Learning How to Deal With Parked Cars

Passing parked cars is a very common driving test fail. Often it happens because the learner:

• doesn’t plan ahead,
• can’t predict what other drivers will do, or
• doesn’t judge the space safely when meeting oncoming traffic.

At AMDI Driving School, we make sure our students are fully prepared for this part of real driving and the test.

Driving tests usually include a mix of road types. Many are residential streets with parked cars on one or both sides. Examiners use these roads to see:

• how you pass parked cars, and
• how you deal with oncoming vehicles in narrow spaces.

The key to staying safe is thinking distance – the time it takes you to see a hazard, think and react.
Many learners fail not because they are over the speed limit, but because they don’t give themselves enough time.
If the road ahead looks hazardous, ease off the gas, observe and think.

Passing Parked Cars – Who Has Right of Way?

Who has right of way depends on where the parked vehicles are and how wide the road is.

In the diagrams below, imagine you are driving the red car.

Passing parked cars on the left

Parked Cars on the Left

If the yellow cars are parked on the left and you are in the red car, you do not have right of way. To get around them, you must move partly onto the opposite side of the road.

Because of this:

• you must be prepared to give way to oncoming vehicles, and
• you may need to wait behind the parked cars until the road ahead is clear.

Plan early – ease off the gas, scan ahead and be ready to slow or stop before the parked cars, not alongside them.

Passing parked cars on the right

Parked Cars on the Right

If the yellow cars are parked on the right and you are in the red car, you have right of way. The parked vehicles are on the other driver’s side, so they must cross the centre to get around them.

This means:

• oncoming traffic should wait behind the parked cars, and
• you can usually continue at a safe, steady speed – but always be ready to slow or stop.

Even when you have priority, you must still be prepared to give way if another driver has already committed and is coming through.

Cars parked on both sides

of the road

Parked Cars on Both Sides

When cars are parked on both sides of the road, no one has automatic right of way.

In this case:

• both drivers usually slow down,
• one driver finds a safe gap to pull into, and
• you “take turns” using the available space.

Look early for gaps within the parked cars that are large enough to wait in if needed.

Giving way to oncoming vehicle

Giving Way Even When You Have Priority

If you are in the red car and the yellow parked cars are on the other side of the road, you technically have right of way.

However, if an oncoming vehicle has already committed to driving past the parked cars when you are approaching, you must give way.

On your test, the examiner wants to see that you:

• look well ahead before and while passing parked cars,
• are prepared to stop and wait, even when it is “your” right of way, and
• avoid forcing other drivers to reverse or squeeze past unsafely.

The best approach is to:

• observe the parked cars before you reach them,
• gently slow the car and look far ahead for oncoming vehicles, and
• spot gaps big enough for either you or the other driver to pull into.

If the road is narrow, be ready to stop and wait for the oncoming car to use a gap so that you can proceed safely.

Signal when passing parked cars

Signalling When Passing Parked Cars

Most of the time, it is not necessary to signal when passing parked cars. Over-using signals here can confuse other drivers, who might think you are turning into a side road.

However, a signal can help in some situations.

For example:

• You stop behind parked cars on your side to give way to an oncoming vehicle.
• Because the road is narrow, you end up stopped in a position that looks similar to a parked car.

In that case, a brief right signal can help the driver behind understand that:

• you are waiting to move out and pass the parked cars, not parking behind them.

Any time a signal removes confusion and makes your intentions clearer, it can be useful.

• Turning Left at Junctions
• Turning Right at Junctions
• Forward Bay Parking – Reference Points