How to park safely

Moving vehicles aren’t the only potential hazards on the road. Parked vehicles can be hazards too. That’s why it’s important to follow the safe parking rules and guidelines.

Safe parking rules

By law, you must follow these rules when parking:

• Indicate for at least 3 seconds before slowing down to park.
• Park parallel to the road and as close to the left as possible, unless you're parking in an area where angle parking is permitted. There will be lines on the road, or signs to show where you can angle park. Most of the time you'll need to drive forward into an angle park.
• Move as far off the road as possible when stopping or parking on a road with fast-moving traffic.
• Always check for passing vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians before opening your door.
• Be careful when pulling out of a parking space. Don’t forget to:
  • check for vehicles
  • signal for at least 3 seconds before pulling out.
• A motor vehicle must not be parked on the road during the hours of darkness unless it's clearly visible to other road users. This means it should be lit by street lights, or you should turn on the tail lights and the side light nearest the centre of the road on the front of the vehicle.
• A light, flat-decked vehicle that's parked on the street at night must display a rear red light that:
  • is on the side of the vehicle closest to the centre of the road
  • is visible at a distance of 100 metres.

Safe parking guidelines

These guidelines will ensure that when you park your vehicle, it won’t move forward or backward when parking on a steep road.

• Turn the front wheels towards the kerb.
• Leave your car in reverse gear if it’s manual, or in park if it’s automatic.
• Apply your handbrake.

Where angle parks are marked at 90 degrees to the kerb, you can choose to reverse in or drive in forwards. Reversing in will allow better visibility when leaving the park.