Parking

Parking refers to the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. There are various types of parking, with the most common being angle parking, perpendicular parking, and parallel parking. It’s surprising how many parking scenarios one may encounter! To help navigate these situations, we've put together a comprehensive guide that includes a parking checklist, information on illegal parking maneuvers, and details on specific parking scenarios.

Parking Checklist

Whenever you park your car, make sure you do the following:

Make sure that you are stopped within a legal and secure parking space.
Set the parking brake.
Put the car gear in park for automatic transmission. For manual transmission put the car either in first or reverse gear.
Turn off any accessories used.
Turn off ignition switch and remove key.
Check for traffic prior to exiting vehicle. Open door safely and face traffic when getting out of the vehicle.
Secure doors and windows.
Lock your vehicle and take the keys with you.

Ok now you know the basics of what too check after parking. Let’s jump into the places you should never park.

Illegal Parking

Parking in the following areas is prohibited:

On highways (unless indicated otherwise)
In an intersection
On pedestrian crosswalks or sidewalks
In front of driveways
In a fire lane or close to a fire hydrant
In an underpass or bridge
At a blue curb or for a spot reserved for disabled
Beside another parked vehicle (double parking)

Important Parking Techniques To Master

Perpendicular Parking

Perpendicular parking is similar to angle parking, but requires greater care in turning. Perpendicular parking is done in spaces marked in a 90-degree angle to the curb or a building. Place your car in the center of the parking spot and turn the wheels straight. Parallel parking is generally used next to a curb in the space between two parked cars. Find a place which is at least 5 feet longer than your car. It requires practice to master this maneuver, but sometimes it is your only choice.

Be attentive to the place where you leave your car. There are a lot of restrictions about parking, and you have to keep in mind the pavement marking rules and your state's traffic laws and know what circumstances won't allow you to park in some areas.

Angle Parking

There will be many times when you will see angled parking spaces in a parking lot. In this case, vehicles are designated to go one way.

Here are some safety tips:

Stay at a safe distance from parked cars so that you can see and maneuver better once you have found an empty spot.
Stay alert for cars backing out to leave their space.
Always signal to show that you are ready to make a turn.

Parking On Hill

Uphill: How to park uphill? When headed uphill at a curb, turn the front wheels away from the curb and let your vehicle roll backwards slowly until the rear part of the front wheel rests against the curb using it as a block.

Learn more tips and tricks in our parking on a hill guide!

Downhill: When you stop your car headed downhill, turn your front wheels toward the curb. Let your vehicle roll slowly until the front tire rests against the curb using it as a block.

When headed uphill (or downhill) with no curb, always turn your front wheels to the right so that if your vehicle moves, it will roll off the highway, not into traffic. Learn more around how to maneuver uphill parking in different situations.

Stopping the vehicle and leaving it unoccupied is called parking. There are different types of parking. The most common types of parking are angle parking, perpendicular parking and parallel parking. Angle parking is especially widespread in parking lots, where vehicles are designated to go one way.