Should You Turn the Steering Wheel Towards the Wider Side When Reversing into a Parking Space?
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When reversing into a parking space, you should turn the steering wheel towards the wider side. Overview of Reversing into a Parking Space: Reversing into a parking space has been a mandatory test item for obtaining a small car driver's license since 2013. It assesses the driver's ability to maneuver the vehicle in a confined space. This is one of the key evaluation points in the driver's test, requiring the driver to correctly reverse the vehicle into a garage from both sides while in motion. There is a time limit for this maneuver during the test. Methods for Reversing into a Parking Space: There are three most common types of reversing into a parking space. The first is the "non"-shaped reverse parking, commonly found in large shopping malls. The second is the roadside "one"-shaped reverse parking, also known as parallel parking. The third is the less common diagonal reverse parking. About 70% of driving students find parallel parking more challenging.
When I first started learning to drive, parallel parking was a real headache for me. My instructor always taught me to steer towards the wider side - for example, if the left side of the parking space was much wider, turn the wheel right so the rear of the car moves left to fill the gap; if the right side was too wide, steer left to make the rear move right. It sounds simple, but when actually doing it, I often turned the wrong way or turned too quickly/too much, causing the car to wobble dangerously close to the poles. The trick is to reverse slowly, use mirrors and rear cameras (if available) to observe more, don't just look ahead. Practice in empty parking lots first, use cardboard boxes as obstacles, and only attempt real parking spaces after getting adjusted. With enough practice, you'll develop the feel - keeping calm is more crucial than pure skill, safety always comes first.
