Is a 30 cm distance required for parallel parking?
2 Answers
When parallel parking is completed, if the distance exceeds 30 cm, 10 points will be deducted. In addition, other point deductions for parallel parking include: stopping midway results in a 100-point deduction; tires touching the lane boundary line while driving deducts 10 points; the vehicle body exceeding the line after stopping in the parking space deducts 100 points; although the rules state that an engine stall due to improper operation deducts 10 points once, stalling during parallel parking is equivalent to stopping midway, resulting in an immediate 100-point deduction. Method for maintaining a 30 cm distance from the boundary line during parallel parking: Keep the right wheel 30 cm from line AC, drive forward until the rear of the car passes point A, then stop. Turn on the right signal, shift into reverse gear, and look at the right rearview mirror. When point A disappears from the mirror, turn the steering wheel fully to the right and continue reversing. Look at the left rearview mirror, and when point E appears, quickly turn the steering wheel fully to the left to enter the parking space. Stop when the car is straight. Precautions for parallel parking: Adjust both left and right rearview mirrors. The left mirror should be lowered as much as possible to see the left rear wheel, while the right mirror should show the car body. Adjust the interior rearview mirror so that when you look up, you can see the middle of the rear windshield.
When I was taking my driving test, the instructor really emphasized the 30-centimeter standard. In actual practice, it's not necessary to strictly adhere to this exact measurement—it's mainly used to judge whether the distance between the car body and the roadside is reasonable. During the test, if you see the door handle and the curb in the rearview mirror at about two fingers' width apart, that's the right distance to allow the rear wheels to smoothly enter the parking space. However, when I help guide beginners in the community, I've found that developing a sense of distance is more important than memorizing numbers. On rainy days or when parking on narrow roads, maintaining 30 centimeters is harder than usual, and adjusting the rearview mirror angle in advance proves more effective. Honestly, in everyday parking, as long as you don't scrape the curb or obstruct traffic, being off by 5 centimeters is no big deal at all.
