For many drivers, especially for those who are learning to get their license or are beginners, knowing how to park is one of the most difficult maneuvers for them.
The reason is that many people get nervous when it comes to parking in this way, in addition to the fact that there may be miscalculations; or no space is left for other drivers to park. This implies that maneuvers have to be made until it is achieved, in some cases even leading to despair.
Differences between battery parking or parallel parking
First of all, it is important to know the differences between battery parking and parallel parking. Line parking is what you see on many street sidewalks, since it takes up less space on streets, where the car is parked in line, with the front of a vehicle facing the rear of the car that is in front; and the rear of our vehicle looks towards the front of the car behind.
This implies that it is necessary to leave reasonable spaces between one car and another, so that a maneuver can be made and the parking lot can be left. In addition, you have to make sure that the car is properly attached to the sidewalk, so that it does not affect the vehicles that circulate on the road.
Battery parking, for its part, consists of parking parallel to other vehicles, a type of parking that can be given in two ways, either straight, when the vehicle forms a right angle with respect to the sidewalk; or diagonal, when the car forms an angle of about 45º with respect to the sidewalk.
Instructions for parking a car on battery
If you want to learn how to park a car on battery, the steps to follow are the following:
- First of all, what you should do is put on the indicator, just like you should do before making any parking maneuver. In this way, both the cars behind and those in front will know your intention to park.
- Next, the car must be placed perpendicular, making the cars between which you are going to park be taken as a reference.
- Then you will put the car perpendicularly between the two cars, in the hole where it is going to park. In the event that there is no car to take as a reference, the road’s own delimitations must be taken into account.
- Then the steering wheel must be turned completely towards the place where it is going to be parked. To do this, you must look in the mirrors to check at all times if it is possible to go backwards; or if you need to make a greater number of maneuvers. You will then continue to back up until you reach the rear of the two vehicles you are parking between.
- When performing battery parking, it is necessary to leave a distance of between 75 and 100 cm on both sides. In this way, users of nearby cars will be able to enter their vehicle without colliding with their doors on your vehicle.
Tips for parking a car on battery
There are a series of tips and tricks to keep in mind when it comes to knowing how to park a car on battery:
- Parking should not be done between two spaces, since in this case you would be taking space away from the rest of the drivers who need to park.
- To be able to park comfortably on the opposite side, once you have decided to start reversing and positioned the vehicle, you have to constantly look left and right through the mirrors. In particular, you have to take into account the one that is closest to the vehicle you take as a reference to make sure that there are no obstacles.
- Once the rear wheel of your vehicle has passed the headlight of the reference vehicle, and therefore you know that you are not going to hit it, you must turn the steering wheel until the car fits perfectly into the available space. In this way you will be able to complete the parking maneuver.
- The most advisable thing is to leave a gap of at least 80 cm with the rest of the vehicles. In this way, doors can be opened and closed without rubbing against other vehicles.
- You must pay attention to the left mirror so that it is not too close to the other car and can be hit. If you think you’re too close, move slightly forward and try to straighten the car.
- Once you have the car parked and get out of it, it is best to fold the rear view mirror so that it does not get damaged or disturb other drivers or pedestrians.
- In the event that you are going to park between columns, as is the case in many car parks, you should take the column on the left as a reference.
