I have been teaching people to carry out this manoeuvre for many years now and it seems to be a bit like marmite – you love it or you hate it! Everyone has their own strengths, so there is no reason why this manoeuvre should trip you up – it could be your strongest one! This blog post is just to give you an idea of what is expected of you on the test, during your lessons we’ll look at it in more detail.

The parallel park is carried out at the side of the road. You need to demonstrate that you can reverse your car into a space between two other vehicles. The required gap is “two car lengths”, whilst it is possible to park into a slightly smaller space than this, it’s not required on your test. It is unlikely that during your test the examiner will be able to find a convenient space so commonly you will not have a car behind you but must imagine the two car length gap.

The examiner should ask you to pull over before carrying out the manoeuvre so they can explain to you what they would like you to do. When you are ready you will pull up alongside the vehicle, about a meter away from it and slightly ahead. You’ll put the car into reverse then need to have a good look around the car. If you’re happy that it is safe to move, slowly reverse back until the back of your car is just past the back of the parked vehicle. You’ll now need to steer into the space, steering away from the curb when you are close enough and stopping when you have straightened your wheels parallel to the curb – we’ll go over this using reference points and pictures to help you. If you do make a mistake during the manoeuvre, as long as you keep everything safe and look around you well, it will be fine to adjust the vehicle until you are happy.

When you are done, secure the car with the handbrake and put the car into neutral. Breathe a sigh of relief – that’s your manoeuvre complete and you will asked to drive on again when you’re ready.