Skills5 min read·
Parallel parking, step by step
The exact technique that examiners want to see — works on any vehicle.
Parallel parking is the most-feared part of any Canadian road test. The good news: it is pure muscle memory. Practise the same six-step sequence ten times in a quiet street and you will pass.
The 6-step sequence
- Pull up alongside the car in front of your spot, about 50 cm away, rear bumpers aligned.
- Signal right. Reverse slowly while turning the wheel fully right.
- When your car is at a 45° angle to the curb, straighten the wheel and continue reversing.
- When your front bumper clears the back of the car in front, turn the wheel fully left.
- Reverse until parallel with the curb, 30 cm away.
- Straighten the wheel and centre yourself in the spot.
If you mess up
It's fine to pull forward and try again — examiners watch how you recover. What fails the test is hitting the curb hard or ending up more than 50 cm from it.