driving videos to continue gaining pro status behind the wheel.

How Does Parallel Parking Work?

Okay! Time to delve into the science of parallel parking! We promise, it's actually interesting stuff

When you first pulled up to the front car and started to turn the wheel you used the "Ackermann Steering Linkage". This mechanism was invented in 1817 and allows your tires to circle a common point by turning the wheels at slightly different points.

Another important mechanic that allows for parallel parking is the pivot point. As you turn your the point where the axis for your front tires and the axis for your rear tires meets gets closer and closer to your car. This point it called your pivot point and is what your car circles when you are turning.

Hopefully that's not all too confusing. If you are visual learner the video above explain the above comments in 360 degrees!

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How to Parallel Park in 4 Easy Steps - Aceable

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Parallel parking is more intimidating to most new drivers than your typical perpendicular parking (the kind you do in most parking lots). It involves steering in reverse, precise positioning, and quite a few obstructions you could accidentally scrape.

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Esentially, this is what our robot should be programmed to do, by the end of this unit.

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Autonomous Parallel Parking Robot. Department of Instrumentation and Control Systems Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

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Autonomous Parking with Ultrasonic Sensors 

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Autonomous Parking with Ultrasonic Sensors 

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This car uses an algorithm to execute its automatic parking motion.

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Autonomous parking with ultrasonic sensors

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This autonomously parking car was built by me in one summer at Virginia Tech as part of a summer internship. I designed and built the hardware as well as the algorithm it uses to execute its automatic parking motion.

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The Ackermann principle is based on the two front steered wheels being pivoted at the ends of an axle-beam.Very common. Mechanically coordinates the angle of two front wheels which are fixed on a common axle used for steering and two rear wheels fixed on another axle for driving.
Advantages: Increased control, better stability and maneuverability on road, less slippage and less power consumption.
Disadvantages: Additional parts required; no zero radii turn and increased complexity in design.

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Rack-and-Pinion Steering used in real cars

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Rack-and-Pinion Steering used in real cars

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A rack-and-pinion gear set is enclosed in a metal tube, with each end of the rack protruding from the tube. A rod, called a tie rod, connects to each end of the rack. The pinion gear is attached to the steering shaft. When you turn the steering wheel, the gear spins, moving the rack. The tie rod at each end of the rack connects to the steering arm on the spindle.

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The model car has a real steering mechanism, controlled by a servomotor. The metal parts are made of brass rod using hand tools for shaping and Dremel for drilling. Most important factor was the strength against upward force, which occurs when pressing the car against the floor while it .

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The steering system converts the rotation of the steering wheel into a swiveling movement of the road wheels in such a way that the steering-wheel rim turns a long way to move the road wheels a short way.

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Self-parking technology is still in its infancy, but it’s becoming available on a broad range of vehicles, some of which might surprise consumers. The latest systems make easy work of parallel and perpendicular parking, however, with the ability to locate adequately sized spots and take over a variety of vehicle functions, from steering to braking to shifting.