🅿️ Parallel parking
Pennsylvania grades parallel parking before you ever drive in traffic: park midway between two uprights in a space 24 feet long and 8 feet wide, in one attempt, using no more than three adjustments. Your whole vehicle must sit inside the space — touch an upright, cross the painted line, or ride the curb and the maneuver fails. Self-parking features must be off.
What the examiner is watching for
- ✓The setup: stopped even with the vehicle position ahead, about two feet out
- ✓Controlled reverse steering — sharply right, straighten at the reference point, sharply left
- ✓No contact: uprights untouched, painted line uncrossed, curb unclimbed
- ✓Completion in one attempt with three or fewer adjustments
Step by step
- 1Stop even with the vehicle (or upright) ahead and about two feet away from it.
- 2Turn the wheels sharply right and back slowly toward the space.
- 3As your front door passes the back bumper of the vehicle ahead, quickly straighten the wheels and continue backing straight.
- 4When your front clears the vehicle ahead, turn the wheels sharply left and back slowly toward the rear of the space.
- 5Turn the wheels sharply right and pull toward the center of the space to settle.
Mistakes that cost points
- ✗Burning adjustments with small nervous corrections — plan each movement before rolling
- ✗Touching an upright or going up onto the curb — that ends the maneuver, not just costs points
- ✗Starting too close or too far from the front vehicle, which makes the geometry impossible
- ✗Leaving the self-parking feature on — it's required to be off during the test
The other 5 skills PA grades
FullPass is an independent study aid. Road-test guidance is written from official PennDOT test requirements; your examiner and the Department of Transportation remain the final authority.