How to Back Into a Parking Spot

Last updated: October 14, 2026

Backing into a parking space takes a little more effort going in, but it makes leaving much safer: you drive out forward, able to see traffic and people. It's also great practice for the reversing skills Ontario road tests check.

Entering the parking lot

Signal before you turn into the lot, and slow right down. Parking lots are full of people walking between cars, drivers backing out without seeing you, and children who are hard to spot. Keep your speed low and be ready to stop.

Step by step

1. Pick your space and signal. Choose an empty space and signal toward it so drivers behind you know you're about to stop.
2. Pull past it. Drive forward until your car is a little past the space, about a car width out from the parked cars.
3. Check all around. Look in your mirrors and over both shoulders for cars, cyclists and pedestrians. Wait until everything is clear.
4. Reverse slowly, turning toward the space. Shift into reverse and creep back, turning the wheel toward the space. Look over your shoulder and use both side mirrors to watch the cars on either side.
5. Straighten up. Once your car is lined up with the space, straighten the wheels and keep backing in slowly until you're inside the lines.
6. Fix it if needed. If you're crooked or too close to one side, pull forward and try again. It's much easier than squeezing out of a door later.
7. Park. Shift into park, set the parking brake and turn off the engine.

Driving out

Check for pedestrians in front of you and traffic in the lane, then drive out forward. Signal before you turn back onto the street and yield to pedestrians on the sidewalk and to traffic on the road.

Common mistakes

• Reversing too fast. Go at a crawl so you have time to correct.
• Watching only one mirror. Check both sides, and turn to look behind you.
• Turning too early, which swings the back of the car into the car beside the space.
• Ending up over the lines. Pull forward and straighten instead of leaving it.
• Forgetting to signal into and out of the lot.

Reversing on the road test

Ontario road tests check that you can reverse safely: looking all around, controlling your speed and steering accurately. You can't use a backup camera during the test, so practise with your mirrors and shoulder checks. Reversing into a space builds the same skills you need for parallel parking and a three-point turn. See our G2 road test guide for the full list of skills.

In Ontario Roadie's Parking Lot route, you turn into a lot, back into the green stall between two parked cars, then drive out and turn back onto the street. If you drive in forward, the game asks you to pull out and back in instead.