Parking

MissFlitworth

I got my full licence there a few months back but there's one thing I cannot do for peanuts, and that's park properly. I'm not too bad at parallel parking because a lovely and very patient relative with nerves of steel sat in the car with me and talked me through it for hours (although if I get it wrong and am in at a weird angle I find it really hard to correct) but I can't reverse into a parking space.

I either end up sitting nicely in the middle of 2 spaces or checking my mirror and realising I'm about to reverse into the car in the space beside the one I was aiming for (this has only happened once mind you but it was quite an unpleasant shock!) I've gone to empty car parks to practice but I'm just kinda blind guessing as to how I should be doing it and the real problems come up when I have to park between two cars <shudder>

Does anyone have a technique for reversing into a parking spot? I saw someone do it with one hand, practically in one movement and on the phone at the same time the other day and I nearly went over and thumped him out of pure jealousy (not that I aspire to be able to park holding my phone or anything) I'm almost considering calling up my old instructor and booking a driving lesson just for parking <shame>

Alanstrainor

Well it's a case of practicing really. Here's a crappy drawing i did for another thread about a year ago.

Basically the car in the above is moving from right to left, just as you come up to the space, turn the wheel to the right so you're at more of an angle, rather than trying to do it when perpendicular. Then, using your mirrors to check your position, reverse backwards. It is best to turn the wheel in one smooth motion rather than trying to make tiny adjustments left and right.

killman

ladfs just wondering when reversing in diagram above are you supposed to use your mirrors all the time or can you look out back window? in other words what is needed for test

TwoShedsJackson

killman wrote: »

ladfs just wondering when reversing in diagram above are you supposed to use your mirrors all the time or can you look out back window? in other words what is needed for test

You can look out the back window to line up with the space generally but you'll need to use your wing mirrors to make sure you're within the lines of the space and/or you won't hit cars parked either side. Once you're close enough to the space, you won't be able to see the lines out the back window anyway.

zynaps

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Does anyone have a technique for reversing into a parking spot? I saw someone do it with one hand, practically in one movement and on the phone at the same time the other day and I nearly went over and thumped him out of pure jealousy

Love it!

Cabaal

The funny thing is I can park fine the way the OP says they have problems but I can't parrellel for ****e

zynaps

Cabaal wrote: »

The funny thing is I can park fine the way the OP says they have problems but I can't parrellel for ****e

Thanks to reversing out of my driveway (where I'm often blocked on one side by the neighbour whose big BMW won't fit in front of the other car in his drive, lame) I'm just about able to do that, but I parallel park fairly badly as well... I usually think I'm almost touching the kerb and about to hit the car behind me, then get out and I'm three feet from the kerb* and half a car away from the car behind.




* BTW people-accidentally-spelling-things-the-USA-way: kerb, not curb, jeeeeeez

Sunjammer

Here are 2 video tips that might help you guys one for bay parking and one for parallel parking

http://www.driving-test-success.com/bay_parking/bayparking.html

and

http://www.driving-test-success.com/par_parking/par_parking.html

brian076

Sunjammer wrote: »

Here are 2 video tips that might help you guys one for bay parking and one for parallel parking

The video doesn't really tell you how to do this mamoeuvre other than "not hit the kerb", so hopefully the following helps:

When the 2 cars are level, turn your wheel 1.5 times to the left (which is probably a full lock), and continue until your car is at a 45 degree angle to the parked car. (or imagine that the front of your car is pointing to about 2 o'clock on a clock face)
At this point, take the 1.5 turns off the wheel and continue back in straight. When the left windscreen pillar on your car blocks out the right tail light of the parked car, turn your wheel 1.5 turns to the right, this will bring the front of your car in towards the kerb, and will also ensure that you keep well clear of the parked car.
Once the front of your car is almost in to the kerb, take the 1.5 turns off, and go back a little in a straight line.

ttm

zynaps wrote: »

Thanks to reversing out of my driveway (where I'm often blocked on one side by the neighbour whose big BMW won't fit in front of the other car in his drive, lame) I'm just about able to do that, but I parallel park fairly badly as well... I usually think I'm almost touching the kerb and about to hit the car behind me, then get out and I'm three feet from the kerb* and half a car away from the car behind.




