If you're looking for a parking space, you're concentrating and may forget to pay attention to other factors. Some road users just get tired of looking and park their car without taking into account other drivers' ability to orientate themselves. Risky situations can also arise if the parker doesn't take into account that other drivers may be surprised by the situation. They may expect traffic to continue at a steady pace. This situation is sometimes the cause of accidents. Also, when performing a parking manoeuvre, do it at a suitably low speed so that you have control of the steering. Collisions with parked cars happen mainly on dual carriageways in cities - and often in the dark. Cyclists, motorists and moped riders are all involved in this type of accident. Serious accidents rarely occur during the parking manoeuvre itself, but there are many accidents with material damage alone.

Parking is any voluntary parking of a vehicle with or without a driver. However, stopping for less than three minutes, stopping for loading and unloading of goods or persons is not considered parking. A vehicle that is parked because it is unable to continue driving under its own power or is unable to continue driving safely due to an accident or technical fault is considered parked 18 hours after it has been parked. Stopping and parking must not be done in such a way that it can be a danger or inconvenience to traffic. As far as possible, it must be done outside the carriageway. You must ensure that mandatory anti-theft devices are activated. When opening doors, loading or unloading, you must ensure that there is no danger or unnecessary inconvenience to others. Outside of densely populated areas, car parks are often located next to the road. Here, you should preferably use the parking spaces on the right-hand side. If you stop or park on a track or less than 2 m from a track in the road, in a harbour or similar, you must not walk further away from the car than you have time to move it if you see a train. If you park a car (without trailer) at the roadside in a densely populated area in the dark, it is sufficient to switch on the parking lights and the rear light facing the centre of the road. Special parking regulations may apply locally. For example, it may be permitted to park part of the vehicle on the pavement. You must set and affix a parking disc or purchase a parking ticket where this is mandatory.

Orientation and manoeuvring

Stopping and parking - how to do it:
- While looking for a parking space, you should always keep in mind that there are other road users besides yourself to consider.
- Keep a suitably low speed and look behind you before slowing down further or stopping to see if you can park. Signal to stop with stop or turn signals.
- Is the space big enough - and is it legal to park there? And can you do so without causing undue inconvenience or obstructing traffic?
- Judge the distance to places that you must keep a certain distance from (see "Stopping and parking prohibited" and "No parking").
- Park the car as you learnt in the closed practice area.
- If you park uphill at a kerb, you may want to turn the front wheels all the way to the left, if you park downhill at a kerb, you can turn them all the way to the right so that the car is pressed against the kerb instead of rolling downhill.
- Apply the handbrake and put the car in gear if necessary.
- Check for cyclists, pedestrians or others before opening the car door.
- Make sure you don't tempt anyone: remove the ignition key, activate anti-theft protection and lock the car!

Stopping and parking prohibited

There are some places where stopping and parking is prohibited, even if it is not signposted. This applies in these locations:

- On a pedestrian crossing or closer than 5 metres in front of the crossing.
- Closer than 5 metres before the exit from the cycle path.
- At intersections or within a distance of 10 metres from the edge of the transverse carriageway or, where the carriageway and cycle path merge, from the nearest edge of the cycle path. (this is always permitted in car parks).
- Closer than 5 metres from the beginning of a barrier line at intersections.
- Next to a barrier line if there is less than 3 metres between the car and the barrier line and there is no dotted line to the right of the barrier line.
- On a motorway bridge, viaduct or tunnel.
- On a railway or other level crossing.

- On or near a hilltop.
- In or around a confusing bend in the road.
- In a crawlspace.
- In a marked space for taxis.
- On the entire marked stretch of road at a bus stop. And if there are no kerb markings, you must stop at least 12 metres before or after the stop sign.

No parking

In other places, only parking is prohibited, even if it is not signposted:
- Closer than 30 metres from a railway crossing.
- In front of property entrances and exits or in such a way that access and exit is difficult.
- Next to another vehicle parked on the roadside, except for two-wheeled bicycles, mopeds or motorcycles without a sidecar.
- So close to another vehicle that you can't get to it or drive away from it.

In darkness and twilight, or if you're driving towards a low sun, orientation is greatly reduced. The same applies if you are dazzled by oncoming traffic. Risky situations can arise if you drive too fast for the visibility and lighting conditions. It can be difficult to judge speed and distance in these conditions because there are no visible landmarks.

Also be aware of uneven light behaviour by drivers, especially at dusk or during daytime headlight hours.

However, the vast majority of accidents in darkness and twilight are single driver accidents.

Orientation and manoeuvring

You must learn to recognise and manage the same hazardous situations as in daylight. In the dark, you need to drive with heightened awareness of possible danger signs, partly because orientation conditions are impaired.

How to drive and use your lights in the dark and during headlight switch-on time

- Before driving in the dark, make sure your car's lights are illuminated correctly.
- Use the roadway stripes and the reflective edge and background markings to orientate yourself. Remember that bollards on the right side have an orange reflector and those on the left have a white reflector.
- Remember that your orientation options are reduced: Can you stop within the range of the light you're driving with - and within the clear distance ahead?
- On lit roads, use the dipped beam. The position light is only used when parking or stopping.
-On unlit roads, use high beams if your low beams are not sufficient for your speed. Be careful not to dazzle others!
- In fog or heavy rainfall, you can use fog lights. Only use the rear fog light if it is very foggy and only in such a way that it does not dazzle other road users.
- If you need to warn other road users, flash your headlights instead of using your horn. Only use your horn if the danger is imminent.

And that's what you do in a meeting, by the way:

- Keep an eye out for oncoming traffic or signs that an oncoming vehicle is approaching, such as a flashing light.
- Find a suitable distance to dazzle down to dipped headlights. If the oncoming vehicle is a car or motorbike, downshift approximately 200-300 metres before the meeting, if the oncoming vehicle is a cyclist or moped, downshift approximately 100-150 metres before the meeting.
- Switch to dipped beam at an appropriate distance from trains travelling along the road if there is a risk of the driver being dazzled by the main beam.
- The number and position of the oncoming vehicle's headlights tells you what type of vehicle it is.
- Stop if an oncoming driver blinds you so you can't see.
You can reduce glare by not looking directly into the oncoming driver's headlights.
Look ahead along the right edge of the road:
- This is where the obstacles can be.
- Switch to high beam just before passing oncoming traffic.

When travelling in front of or behind others:

- When overtaking someone in front, judge the distance and find an appropriate time to switch to dipped headlights to avoid dazzling the mirrors.
- Determine the type of vehicle by looking at the number and position of rear lights, as well as any reflectors.
- Keep a greater distance than you would in daylight - the person in front of you also has reduced orientation options.
- Also, orientate yourself to those behind you and their intentions. If someone behind you wants to overtake, keep your high beam on to help with the overtaking. As soon as the overtaking driver is about to pull back into the right lane, switch to dipped headlights.

When overtaking:

- If you want to overtake in the dark, you need to orientate yourself extra well due to poor visibility.
- If you catch up with someone in front that you want to overtake, switch to dipped headlights to avoid dazzling.
- Switch to high beam just before overtaking to ensure you have the best possible conditions. Be careful not to dazzle the person you are overtaking.

When stopping:

- Use the stop light to warn those approaching from behind.
- The position light should only be switched on when stopping or parking on poorly lit roads.

Use of lights during daytime headlight hours:

- Use the dipped headlights as normal.
- Never the position light.
- When it's foggy, hazy, rainy or if visibility is poor.
- If there is dense fog during the day, you may want to use your high beams to be seen.
- Switch on the dipped headlights when driving with the sun low behind you to ensure the orientation of oncoming traffic.