roadwise.Open study app

North Dakota driving lesson · Turning, Roundabouts & Highway Driving

Parallel parking, hills & pulling out

A 3-minute lesson from the North Dakota course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Turning, Roundabouts & Highway Driving
Checkpoint questions
4
Source pages
9, 29, 30

Parking well is part of the road test and of daily driving. You need to parallel park within a foot of the curb, turn your wheels the right way on hills, and pull out without cutting anyone off.

Know the rule

Parallel parking is one of the skills you must demonstrate to pass the road test.

Handbook p. 9 ↗
1 foot

Maximum distance from the right-hand curb when parallel parked, wheels parallel to the curb

Handbook p. 29 ↗
Ramp merging sequence (composite)
Parallel parking, step by step

Parallel parking steps:

  • Signal, and stop even with the vehicle ahead, about two feet away from it
  • Turn the wheel to the right and back slowly toward the vehicle behind
  • When clear of the vehicle ahead, turn the wheel left and keep backing slowly
  • Turn the wheel right and pull ahead; stop in the center of the space and put it in park
Handbook p. 29 ↗
Parking on a hill (wheel direction, composite)
Parking on a hill: downhill, uphill, and uphill with no curb

Parking on a hill

Parking on a hill
SituationTurn your front wheels
DownhillToward the curb
Uphill, with a curbAway from the curb
Uphill, no curbToward the shoulder
Handbook p. 29 ↗

Leaving a parking space:

  • Look to the rear over your shoulder as well as in the rear-view mirror
  • Signal before you start to move
  • Yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles
  • Enter the nearest lane and stay in it until it's safe to change lanes
Handbook p. 30 ↗

Put it into practice

You park facing uphill on a street with a curb. Turn your front wheels away from the curb. Parking facing downhill on the same street, you'd turn them toward the curb.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

When parallel parking, how close to the curb should your wheels be?
  1. Within six inches of the curb
  2. Within one foot of the curb
  3. Touching the curb
  4. Within three feet of the curb

Answer: Within one foot of the curb

When parallel parking, your wheels should be parallel to and within one foot of the right-hand curb.

Handbook p. 29 ↗
When parking downhill, which way should you turn your front wheels?
  1. Away from the curb
  2. Straight ahead
  3. Toward the curb
  4. Toward the center of the road

Answer: Toward the curb

When parking downhill, turn your wheels toward the curb.

Handbook p. 29 ↗
When parking uphill with a curb present, which way should you turn your wheels?
  1. Straight ahead
  2. It does not matter
  3. Away from the curb
  4. Toward the curb

Answer: Away from the curb

When parking uphill with a curb, turn your wheels away from the curb so the vehicle would roll into the curb if it moved.

Handbook p. 29 ↗
What should you do before leaving a parking space?
  1. Simply pull out once your mirrors are adjusted
  2. Wait for another driver to wave you out
  3. Signal after you start moving
  4. Look to the rear, signal, then yield

Answer: Look to the rear, signal, then yield

Before leaving a parking space, look to the rear over your shoulder and in the mirror, signal, and yield the right of way.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Turning, Roundabouts & Highway Driving

All North Dakota lessons