I pulled up behind some poor girl trying to parallel park today and she actually sat there and waited to let me pass because you was embarrassed after her first failed attempt. I knew a guy once who would take a parallel parking situation and drive head first turning the wheel as sharply as possible just to avoid going in reverse. When I was 15 my Dad, who was multiple Johnnie Walker’s deep, showed me how to parallel park using two trash cans outside our house and I’ve never had a problem since. His one tip and the most important one that I’ve even made a diagram to show was you need to have you car as close as possible to the front car! This takes away any crazy angle games that people play with when parallel parking. You also want your back relatively in line with their back as you being your reverse. A full wheel turn isn’t even necessary when cutting the angle, you just need to make it so that when you are ready to cut back, your front will be edging past their back. With this approach even if you don’t get it perfect, you’ll be out of traffic’s way and can adjust while your in the spot. People screw up because they start cutting at a bad angle from too far away and make it impossible on themselves. By staying close to the front car, you lessen your angle, and make it easy. I’m also not saying that this little tidbit will make you an expert but this is the best way to do it and with a little practice, city parking becomes a no-brainer. Good luck.
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