Defensive Parking: Parking etiquette for reverse and parallel parking

I realised some drivers out there do not park their cars properly. They either parked their cars too near to the boundary of their lot or they simply encroached the adjacent lot, depriving others of a parking space. These behaviours are simply undesirable.

BUT today I am not going to teach you how to park properly. I am going to teach you DEFENSIVE PARKING.

While many vehicle owners may think that parking in the middle of the designated parking lot is ideal, I beg to differ. This is because modern cars nowadays are getting bigger and wider while some parking lots may be too small to accommodate these big and wide vehicles. To prevent your own vehicle from getting "dings" and "dents" from doors of adjacent cars hitting your own vehicle, we have to practise DEFENSIVE PARKING.

Let me explain what DEFENSIVE PARKING is all about.

DEFENSIVE PARKING is about parking your vehicle with a piece of mind thereafter.
No worry about having "dings" or "dents" on your vehicle.
No worry about accidental knocks due to "kayu" drivers driving vehicles coming out of their lots.

The main thing about DEFENSIVE PARKING is to minimise risk!

DEFENSIVE PARKING is (in order of preference)

1) Always park in lone parking lot (parking lots that are isolated or have pillars on both sides)

• Needless to explain, you typically reduced your risk to almost zero!

2) Always park at the extremes (first or last lot), provided there is space for you to open your door.

• Parking at extremes only exposed your vehicle to 1 possible adjacent vehicle. You have reduced your risk by 50%!

3) Never park in the parking lots in front of slopes in Multi-Storey-Car-Parks (MSCP).

• You will never know if there is a "kayu" driver driving up/down the slope and forgot to turn the steering wheel!

4) Never park beside lorries/vans, very old cars, cars with many "dings" and "dents".

• Lorries and vans are usually company vehicles and their drivers might not care for their vehicles as much as they would to their own. The same with old cars and cars with many "dings" and "dents". These people do not care about their vehicles. So why should they care about yours?

5) Try not to park next to coupes.

• Coupes have longer than usual doors than normal sedans and require bigger opening for the driver and passengers to come out. Hence, they would require bigger clearance at the sides.

6) Try not to park next to vehicles with child car seat, especially on the same side where the car seat is installed.

• Anyone with children and used a car seat would know this. They need to open the door very wide to carry the child out of the car seat. This is inevitable.

Now talking about parking at extreme lots (first or last lot), I have seen many drivers parking right in the middle of these lots. I would advise against doing so.


If you are parking at the FIRST or LAST lot of the stretch of parking space, I would advise you to park near the boundary of the lot, where it is clear without obstruction. This is the same for both reverse parking lots and parallel parking lots. I know it may be difficult to visualise in front of your computer or mobile devices, let me further reinforce my point with simple illustration.

This is how most drivers will park their cars. Most drivers will park their vehicles right in the middle of the parking lot as taught by driving schools. While this is better than parking near the boundary of the parking lot and encroaching adjacent parking lot, I have something better to offer.

If you were parking at the extreme lots and the the adjacent space is CLEAR WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION, you should park as near to the boundary of your own lot as possible. This would give more space to car parking adjacent to you. By parking defensively, you also minimise the risk of your own vehicle getting "dings" and "dents" from careless or simply care less drivers and passengers.

You can also practise defensive parking while parking at parallel parking lots.

This is how most drivers will park their vehicles at parallel parking lots. However, with vehicles getting longer and bigger, you run the risk of careless drivers reversing into your parked vehicle or knocking the rear of your parked vehicle. The risk multiplies if you have lorries or old vehicles without front or reverse sensors fitted, parking in front of or behind your vehicle. Practising defensive parking will minimise your risk.

If you happen to be the first or last car and your front or back is CLEAR WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION, you should be parking near to the boundary of the parking lot. This will create more space for vehicles parking in front or behind your vehicle. In this way, you minimise your risk of vehicle reversing into your vehicle or vehicle knocking into the rear of your vehicle.

Personally, I try to park at extreme lots as far as possible and I would park very near to the boundary of my lot when the space beside is free from obstruction. This minimises the risk of unintended "dings" and "dents" due to careless or care less drivers and passengers.

Now do practise DEFENSIVE PARKING and keep your car free from "dings" and "dents". I can assure you that by practising DEFENSIVE PARKING, your car will still be gleaming after many years!

Do share this with your fellow drivers!



Tags: driving in Singapore, car park, parking etiquette, reverse, parallel parking, defensive parking