Parking a vehicle parallel to the road, in line with other parked vehicles is called ‘parallel parking’. This type of parking usually requires initially driving slightly past the parking space, parallel to the parked vehicle in front of that space, keeping a safe distance, followed by reversing into that space. Subsequent position adjustment may require the use of forward and reverse gears.

Parallel parking enables the driver to park a vehicle in a smaller space than would be true of forward parking. Driving forward into a parking space on the side of a road is typically not possible unless two successive parking spaces are empty. Reversing into the spot via the parallel parking technique allows one to take advantage of a single empty space not much longer than the car.

If you are still unsure about how to do parallel parking, this video might help you a lot.