[ashis89]

The rules that I have followed so far:

1. Park well off the highway, sometimes enough that my open driver door is also outside the highway. I look for areas where there's sufficient space beyond the actual road even if there's no shade.

2. At night, I park in well-lit areas and near a street light if possible.

3. Never park after a turn in the road.

4. Keep enough gap from the next car and give the 'other' driver the benefit of doubt.

5. In dedicated parking slots, I try to park parallel and right at the center of the slot.

6. Avoid parking right behind a tall vehicle (SUV/mini truck/truck). I feel what if the driver fails to notice my car while backing up?

7. Avoid parking in crowded areas is possible. I park at some distance and prefer walking. I have made a fool of myself where I parked at quite some distance anticipating lack of space at the actual destination and I was wrong. I also avoid parking near two-wheelers as many of them have a tendency of bumping into the car while moving in/out.

8. I don't mind parking in off-beat places such as a heap of rubble or bushes as long as my car is safe to go there without damage. When in doubt, I step out and recce the spot before I park.

9. I don't have a preference of backing into the slot (and driving out later) or driving into the parking slot (and backing out later).

[sjain2054]

This is where a Nano makes its worth known!

No strategy needed! At All!!

1. The weirdest thing you will read today - - - traffic police never catches the Nano! Never! Especially for no parking. I have owned a Nano for 10 years. Trust me when I say this. My office is in Peninsula Corporate Park. Sometimes, when I am late to work, I have to park outside on the road. Once, I was going home and the traffic cop comes to me saying "saab sabka gaadi uthata hoon lekin aapka uthane ko dil nahi mana. aap thoda dhyan se park karo".

2. Guards in old office in Vashi, "saab parking full ka sign aur logon ke liye hai aapka gaadi kaise bhi fir karenge aap aa jao".

My house building and new office have dedicated parking so I do not need to worry. In all other places I always follow the rules but I never worry about it like GTO does with his "Rs 100 rule" etc. Outside Sukh Sagar in chowpaty there is no parking but the guard says with confidence, "aap lagao kuch nahi hoga aapka gaadi police nahi uthayega"

In Mumbai, Nano zindabad! Truly!

[sumeethaldankar]

My Parking rules.

1. Drive to places only where I can find proper parking eg office, malls where relatively secured parking is available.

2. Inside the mall/office parking lot I try to park near the pillars as the car next to me will be a bit far away and his and my car door will dash against his/mine while opening the door. Also avoid parking in middle since both cars can bang each of their doors from each side on mine.

3. If no parking is available best is Uber/Ola, slog it out and take the bus/train.

4. I also follow the park far away and walk from your area of destination if that place is congested. I have walked up to 10-15 mins in peace after parking my car at a safe place rather than park at a risky place eg near schools/colleges etc where kids/morons do not value other people's property.

[gauravanekar]

I prefer parking slots by considering following points:
1. Shaded area compared to exposed area
2. Never beside a narrow road
3. Not in a busy road
4. Never block road
5. Avoid crowded markets
6. At the farthest side of the Highway

Thinks I don't care much about
1. Bird droppings, dust accumulation
2. Perfect alignment of car
3. Location of parking spot in a highway restaurant as long as it is a parking lot

[giri1.8]

Usually prefer parking where no one will get disturbed or blocked, prefer walking the rest of the way. If there is no parking at destination, would prefer my bike.

On the highway : Not at any corner, close to any shop with parking is better, traffic will anticipate parked cars better when there is a outlet. Hazard lights on if visibility is poor (only when stationary).

[ARAY]

In cities ..
Ensure to park at a place with shade.
If it's an open parking under the high sun, leave atleast two glasses open by 1/4" or even less if possible to prevent the car from becoming a GREEN HOUSE. If it's a valet then enable cruise limiter to 30kmph, atleast for duster it needs flipping around few switches to achieve and stays the same after getting the car back, so I assume it works.

At highways..
Ensure to park at a place with clean and fast exit with visibility from the restaurant. Again the law of open parking applies.

At hotels on flat lands or hills ...
Always book hotels with parking available, even at places like Darjeeling.
At very cold locations ensure to park at a corner or in between two bigger vehicles to prevent the chilly air to hit the engine bay directly.

At my own home...
Park it in a way such that the nose points to a clean exit. Or towards the passage way so that there is a lot of human movement, with a hope, rats and mice don't often cross path with humans.

[Ranabegins]

There are only a couple of rules I follow, the first is that I never knowingly park in a no parking Zone and the second is that I never park in such a way that my car is an inconvenience to others. In the town I live in I have found few safe and hidden parking spots other than the official ones so 80% of the time I am going out I have an idea where I will park if the official parking if full. In today's traffic scenario I don't care at all about bird dropping, open parking or the sun. Only lucky people find parking now a days.

[turbowhistle]

I am also very frantic about good parking spots. There are some simple rules I follow.

1. Always pay/tip the guy beforehand. A 50-100rs to a guard can save you dings and headaches for years. But try this trick in dhabas/highway hotels for privileged service.

2. Never allow valets to park unless they have dedicated parking, few pubs in Mumbai don’t have their own parking and resort to parking in small alleys where cops don’t look. It’s like personal invitation for two wheelers and auto walas to ding your car.

