Parking basics — Missouri Permit Test

Drivers are responsible for making sure their vehicles do not become hazards after they have been parked.

A parked car cannot steer out of the way. Where you leave it is the last decision you make about it.

Drivers are responsible for making sure their vehicles do not become hazards after they have been parked.

Park far enough from any travel lane to avoid interfering with traffic, and where vehicles approaching from either direction can see you.

Two conditions, and both are about the drivers who arrive after you have walked away.

be sure it is in a place that is far enough from any travel lane to avoid interfering with traffic and visible to vehicles approaching from either direction

On one-way streets you may normally park on either the right or the left side.

With traffic going one way, both curbs are the same curb. The usual right-side rule has nothing to protect.

On one-way streets, you may normally park on either the right or left side of the street.

Always set your parking brake when you park, and leave the vehicle in gear if it is a manual or in park if it is an automatic.

The brake and the gear are two independent things holding the car. Either one alone can fail.

Leave the vehicle in gear if it has a manual transmission, or in park if it has an automatic transmission.

Check traffic before you open the door, and get out on the curb side if you can.

The door swings into a lane. On the curb side there is no lane for it to swing into.

Get out of the vehicle on the curb side if you can.

Check for bicyclists before opening a door, because they often travel on the right-hand side of the travel lanes near parked cars.

The strip beside a parked car is exactly where a bicycle rides. A door opened into it is a wall.

Check for bicyclists, who often travel on the right-hand side of the travel lanes, near parked cars.

Never leave the keys in a parked vehicle, and lock the doors whenever it will be out of your sight.

A car with the keys in it is a car anybody can drive, and you remain its registered owner.

Never leave the keys in a parked vehicle.

If you must park on a roadway, park as far from traffic as possible, and as close to the curb as you can where there is one.

Every inch you leave sticking out is an inch of lane somebody has to steer around.

If you must park on a roadway, park your vehicle as far away from traffic as possible.

Before you drive away from any parking space, check for traffic and signal.

Pulling out is joining traffic that has no reason to expect you. The signal is the only warning it gets.

Before you drive away from any parking space, be sure to check for traffic and signal.

Who is responsible for a parked vehicle not becoming a hazard?

The driver who parked it. A parked car cannot steer out of the way. Where you leave it is the last decision you make about it. Missouri Driver Guide, p.35: “Drivers are responsible for making sure their vehicles do not become hazards after they have been parked.”