* BTW people-accidentally-spelling-things-the-USA-way: kerb, not curb, jeeeeeez

Why not do the "right" thing and reverse in?

Its safer! You have all round visability both on the way in and way out.

zynaps

ttm wrote: »

Why not do the "right" thing and reverse in?

Its safer! You have all round visability both on the way in and way out.

That sounds like the right thing to do, I'm just a bit of a coward since I'm unfamiliar with that way and there's often very little room to manoeuvre. I definitely should though, for visibility's sake - where I live is practically a playground with kids on trikes pedalling about the roads blindly. A few weeks ago I reversed out, stopped a couple of metres short of a young girl on a bicycle and wanted to turn right to get out of the cul de sac. Put it in gear, turned the wheel (which took about 5 seconds of grunting with no power steering), looked right, then checked where the girl was before starting to move. She was just to my left, cycling slowly from my blind spot, silently crossing right by the car's front bumper and heading off to the right.

So... yeah, I might try reversing into my drive next time

The Big Red Button

Practice practice practice in an empty car-park with an experienced driver! If you've passed your test and managed the reversing round the corner, you should be able to do it no bother. It's probably just a bit of a mental block you have against it, but you do have the technical ability to do it.

First of all, take your time. You'll get faster with practice, of course, but to begin with do it really really slowly. Even if the car-park you're practicing in is deserted, make sure you check the mirrors and look all round you regularly during the manoeuvre, so that you get in good habits.

You know in the test, when reversing round the corner, you could probably see the kerb in your wing mirror and kept the distance between the car and the kerb as even as possible as you reversed round? Well this is pretty much the same, except that you have two white lines (or kerbs, if it helps to think of it that way!) to work with, so it makes it even easier. It sounds silly, but use the white lines as sort of imaginary walls that will damage your car if you hit them! So when you're reversing in, use your mirrors to ensure that the back of your car won't even cross the white line on your way in.

When you get that far, and the back of your car is between the two white lines, it's very easy to reverse the rest of the way in by watching the white lines each side of you in the wing mirrors. Don't forget to look around you too though, and particularly in the rear mirror.

I know myself that it can be difficult to judge just how far to go back in the space, especially if there's no other car/wall behind you to work off. However this is just a matter of experience, you will get used to judging the length of your car against the space.

Don't be surprised if it takes you as long as a minute or even more to do it perfectly the first few times. And don't be surprised if it takes you like a million tries to get it right at all! Just pick some quiet Sunday afternoon when you have nothing else to do and plenty of time to practice. Once you get it right a couple of times, you'll be amazed at how quickly it'll become second nature to you.

As you get better and are reversing beween two other cars, just keep your eyes on those white lines and you'll be fine (assuming the other cars are parked correctly within the lines!) Also if you're in a busy car park, don't let any other drivers rush you. It's not worth the consequences if you end up hitting something.

By the way - I passed the test nearly three years ago and I'm still crap at parallel parking! :rolleyes: Do you mind lending me that very patient relative?! :D

tinkerbell

I hate parallel parking, I try to avoid it. Although I'm getting better. My parents can parallel park so easily but it feels like I'm driving a bus when I'm trying to park, everyone's like "you have loads of room!" but I just don't see it (and I drive a MINI).

I also hate driving into a parking space frontways, I just have to keep adjusting the car after I initially go in because I can never go in straight. 99.9999% of the time I reverse into a carspace. It's sooo much easier. Lol my friends think I'm mad that I can reverse in so easily but I have difficulty driving straight into a space.

You just need practice that's all, use your wing mirrors and your rear-view mirror. You shouldn't need to look out the back window asuch but do keep glancing in your rear-view mirror just in case a child runs behind your car or something.

jc2008

I'm sorry about the stupid question, but are you marked on parking in the test? I always thought parking was not part of the Irish Driving Test. (I haven't taken a driving test before, so that's why I'm unsure).

Alanstrainor

jc2008 wrote: »

I'm sorry about the stupid question, but are you marked on parking in the test? I always thought parking was not part of the Irish Driving Test. (I haven't taken a driving test before, so that's why I'm unsure).

