How to overcome parallel parking anxiety

More than 50 per cent of Australians have anxiety about doing a reverse parallel park. But it’s a fear that can be overcome.

How confident are you when it comes to parking? If it makes you nervous, you’re not alone. For many drivers, it’s a common source of stress.

A majority of Australian drivers – 57 per cent – feel anxious about reverse parallel parking, according to a 2023 survey

.

Younger and female drivers have the least confidence in their parallel parking skills, and many drivers will actively avoid it: one in four say they have parked elsewhere and then walked or taken public transport to their destination rather than have to parallel park.

A senior driving instructor with the Australian Driver Trainers Association (ADTA) reports that parallel parking anxiety isn’t limited to learners. Even experienced drivers can find themselves circling the block rather than attempting a parallel reverse park.

Much of the stress comes from drivers imagining all the things that could go wrong – such as clipping the car in front or behind, or holding up traffic – rather than the manoeuvre itself.

Managing anxiety

Similar to other forms of anxiety

, a fear of parking can show up as symptoms

including feelings of panic and nervousness, catastrophic thinking, and physical symptoms such as sweating and a pounding heart.

It can be managed through a combination of gradual behaviour change and anxiety management techniques.

Psychologists recommend taking small steps and repeating them until you are comfortable with your new behaviour.

In the case of parallel parking, this might mean finding a large vacant parking spot (one that doesn’t have a car to the rear of the parking spot) in a quiet area, and practising your parallel parking in a stress-free environment. Once you’re comfortable with the manoeuvre, you can build up to more difficult parks.

You can also manage anxiety through breathing and relaxation techniques, challenging negative thoughts, practising mindfulness and living a healthy lifestyle.

If you feel you need help managing your anxiety, see your GP, book an appointment with a therapist, or consult some online resources, such as those offered by SANE Australia

, the Black Dog Institute

, or Beyond Blue

.

How to reverse parallel park

Practice makes perfect when it comes to the reverse parallel park.

If you’re a beginner driver or someone who has never mastered how to parallel park, it can be helpful to have some steps to follow. Many online driver training videos offer helpful advice for stress-free reverse parallel parking. Here is one approach

you can take:

1. Pull up parallel with the car in front of the parking spot, leaving about a metre between that car and your car.
2. Check mirrors and blind spot. Reverse straight until your head is level with the other car’s rear tyre.
3. Turn your steering wheel to full left lock and reverse until you are at an angle of about 45 degrees.
4. Straighten your wheels and reverse straight until your left rear tyre is about 50cm from the gutter.
5. Right lock the steering wheel and reverse until the car is parallel to the kerb.

Over time, the steps will become intuitive and many drivers will be able to judge the maneuver by eye.

Building up your parking skills step by step doesn’t just ease anxiety, it helps you focus on what is happening around you and creates safer streets for everyone. 

_Disclaimer
^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}