When parallel parking between two cars, you should first:
- Turn your wheels to the left.
- Turn your wheels to the right.
- Pull up even with the car in front of your desired parking space. ✓
- Back slowly.
Answer: C. Pull up even with the car in front of your desired parking space.
First pull up alongside the car parked in front of the empty space, stopping even with it and signaling before you get there.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's parking steps start with choosing a space big enough, signaling, then stopping even with the front of the car ahead, about two feet out from the space. Signaling before you reach the spot warns drivers behind you. Only after that first position do you turn the wheels to the right and begin backing toward the curb. So lining up with the car ahead comes before any wheel turning or backing.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Turn your wheels to the left. — Turning the wheels left belongs to a later step, done once your front seat is opposite the rear bumper of the car ahead.
- B. Turn your wheels to the right. — Turning the wheels right comes after you have stopped even with the car ahead and checked that you will not interfere with oncoming traffic.
- D. Back slowly. — Backing slowly comes after the wheels are turned right, and you cannot back into the space until you are lined up in the first place.
Remember it
Think of parallel parking as a sequence: signal, stop even with the car ahead, wheels right and back, wheels left, then straighten.