Parallel Parking

Living in San Francisco, I see lots of people who don’t have a clue how to parallel park. Sure, I make mistakes sometimes, but it’s clear there are some basic techniques people are missing.

Here it is. It should be in all the driver’s handbooks.

When parking in a spot on the right-hand side of the road, don’t look over your right shoulder when backing in. This is the lame way to do it. It’s based on trial and error and getting to know your car space. When you have to park someone else’s car, it’s a different size and you’ve got to figure it out all over again. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but look over your left shoulder or in your left hand mirror. Cut the wheel to back in and when you see the first glimpse of the left side of the car behind you, that’s when you straighten out and back in. This works for all cars regardless of size.

Try it out. Works like a charm! I never scrape my rims, ever.