Parallel Parking?

Question

I have a small car, a neon, and I've never really been that good at parallel parking. My question is, is turning the wheel one full turn or all the way better when pulling into the spot? Another problem I have is when I go to turn the wheel away from the curb to swing into the spot, a lot of times I have to readjust from hitting the car in front of me with my front bumper. What should I do about that? Thanks.

Answer 1

This is one maneuver that separates good drivers from the rest. The key here is to get your back end where it needs to go before swinging the front end in, and getting it right takes practice. The good news is the Neon is rather small, and is relatively easy to park compared to an SUV or something bigger.

Start alongside the car in front of the target spot, crank the wheel enough to point the back end in, but not so much you have to worry about hitting the car in the front spot when the back end is at the curb. When the front end is clear, crank it in!

There's a sweet zone here, and you'll probably have to experiment to find it. Good luck!

Oh, and how do you practice without running up your insurance bill? It depends. Out in the country, my kids use the lawn mower and trees instead of unsuspecting other peoples' cars! Be creative, you'll figure something out!

Answer 2

The only way to perfect parallel parking is to practice. Set up a parallel parking space away from traffic and repeat your attempts until you are comfortable with when to begin your angled turn, the correct amount to cut the wheel upon entering the spot, and the distance to back in at the original angle before straightening the car out.

Answer 3

The key is to turn hard in both directions to minimize your movement while not turning.

You should urn hard into the spot and then turn back just enough to keep clear. The size of your care will dictate, when to turn back. The real gauge is to turn into the parking spot until your curb side tire is 2 feet aay from the curb and then turn in.

Answer 4

You need to practice. So set up an area in an open parking lot away from any cars. Use old sawhorses for "cars" and a board or something for the curb and practice until you have it down.

Answer 5

Practice, practice, practice

I can parallel park a suburban 2" off the curb...

I can also parallel park a 38 foot twin engined boat...

Practice, practice, practice

Answer 6

Parallel parking is 2 part - knowing how to parallel park, and knowing how big your car is.

The answer to both is to practice, practice, practice

As you get more experience, confidence and skill, you'll become an expert parallel parker

Answer 7

I don't even attempt it, I hate parallel parking.