Double parking

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Double parking is the usually illegal practice of parking a vehicle to the side of a row of vehicles that is already parked next to the curb. This often prevents some of the vehicles in the first row from departing and always obstructs a traffic lane or bike lane (to the extent of often making the street impassable in one-way single-lane situations) . Even though it is illegal, double parking is quite common in large urban areas. In some areas, people double parking their cars leave the handbrake off, allowing the drivers of the cars next to the curb, to push the double parked car a little forward or backward, in order to allow departing from the parking spot.

In the United Kingdom, a vehicle is double parked if it is on the directly opposite side of the road to an already parked vehicle. This practice usually restricts the passage of traffic, especially emergency vehicles, and is thus frowned upon.

Double parking can also refer to the practice of taking up more than one parking space in a parking lot with a single vehicle.