Parallel Parking for the PA Road Test: A Step-by-Step Method
The part of the road test people worry about most. Here's a reliable method, the rules, and how to practice it until it's automatic.
Parallel parking is the skill most new drivers worry about, and in Philadelphia it's one you'll use almost every day. The good news: it's a repeatable sequence. Learn the reference points and it stops being guesswork.
The rules on test day
- The space is 24 feet long and 8 feet wide, marked by upright poles.
- You park midway between the front and rear poles.
- You get one attempt and no more than three adjustments.
- Touching a pole, crossing the painted line or mounting the curb counts against you.
The method, step by step
- Signal, then pull up alongside the front pole (or the car in front of the space), about 2 feet away from it, with your rear bumper roughly level with it.
- Check mirrors and your blind spot. Shift into reverse and back up slowly.
- As your rear bumper passes the pole, turn the steering wheel fully toward the curb.
- Keep backing slowly. When your front door passes the rear of the car or pole ahead, start straightening the wheel.
- As the front of your car clears the space ahead, turn the wheel away from the curb to swing the front in.
- Straighten the wheel and adjust forward or back so you're centered in the space, within about a foot of the curb.
Common mistakes
- Starting too close to the front pole, which leaves no room to swing in.
- Turning the wheel too early and hitting the curb with the rear tire.
- Turning too late and ending up far from the curb.
- Watching only the backup camera instead of the mirrors and the rear window.
- Using all three adjustments on small corrections instead of one smooth fix.
How to practice
Set up two cones or poles 24 feet apart in an empty parking lot and practice until you can park ten times in a row without a touch. Then practice on real Philadelphia streets, where you'll be squeezing between cars on narrow rowhouse blocks.
In a lesson with Rafael Driving School, your instructor gives you reference points that fit our car exactly, and you'll take the road test in that same car. That's why parallel parking stops being scary.
Learn with a certified instructor
One-on-one lessons in Philadelphia. We reply within 24 hours.
Sources
Rules and fees can change. Always confirm current requirements with PennDOT.
