13.1 Parking Rules, Parallel & Hill Parking, Parking Regulations & Miscellaneous Laws
Key Takeaways
A parked or stopped vehicle in Massachusetts must leave at least a 12-foot-wide clear roadway for traffic.
In Massachusetts business and residential districts, a parked vehicle must be no more than 12 inches from the curb unless angle parking is allowed.
When parking on a hill: with no curb, turn the wheels toward the road edge; uphill against a curb, turn them toward the travel lane; downhill against a curb, turn them toward the curb.
Massachusetts bans parking within 20 feet of an intersection and within 10 feet of a fire hydrant or fire lane.
Massachusetts fines $300 for a first offense of parking in an HP/DV space without authorization and at least $500 for wrongful use of a disabled plate or placard.
Parallel parking is one of the most feared parts of the road test, and the parking rules are among the most heavily numbered parts of the Manual. Both deserve careful practice.
General Stopping and Parking Rules
- Don't create a traffic hazard while parking or stopped.
- Always leave at least a 12-foot-wide clear roadway for traffic to pass.
- When you leave your vehicle unattended, state law requires you to stop the motor, set the parking brake, lock the ignition, remove the key and lock the door.
- Pulling away from the curb: wait for traffic in the travel lane to pass, signal, then move slowly into traffic.
- In a business or residential district, park no more than 12 inches from the curb, unless angle parking is allowed.
Tip
Two 12s: a 12-foot clear roadway beside a stopped vehicle, and 12 inches maximum from the curb in business and residential districts.
Parallel Parking: The Manual's Seven Steps
- Choose a space long enough for your vehicle, and make sure parking there is legal.
- Pull up alongside the vehicle in front of the space, leaving about two or three feet between the vehicles. Line up your rear bumper or front seats with the other vehicle's rear bumper or front seats.
- Look behind you both ways for pedestrians and traffic.
- Back up slowly and turn the wheel all the way toward the curb, resting your foot lightly on the brake. Look directly out the rear window. Don't use your mirrors.
- When your front passes the parked vehicle's rear bumper, turn the wheel the opposite way and keep backing.
- When you are back far enough, straighten the wheels and pull forward, leaving room in front and behind so other vehicles can get out.
- Shift into park.
Parallel parking is a listed road-test skill (section 3.2). Wherever you park in a business or residential district, the finished position must be within 12 inches of the curb.
Parking on Hills
Set the parking brake, and leave the vehicle in gear (manual transmission) or in park (automatic). Then turn the front wheels so the car will roll away from traffic if the brake fails:
| Situation | Wheel direction |
|---|---|
| No curb | Inward, toward the edge of the road |
| Uphill against a curb | Outward, toward the travel lane |
| Downhill against a curb | Inward, toward the curb |
The memory aid: uphill with a curb is the only time the wheels point away from the curb. If the car rolls back, the rear of the front tire stops against the curb.
Parking Regulations
State law generally sets parking rules, and cities and towns enforce them, often adopting similar local rules. Park between the white space lines without taking up two spaces. You may not park:
| Prohibited place | Notes |
|---|---|
| Where NO PARKING, NO STANDING or NO STOPPING is posted | |
| In a bicycle lane | |
| At a posted bus stop | $100 penalty |
| At a taxi stand | |
| In a zone posted for street cleaning at the posted time | |
| In a posted loading zone | |
| Within 20 feet of an intersection | |
| In a crosswalk, in front of a driveway or in front of a handicap-access ramp | |
| In an HP/DV (disability) space without disability plates or a placard, or Disabled Veteran plates | $300 first offense; wrongful use of a disabled person or veteran plate or placard is at least $500 |
| In the striped crosshatch area next to an HP/DV space | Even with disability plates or a placard |
| Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant or fire lane | |
| On a sidewalk, curb, center traffic island or median | |
| During a weather or roadway emergency | |
| Facing the wrong way against traffic | |
| On a state or interstate highway unless authorized | |
| On the Massachusetts Turnpike | Fines $15–$100 |
| On a roadway in a rural area or outside a thickly settled district | |
| Double parked in the travel lane beside parked cars | |
| To make nonemergency repairs |
Most of these fines are set by local ordinance and vary by city or town. Unpaid parking tickets can block renewal of your license and registration (section 8.3).
Meters and permits
- Parking meters set time limits during posted days and hours. Overstaying or not paying can bring a citation.
- Resident permit parking: streets signed RESIDENT PERMIT PARKING ONLY need a permit or visitor placard from the city or town.
Miscellaneous Rules of the Road
It is illegal to:
- drive on a bet or wager;
- 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 open field;
- bypass or cut out the muffler system.
Used motor oil, transmission fluid and other hazardous materials must be returned to where you bought them. The garage or store is responsible for disposing of them.
Parking Faults and Fixes
| Common fault | Coaching cue |
|---|---|
| Starting the parallel park too close to the parked car | Two to three feet of side gap; line up bumpers or front seats |
| Using mirrors while backing into the space | The Manual says to look directly out the rear window |
| Ending more than 12 inches from the curb | Correct with a short forward-and-back adjustment |
| Hill parking on a downhill with a curb, wheels straight | Turn the wheels toward the curb, then set the brake |
| Parking at the corner | Count off 20 feet from the intersection (roughly one car length plus) |
A driver parks facing uphill next to a curb. Which way should the front wheels point?
Inward, toward the curb
Outward, toward the travel lane
Toward the edge of the road, as when there is no curb
Straight ahead, with the parking brake set
How close may a driver legally park to a fire hydrant in Massachusetts?
No closer than 20 feet
No closer than 5 feet
No closer than 10 feet
No closer than 15 feet
Which steps does state law require before leaving a vehicle unattended?
Leave the key with the vehicle but lock all the doors
Stop the motor, set the parking brake, lock the ignition, remove the key and lock the door
Shift into neutral and set the parking brake
Turn on the hazard lights and leave the engine running if gone under five minutes
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.