Parallel parking, step by step

Pull up so your car is roughly even with the front of the space, leaving about two to three feet of side gap. Signal, check your mirrors and blind spot, and put it in reverse. The test space is generous, around 25 feet by 7 feet, so you have room to work if you go slow.

Take it one beat at a time:

1. Reverse slowly and turn the wheel fully toward the curb as the back of your car enters the space.
2. When your car is at about a 45-degree angle and you can see the curb line behind you, straighten the wheel and keep backing.
3. As the front of your car clears, turn the wheel away from the curb to bring the front in.
4. Straighten up, center in the space, and shift to park.

Reference points are what make this repeatable. Pick a spot on the car or the mirror that lines up with the curb at each stage, and it stops being guesswork.

Too far from the curb? Pull forward, straighten, and reverse again while turning toward the curb a little earlier. Adjusting calmly is fine and costs you almost nothing. Hitting the curb or a cone is the thing to avoid, so when in doubt, pull forward and reset.