9.3 Parking Rules, Hill Parking & Miscellaneous Laws

Stopping and parking are regulated for safety and traffic flow. State law sets most parking rules, and cities and towns enforce them, often with local versions of the same rules.

General Rules

• Never create a traffic hazard while parked or stopped.
• Always leave a clear roadway at least 12 feet wide for traffic to pass.
• When you leave the vehicle, state law requires you to stop the motor, set the parking brake, lock the ignition, remove the key and lock the door.
• When pulling away from the curb, wait for vehicles in the travel lane to pass, signal, and move slowly into traffic.
• In a business or residential district, park no more than 12 inches from the curb, unless angle parking is allowed.
• Park between the white lines of a marked space, and never take part of two spaces.
• Before opening your door, check for bicyclists (Section 10.2).

Parallel Parking

1. Choose a space long enough for your vehicle, and make sure parking is legal there.
2. Pull up beside the vehicle in front of the space, about two or three feet away, lining up your rear bumper (or front seats) with its rear bumper (or front seats).
3. Look behind you both ways for pedestrians and traffic.
4. Back up slowly, turning the wheel all the way toward the curb. Rest your foot lightly on the brake and look directly out the rear window, not in your mirrors.
5. When your front passes the parked vehicle's rear bumper, turn the wheel the opposite way and keep backing.
6. When you are back far enough, straighten the wheels and pull forward, leaving room in front and behind so others can get out.
7. Shift into park.

Parking on Hills

Always set the parking brake. With a manual transmission, also leave the car in gear. With an automatic, shift into park. Then turn your front wheels so the car rolls out of traffic if the brake fails:

Memory aid: uphill with a curb is the only case where the wheels point away from the curb.

Where You May Not Park

Local ordinances set most of these fines, so amounts vary by town. Unpaid parking tickets block renewal of your license and registration (Section 5.3). Separately, the manual warns that it is illegal to drive by or park within 800 feet of a fire (Section 11.1).

Meters and Resident Permits

• Parking meters have posted days, hours and time limits. Overstaying or not paying can earn a ticket.
• RESIDENT PERMIT PARKING ONLY streets require a resident permit or visitor placard. Ask the city or town how to get one.

Miscellaneous Rules of the Road

It is illegal to:

• Drive on a bet or wager, or drag race
• Throw anything out of your window while driving
• Throw garbage or glass onto a road or onto public or private land
• Throw lighted cigarettes, or anything that can start a fire, near a forest or field
• Bypass or cut out a vehicle's muffler

Return used motor oil, transmission fluid and other hazardous materials to the place you bought them, which is responsible for disposal. Massachusetts law also prohibits idling for more than five minutes (Section 11.3).

Scenarios

1. A spot 15 feet from a corner: too close; you need 20 feet from an intersection.
2. Parking downhill on a street with a curb: turn the wheels toward the curb and set the brake.
3. Pulling over to change a burst radiator hose in a travel lane: move off the road first, because non-emergency repairs are not allowed on the roadway.