Parking is not technically part of the test, however, on returning to the test centre you must "park" the car to get your result. But this should just be as simple as driving straight into the parking space in most cases, there is no requirement to reverse or to parallel park in the Irish driving test.

driverite

Have a look at these diagrams

Practice practice practice thats all i can say

J_R

tinkerbell wrote: »

I also hate driving into a parking space frontways, I just have to keep adjusting the car after I initially go in because I can never go in straight. 99.9999% of the time I reverse into a carspace. It's sooo much easier. Lol my friends think I'm mad that I can reverse in so easily but I have difficulty driving straight into a space..

Hi,

Its easy to drive in. Once you realise the back wheels do not follow the front but take a bit of a short cut.

Providing there is space, either take a wide swing to the right first so that you approach the space straight on. If you can not swing out, swing through the space on the right with your front right wheel. How far depends on the angle

MissFlitworth

Thanks for all the tips guys, if anyone spots a small green car with someone hysterically swearing in it reversing round a b&q carpark this weekend, that'll be me

chatterpillar wrote: »

By the way - I passed the test nearly three years ago and I'm still crap at parallel parking! :rolleyes: Do you mind lending me that very patient relative?! :D

I would, really I would, but there was a bit of an incident with some bad clutch control whilst practicing parallel parking on a very steep hill and his heart just hasn't been in it since.

XoXMascaraXoX

tinkerbell wrote: »

I hate parallel parking, I try to avoid it. Although I'm getting better. My parents can parallel park so easily but it feels like I'm driving a bus when I'm trying to park, everyone's like "you have loads of room!" but I just don't see it (and I drive a MINI).

I also hate driving into a parking space frontways, I just have to keep adjusting the car after I initially go in because I can never go in straight. 99.9999% of the time I reverse into a carspace. It's sooo much easier. Lol my friends think I'm mad that I can reverse in so easily but I have difficulty driving straight into a space.

I can't parrallel either, there was a time that i got sooo fraustrated that i had to leave my car and get a stranger to park for me. I have difficulting driving into a parking space too but reversing in is a piece of cake for me.. wierd or what!

Mcloke

To the OP...this is how I was taught and it does work.

It is actually much easier, in my experience, to reverse part into a spot beside a car than it is to reverse into a spot without a car. What I was taught was to drive by the car I wanted to park next to and reverse back until I could see their car logo approx half way down my back window (it totally varies from car to car which is why you need a good driver/instructor to guide you), at this point break and turn the wheel full lock left. Then reverse very slowly and your car should swivel into the space. When your car is facing directly out of the space (straight), break and straighten the wheels (approx 1.5 revolutions right) and finish reversing back into the spot.

The car acts as a starting guide but obviously in this scenario...how well they are parked reflects on how well you will end up parked!

Good luck with it
Marie

HydeRoad

I gave a lady a pretest driving lesson once. The thing that was going to fail her was reversing round a corner, she had practiced for years with dozens of different people, to the point of exasperation, and failed two tests.

I mastered it with her in one lesson. She passed!

You need to understand the difference between what your front wheels are doing, and your back wheels, and their different behaviour. I also think it should be impressed strongly on all learner drivers to master REVERSING into spaces rather than this nonsense of always nosing in. It's harder to nose in, and you can get trapped if someone else parks too close to you. You hold up everyone then, trying to reverse out. I always think if you look at a typical shopping centre car park, and the amount of cars nosed into spaces, usually at awkward or lazy angles, it says everything about driving standards today.

When it clicks with you, it becomes the easiest, most sensible thing in the world to do. Most people never bother to figure it out, they drive a lifetime and just don't even try. Yes, you may need a good instructor, but do learn it. If you practice enough, the logic of it will suddenly click one day, and you'll wonder why you were so afraid of it!

HydeRoad

By the way, a technique for practicing is to get two or three huuuge cardboard boxes, the kind of boxes a fridge comes in or something. Ask DID Electrical or somewhere!

Take the boxes to a quiet space somewhere, and let the cardboard boxes be the cars you have to park between. Move them gradually closer and closer together till the space is barely the width of your car. You don't only want to be able to fit between two cars, but you want to be able to park EXACTLY parallel and equidistant between the lines. Be the best! It's easy! Try it!

cruizer101

I was going to say about the boxes also, tbh i find it much easier to reverse in when there is another car there, once its parked straight of course. It gives you a better reference to work of then trying to see where the white lines are.

Also driverite's diagram is nice but I find the majority of the time there isn't enough room for this and you have to reverse at an angle in.