Safe Speed Forums

Right as im sat in work bored I thought i'd bring up an issue I have that im sure some of you will be tempted to laugh at but none the less I shall continue.

I have been driving for just short of 4 years now (granted not a great deal in comparison to a lot of you im sure) and I still find I have to main problems when parking.

1) Parallel parking. If I try and pull in to the kerb I almost always end up bumping the kerb so I always have to pull up a slight distance away then revers againt it using the mirror.

2) I can not for the life of me judge how close I am when pulling up to a wall or such like (usualy notice when pulling up to the garage door, doesnt lock so try an park as close as poss of a night) ill creep up to it to the point of cringing thinkin im gonna bump it till im abosultley positive there can be no more room left, but when I jump out and look theres always still space to walk past the front of the car (albeit only walking sideways).

Probably trivial issues really but it does annoy me.

So am I just a dodgy driver and alone in this or does anyone else have the same problem (feel free to lie to make me feel better )

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Re parallel parking. How do you have your wing mirrors set? I tend to have the drivers side set to give me a good view behind and the passenger side set to give me a view of the rear n/s wheel and kerb. It could be as simple as that.

Re driving up close to the garage door. Assuming from your description that you're going forwards towards it, try turning your dipped beam on. I find that the intensity of the reflection is a good indication of how close an object is to the front of the car.

Overall, it sounds like you're not too confident about the size of your vehicle. I would suggest that the only remedy is practice. When you ARE positioned correctly, sit in your normal driving position and take a really good look at what you can see and where it all is in relation to a fixed point in/on the car. That way you'll learn your sitelines and hopefully your spatial awareness will improve as a result.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Either you misunderstood me or im misunderstanding you (it is 9 oclock in the morning and i've just been on a night shift so the second one quite possible )

I can get against the kerb fine when using the mirrors (I think there pretty much set the same as you say)

My problem is when pulling against the kerb while travelling forward, just pulling in at the side of the road as apposed to reverse parking (yes I know I did say parallel parking didnt I )

Having said that a few fleeting glances at the mirror would tell me how far away I am I suppose as if pulling in at a small enough angle the back wheels gonna be the same distance away as the front (which is quite possibly what you ment)



Yep in that occasion I would usually be pulling up forwards (though I have just the same problem, when reversing up to something). Certainly a very good idea, I shall give it a go and see if it helps



I have yet to actualy try particularly to overcome the problems but I think on my next night shift I shall have a play in the car park and see if I can improve.

Strangely despite these problems with space when parking, I can still drive straight through rather small gaps (e.g between parked car and oncoming traffic) with out even thinking about it while the cars behind have to stop and wait for a gap an i've yet to hit owt while doing it.

the flippant answer is to drive full pelt at the kerb, turn back when you bump up and stop when you bump down!

Seriously though, as Sixy has pointed out, the only solution is practice. I don't think there is any magic method, it just comes together slowly. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is not to be stressed about it, that way you are tempted to hurry and that when you'll bump into things.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

In my experience most problems people have with maneouvering can solved/part solved by proper use of wing mirrors.

Mrs B was costing a fortune in cracked bumpers at one time until I taught her how to use wing mirrors. For example, I notice that inexperienced/unconfident drivers nearly always try to drive forwards into both parallel and echelon spaces rather than reverse in. Backing up to something is greatly aided by use of wing mirrors.


This was taught to me at a very early age working (as a student) in a Glaxo delivery depot and marvelling at how truckers could reverse artics into narrow spaces.

yup, I always reverese in if paralell parking between two cars (as apposed to against an empty kirb) certainly much easier.

Dont actualy know what you mean by echelon spaces but logic suggests as its not paralell spaces your refering to your bog standard car park parking space, in which case I always park nose first with out even thinkin about it. Though I will certainly agree with you the times I have engaged me brain and reveres in it's a lot easier as you can obviously see where the cars are either side via the mirrors as you say instead of having to judge, can certainly get into a space at an alarming speed when going backwards (not meaning reclously obviously ) yet have to be slow goin forwards.

Reading back on that I have to wonder why I forwards has become the norm for me when im well aware I find backwards easier must do something about that as well

I do!

my trick for parallel parking

1.pull up next to the car infront of the space you want about 12-18" away
so that your back wheel is next to the parked car's back wheel
2.put some lock on the steering about 1.5 actions (this will differ between cars)
3. Reverse untill your front wheel is equal with the rear wheel of the other car (keeping an overall eye on traffic and the rear/kerb)
center the steering. (1.5 actions?)
4. As you go back put the same amout of actions in the other direction and you should just slide into the space (keeping an eye on the front wing/ parked car behind))

Start by trying this out where there is just one car and no traffic.

hope it works for you...

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

My method for paralell parking, which works in every car I have diven. (It's also how I taught my wife.)

Pull level with the car in front of the parking spot.
Reverse, applying left lock until the nearside of the car behind (the side near the kerb) is dead centre of your rear screen.
Straighten the wheel and go straight back until your nose clears the car in front.
Apply full right lock and keep reversing until you are parallel with the kerb.

The only times this doesn't work is when you have a very large parking spot but in that case you would be able to drive in and straighten up anyway.

A friend of mine who has the same 'garage-issue' as you took the simple step of parking the car in the ideal spot then hanging a tennis ball from the ceiling so that it was just touching the windscreen.

He now drives forward until the ball touches the screen - perfect positioning every time. Works equally well if you like to reverse in too, as long as you set the ball up correctly.

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Less Kodak, more Kojak.
In times of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Parallel parking. I taught my g/f to aim (using the wingmirror on the roadside) at the centre of the car behind you as you go in. This seems to ensure the right angle.

Garage parking. I have a black line on the wall which I line up with my wingmirror when I'm in. Actually three black lines with Polo, Puma and Clio written by them to denote which previous car they've referred to. My mum's previously used the tennis ball trick.

On a possibly related note, does anyone know how to disable the parking sensors on a (rented) Nissan Almera. They are terrible.

They go off when I am reversing on an empty road close to a set of bollards that are parallel to my direction of travel. They are also triggered by cars either side of mine as I reverse down my narrow residential road into the only available space left. Plus if you get within 3 feet of anything, the little blips turn into a constant beep like your heart patient has just died.

If it was my own car, I'd chop the wires to the speaker, but is there a fuse I can pull or something else non destructive?

Park as you would like to park next to the kerb, then sit in the seat in the same position as you would be if you were in motion and note which part of the wipers/washers line up with the kerb. Use that as a datum.

Works in any vehicle, every time!