Vehicle Basics & Parking

Walk around your vehicle first. Look for children, pedestrians, and anything in your path, and check the tires and for fluid leaks underneath.

Then, in the driver's seat, follow these steps in this order:

1. Lock the doors. This keeps unwanted people out and makes the doors less likely to open in a collision.
2. Adjust your seat. Sit at least 25 cm from the steering wheel, with your elbows slightly bent, able to see over the wheel and reach the pedals.
3. Adjust the head restraint. The centre should be level with the top of your ears, ideally less than 10 cm behind your head. This protects your neck in a collision.
4. Adjust the mirrors. Frame the whole rear window in the inside mirror. In each side mirror, you should just see a small part of your own vehicle.
5. Fasten your seat belt. Wear the lap belt low and snug over your hips, and the shoulder belt across your chest. You must wear it even if the vehicle has air bags.

Driver's Guide pp. 44–45

Before pulling away:

• Check that your path is clear.
• Check your inside and outside mirrors.
• Shoulder check your blind spot. Mirrors do not show everything beside you.

When leaving the right side of the road, use your left signal. When leaving the left side of a one-way road, use your right signal.

Driver's Guide p. 45

Hand position: hold the wheel at about 9 and 3 o'clock. If the wheel design doesn't allow that, use 10 and 2. Turn corners hand-over-hand.

You must signal when you are:

• moving away from the curb or a parking lane
• turning left or right
• changing lanes

Don't signal too early or too late, as either can confuse other drivers. Turn the signal off if it doesn't cancel by itself.

Hand signals (from the driver's window):

Driver's Guide pp. 48–49

Stopping takes longer than most new drivers expect, because three things add up:

Total stopping distance = perception distance + reaction distance + braking distance

• Perception: noticing that you need to stop takes about ¾ of a second, and often longer for new drivers.
• Reaction: moving your foot from the gas to the brake takes about another ¾ of a second.
• Braking: the distance the vehicle travels after the brakes are applied.

The faster you go, the more ground you cover during each part. Things you control that affect stopping distance: how well you scan ahead, your alertness and fatigue, alcohol or drugs, your speed, and the condition of your brakes and tires.

Driver's Guide pp. 49–50

• Begin braking early. Braking too late may not leave enough distance.
• Take your foot off the gas before you brake.
• For a smooth stop: just before the vehicle stops, ease off the brake slightly, then re-apply enough pressure to stop.
• To stop quickly (without ABS): use threshold braking. Brake firmly up to the point just before the wheels lock. If they lock, ease off slightly. Locked wheels mean you can't steer.

Driver's Guide p. 50

Always reverse slowly, at a crawl or walking pace, and only when your path is clear.

In a straight line:

• Put your left hand at the top of the steering wheel and turn slightly onto your right hip.
• Look over your right shoulder through the rear window, with glances to the front.
• To correct, turn the wheel no more than a quarter turn.

Turning while reversing: turn the wheel in the direction you want the rear of the vehicle to go. The front will swing the opposite way. Look over the shoulder on the side you are reversing toward.

Rules:

• It is illegal to reverse into an intersection or a crosswalk.
• When reversing out of a driveway, go into the nearest traffic lane only, then drive forward.

Driver's Guide p. 51

To park between two vehicles at the right curb:

1. Check behind you, then slow down well before the space so your brake lights warn drivers behind.
2. Stop beside the vehicle in front of the space, rear bumpers lined up, about 1 metre apart.
3. Reverse slowly about half a metre, then steer sharply right until you are at about 45° to the curb.
4. Straighten the wheels and keep reversing until your front bumper clears the vehicle in front.
5. Steer sharply left and reverse until you are parallel with the curb.

By law, your wheels must be no more than 50 cm from the curb.

Leaving the space: reverse close to the vehicle behind, signal left, shoulder check left for traffic and cyclists, then pull out.

Getting out on the street side: check your mirrors and shoulder check for cyclists, open the door no wider than needed, and walk to the rear of the vehicle facing traffic.

Driver's Guide pp. 52–53

Angle parking (about 45°, common in parking lots):

• Signal, slow down, and stay about 1.5 metres from the parked vehicles.
• When you can see along the left side of the vehicle to the right of the space, steer sharply into it.
• Stop when your front wheel touches the curb or is within 50 cm of it.
• Leaving: reverse slowly and yield to traffic. It's hard to see when backing out.

Perpendicular parking (90°):

• Stay about 2 metres from the parked vehicles as you approach.
• A stall on your left is easier to enter, because you have more room to turn. Only enter a stall on your left in a parking lot, and check for oncoming traffic first.

Driver's Guide pp. 53–54

The idea: turn your wheels so that if the vehicle rolls, it goes away from traffic, into the curb or off the road.

Memory trick: "Up and away": uphill with a curb, turn away from the curb. Every other case, turn right.

Always set the park brake, and put the transmission in Park (automatic) or a low gear (manual). Parked on the left side of the road? Turn the wheels the opposite way.

Driver's Guide p. 55

Never park:

• on a sidewalk or boulevard
• on any part of a crosswalk, or within an intersection
• on a bridge, an underpass, or their approaches
• beside another parked vehicle (double-parking)
• where signs prohibit stopping or parking
• near street construction, or at a fire or crash scene, where you would block traffic or emergency crews

Minimum distances:

• 1.5 m from a driveway, garage, or private road entrance
• 5 m from a stop or yield sign
• 5 m from a marked crosswalk
• 5 m from a fire hydrant, measured from the point on the curb nearest the hydrant
• 5 m from the edge of an intersecting road, unless parking is marked as allowed (for example, with a meter)

Outside urban areas: don't park on the roadway or shoulder of a primary highway unless your vehicle has broken down or there is an emergency. Wherever you park, leave room for traffic to pass, and make sure you can be seen from 60 m in both directions.

Driver's Guide pp. 55–56