🅿️ Reverse parallel parking
Reversing into a space behind a parked car: step by step with reference points, observation, common errors and how to recover with small corrections.
Parallel parking is something you'll need every day in Malta's narrow, busy streets — and it's one of the manoeuvres asked most on the test. The good news: with the right reference points you can do it the same way every time. The keys are slowness and constant all-round observation.
The aim
The examiner usually points to a parked car and asks you to park behind it, close and parallel to the kerb, within about two car lengths. You must not hit or mount the kerb or touch the other car.
Step by step
- Set up: mirrors (interior + left), left signal, stop alongside the target car, parallel to it and about 0.5–1 metre away, with your rear bumpers roughly level. Bring the car to a complete stop.
- Reverse gear and full observation: select reverse (the reversing lights tell others your intention). Look all round 360°: right shoulder, mirrors, left shoulder, rear window. If clear, reverse very slowly, controlling with the clutch.
- Turning point: when your rear wheel is level with the target car's rear bumper (in many cars, the target car's rear appears in the middle of your rear side window), stop or slow right down. Look around again — especially to the right, because your front will swing out into the road.
- Full left lock: turn the wheel fully left and reverse slowly. Keep going until the car is at about 45° — in the left mirror the kerb moves from the bottom corner towards the middle of the mirror.
- Straighten: bring the wheel back to straight (about one and a half turns right) and reverse straight back. Make sure your front clears the target car's rear corner.
- Full right lock: when your front left corner has passed the target car's rear corner, turn fully right; your front swings in towards the kerb. Stop when the car is parallel to the kerb.
- Finish: straighten the wheels (moving forward a little if needed), handbrake, neutral. Aim for about 30 cm or less from the kerb.
Speed rule: "slower than a walking person." Hold the clutch at biting point with little or no gas. If you go slowly, you have time to correct every steering movement.
Observation — where most marks are lost
- During the manoeuvre the rear window is your main view; mirrors are extra checks.
- Look all round before you start steering — your front swings out and can obstruct traffic from the right.
- If a car, cyclist or pedestrian approaches, stop and wait. Let them pass, look again, then continue. Stopping is not a fault; carrying on without looking is.
- Check pedestrians on the pavement (especially children and dogs).
Common errors
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting or mounting the kerb | Left lock too early or held too long; too fast | Wait for the turning point; straighten at 45°; go slower |
| Too far from the kerb (more than about 30 cm) | Left lock too late or right lock too early | Watch the kerb in the left mirror; turn right when the rear wheel nears the kerb |
| Too close to or touching the target car | Starting too close alongside; not checking the front corner | 0.5–1 m gap; check your front left corner before right lock |
| Not looking around | Fixating on the mirrors | A 360° look before every steering change |
| Dry steering (turning while stationary) | Rushing | Only turn the wheel while the car is moving (very slowly) |
Recovering: small corrections
You don't have to be perfect. If you notice you're too close to the kerb or the angle is wrong:
- Stop. No panic.
- Too close to the kerb: pull forward a little, correct the angle, reverse again. Repeat your observation.
- Too far out: a little left lock and back, then right lock to straighten.
- The examiner accepts one or two small corrections; they don't accept hitting the kerb or creating danger.
Lightly touching the kerb may be a fault; mounting the pavement is one of the grievous mistakes on our instructor's list.
