Parallel parking made simple

What the examiner wants to see

Parallel parking, officially described by DVSA as parking on the road, is one of the possible reversing exercises on the practical driving test. The examiner may ask you to pull up alongside a parked vehicle, then reverse in and park reasonably close to, and parallel with, the kerb. You should finish behind the vehicle you used, not touching the kerb and not swinging out dangerously into the road.

What matters most is control, effective observations and accuracy within reason. What does not matter is whether the finished gap looks like a photo from a textbook. Examiners do not expect you to be exactly 15 centimetres from the kerb, and they do not measure the angle with a ruler. They are looking for a safe, controlled manoeuvre that would be acceptable in normal driving.

Set-up: the part learners often rush

What I see most often in the mirror is a learner trying to fix a poor start with lots of steering later. A tidy parallel park begins before you reverse. Pull up alongside the target vehicle with your car straight, roughly one metre away from it. Your car should be parallel with the target vehicle, not angled towards the kerb.

A useful position is to have your front passenger window or front door area slightly ahead of the target car’s front end, depending on the length of both vehicles. Your instructor will adjust this for your car, because reference points change between a small hatchback, a saloon and a taller training car. The important point is that you start close enough to be manageable but not so close that your rear wheel cuts into the kerb.

• Signal only if another road user would benefit from it before you pull up.
• Check mirrors and blind spots before stopping next to the target vehicle.
• Leave enough room for your steering movement, usually about one metre.
• Make sure the road behind is suitable and legal to reverse into.

A simple step-by-step method

There are several correct ways to parallel park. I teach a simple staged method first, then we adapt it once the learner understands what the car is doing. The numbers below are practical reference points, not legal requirements, so use your instructor’s markings for your specific car.

1. 1Prepare the car to reverse: select reverse gear, find your biting point or control the brake if automatic, and do full all-round observations before moving.
2. 2Reverse slowly in a straight line until the rear of your car is level with the rear of the target vehicle. In many cars, this is when the target car’s rear corner appears around the rear side window area.
3. 3Turn one full turn of steering towards the kerb while moving very slowly. Keep checking all around, not just the left mirror.
4. 4When your car reaches roughly a 45-degree angle to the kerb, pause if needed. A common guide is when the kerb appears to run through the middle of the rear window or the left door mirror shows a clear triangle of road and kerb.
5. 5Straighten the steering and reverse back until your nearside rear wheel is approaching the kerb line. Use the left mirror carefully, but do not stare at it.
6. 6Turn the steering away from the kerb to bring the front of the car in. Continue slowly until the car becomes parallel with the kerb.
7. 7Straighten the wheels, stop, secure the car and check your final position. If needed, move forward or back slightly after proper observations.

Observations: where test faults happen

The manoeuvre is not a private exercise. You are still on a public road, and the examiner will watch how you deal with anyone who appears. The phrase I use in lessons is: move slowly enough that your eyes can do their job. If the car is rolling faster than your head is turning, the manoeuvre is already becoming untidy.

Before reversing, you need a full all-round check: front, mirrors, blind spots, rear window and the pavement side. While moving, keep taking regular checks. If a pedestrian is near the back of your car, stop. If a cyclist or vehicle approaches and may be affected, stop and assess. You are allowed to wait; you are not allowed to make someone alter speed or direction because you carried on reversing without proper checks.

• Do not rely only on mirrors; direct observation through the rear window is still important.
• Pause whenever you are unsure. A safe pause is not a fault.
• Check the right blind spot before the front of your car swings out into the road.
• Watch the pavement as well as the carriageway; pedestrians are often the first hazard.

Kerb, distance and corrections

Learners often think touching the kerb is an automatic fail. It depends on what happens. A gentle touch may be marked as a driving fault if it is controlled and corrected safely. Mounting the kerb, hitting it firmly, or risking pedestrians on the pavement is much more serious and can lead to a serious or dangerous fault.

You may correct the manoeuvre. DVSA does not require a one-move parallel park. If you finish too far from the kerb, stop, observe properly and adjust. If the angle is wrong, pull forward slightly and re-set the car. What examiners dislike is repeated uncontrolled shuffling with poor observations, or carrying on when it is clearly unsafe.

• Aim to finish reasonably close to the kerb, commonly within about 30 cm as a useful training target.
• Keep the car parallel, not with the front sticking out into traffic.
• If you lose the reference point, stop first, then think; do not steer randomly while moving.
• A correction is fine if it is safe, controlled and not excessive.

How we drill it in a lesson

In a lesson I usually start in a quiet road with one clear target vehicle and plenty of space behind. First, we walk through the reference points while stationary, because learners remember them better when they have actually looked from the driver’s seat. Then we practise at walking pace, stopping at each stage so the learner can see the angle and wheel position.

Once the shape is consistent, I remove the pauses. After that, I add real-life complications: a car approaching from behind, a pedestrian on the pavement, a narrower gap, a slight downhill road, or a different target vehicle. For Fast Track Driving Lessons intensive courses, this is the sort of skill that benefits from repetition in the same session: not ten minutes once a week, but several attempts close together so the steering and observation routine becomes familiar.

If you are on a 10 to 40 hour intensive course, your instructor should still tailor the method to your current level. At £61.23 per hour, lesson time needs to be used properly, so ask for feedback after each attempt: start position, speed, observations, steering timing and finish position. If theory knowledge is holding you back on signs, road markings or where you may legally stop, use the free theory test practice at /theory alongside your driving sessions.

Common parallel parking mistakes and fixes

Most mistakes have a simple cause: too fast, too little observation, or the wrong starting position. The fix is not to memorise more reference points; it is to slow the car and understand which part of the car you are moving. Your rear wheels decide the path when reversing, and the front of the car swings out as you steer, which is why the right blind spot check is so important.

• Starting too far away: you run out of space and finish wide. Start about one metre from the target car.
• Starting at an angle: the car follows the angle and the manoeuvre becomes untidy. Get parallel before reversing.
• Steering too late: the rear of the car stays wide. Begin the first turn when your rear is level with the target car’s rear.
• Looking only in the left mirror: you miss road users and the front swing. Use mirrors and direct checks together.
• Panicking near the kerb: stop, straighten or steer away as needed, observe, then continue slowly.

What to remember on test day

When the examiner gives the instruction, take a breath and set the car up properly. You can ask them to repeat the instruction if you did not hear it. You cannot ask them how to do the manoeuvre, but you can take your time and make safe corrections.

The examiner will not be impressed by speed. A slow, safe, slightly corrected park is better than a quick one with poor checks. Treat it like any other piece of driving: prepare, observe, move under control and respond to what is happening around you.