3.Park in well lit and clean areas to avoid rats. Have really bad experience of parking near public dustbins. Never again!

4. Check for paid parking spots before leaving, saves you a lot of time if you’re in hurry. Another good tip is to park your car in mall parking and taking an auto/cab to the destination, keeps the car safe and also helps if you want to keep a discreet profile.

[pganapathy]

In cities I try to plan where parking is before I go. But that is not always possible. Sometimes, I take a cab just to avoid parking stress.

On highways, try and make sure you are off the highway. Try to go as far left as possible.

Essentially, I aim for two things wherever I park. Safety and preferably a cool area.

Parking close to where I am going is preferable, but definitely doesn't take precedence over safety.

[SoumenD]

I always Google before heading out to a new place about parking availablity. No dedicated parking=use cab. I strictly avoid street parking like plague in Bangalore, specially now with new car. Even in malls with tight parking spaces, I make sure there's atleast half a door space from the car parked adjacent and I am well within the marking for my slot. This is for In-City commutes.

For highways I park only on those restaurants with parking lot. And if it's an emergency stop I prefer taking the car off-road.

Better to be safe than sorry as in our country there's hardly any respect for other's lives or property

[Sheel]

My issue is a bit different from metro dwellers. Either there is too much space to park or there is not.

At places, where parking is a non-issue, I don't bother, but when I go to my sites [rural], the little kids try to rub themselves all over the car and you never know when someone will itch something with a stone etc. If my driver is around [and is free from house work] I take him, if not, I park far away and in hot/blazing sun.

There are places where there is no parking at all [local market, medical hub] so I either call and request them to arrange one for a small car and I usually accompany the driver. I take the car only if I can not take 2 wheelers or e-rick [family].

Both my cars have printed phone numbers in the glove box, I place them in case the car needs to be moved, though haven't got a call yet [for past ~10 years I am following this].

Biggest issue here is, when you go to attend a wedding and everyone wants to park as close to the venue as one can. I drop my family at the gate, park and come back [they wait if they want or shrug their shoulders], its a repeat on way back.

I hate parking in malls with cars in close proximity to others and someone damaging yours while opening the car's doors, but you can't do much here.
.
On the highways, I try to park it as far away as I can, I try not to stop at places which aren't wide enough to provide safe parking. At highways -

* Near tolls [ample parking]
* At dhabas/restaurants [which have ample parking and is away from road]

I use washrooms at fuel stations, so, I believe its safe to park, without obstructing.

[nikhilthegunner]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I practice parking without rear view camera, just so that I am capable of doing so if I am driving someone else's car. Our next generation will not have the skill to use the rear view cameras.

Interestingly, my car has a rear view camera but I hardly use it cause I'm more comfortable with the ORVMs. I get a better sense of how to position the car for parking using mirrors than the camera. Camera has the sensors which tell me I'm getting too close for comfort but otherwise don't look at all.

[Tgo]

Nice topic for a thread. Here goes:

Multi-level Parking
I park next to the pillars. Before parking I see what kind of vehicles (loved or unloved by the owner) will be adjacent to me. I avoid parking under AC ducts, water pumps, service lifts and utility area which has more chances of people loitering around draw non the car, brush against it or bang stuff (trolleys and tools) into it.

Open parking
Specifically in Delhi, I avoid parking in areas such as Metro parking lots, parking lots where people guard their spots with lunas, activas, and old junk 2-wheelers, lots where they ask you to park in Neutral with the handbrake released. If I have to park on the roadside I parallel park and fold the mirrors, and put my phone number on or in the car where it is clearly visible.

Office Parking
I always park facing out in the parking lot.

At Home
I park in a way which allows for the bike to be moved out without having to move the car.

At Dhabas
I like to park in a place where the car is visible and in shade. I also avoid the wet soil in front of the as I do not like that wet soil getting stuck to the shoes and get accumulated in the car. In the day I park under shade.

At Hotels
I like to park it myself if I am staying at the hotel. Otherwise if I'm visiting I give it to the valet on rare occasions. Otherwise I drop people off at the porch, park and then join them later.

[dicor]

Seriously!!! Modern world has modern problems. A decade ago, nobody had thought of existence of such thread.

I have following rules for parking

1. Never park in a way so that my vehicle later becomes inconvenient to others or myself.
2. Never park besides river bed or under some specific trees.
3. When I park in office parking, I ensure that my XUVs one side is on pillar's end. This way I maximize the distance from cars on both side.

To beat city parking problems, I bought beater car or I commute via scooterate and with beater car, I really don't bother about scratches, this worry or that worry. Just park it in any space and focus on goal.

[ron_9191]

For me I never park right at the doorstep of my destination because of 2 main reasons. 1. Everybody wants to park there and 2. I am normally late

Jokes apart, I believe if my car/motorcycle can take me at least, 2 kilometres near my destination, I don't really mind the walk. The other most important thing I always consider is not being a nuisance, or an inconvenience to others while you park your vehicle. You should never park in front of someone's gate, always leave a bit of room for the person in front and the rear of your car some amount of space. Else you would return only to find scratched/dented bumpers or worse bodywork.