Should parallel parking be tested?

[aussie muscle]

http://jalopnik.com/parallel-parking...ess-1706121180

Maryland is removing parallel parking from it's driving test. Should our states do the same?

the examiner has to test the driver’s ability to assess their surroundings, accelerate, brake and steer smoothly, perform lane changes, make left, right, u- and three-point-turns, avoid pedestrians, bicyclists, and rogue 4 year olds, get on and off the freeway, and all the other flotsam and jetsam that drivers face every single day. And in Maryland, they also have to reverse into a parking space.
"Our response is, nobody dies [while] parallel parking. We want to work on entering and exiting expressways and focus on more dangerous maneuvers.”

[99AUXR]

I think its useless and most people who arent competent with parallel parking or have parking aid will avoid it all together just IMO.

[Franco Cozzo]

Been driving for 5 years, I've never done a parallel park.

If something is a pain in the *** I avoid it unless 100% necessary.

[Itsme]

Should be part of the test.
It is getting to the stage where people are allowed to drive cars with no basic knowledge or skills to do certain maneuvers that is required in everyday driving & parallel parking is one of them.

I only give exception to motorists who have angle parking in their areas.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by trublu

I only give exception to motorists who have angle parking in their areas.

Can't speak for anywhere else, but almost every park in Mudgee is rear to kerb angle parking, yet more than half of drivers seam to be unable to do it. Return to your car and half the time someone has parked next to you over the line.

[Express]

I learnt to drive in a town where rear to kerb angle parking was and is still used in the shopping precinct.

After I moved to Sydney I learnt to parallel park.

I can’t see the problem with either as they are both easy enough to do.

Still you’ve only got to be in a shopping centre car park where it’s a simple drive in between the lines manoeuvre to know there are drivers who just don’t care.

Some of it is simply a reflection of driving etiquette in general where courtesy towards other road users is the last thing some people would consider.

[Falcon Coupe]

Should stay as part of the test in my opinion. They should add a few things not remove them.
Teaching how to merge onto a freeway matching the oncoming traffic speed would be a good place to start.

[Gothefalcon]

Parallel Parking... and all other forms of parking should be part of the competence testing whilst obtaining a driver's licence !

It seems that not enough importance is given to these areas, when you consider the way a lot of cars get parked already !

Learning to park properly teaches people to judge the size of the car they are driving... and would help reduce the number of minor accidents that happen every day ! Way too many bad drivers just "bump & run"... leaving someone to come back and find damage to their own car... and no note (& a repair bill for something they didn't do !)

Just my opinion
D

[Olbucko]

Around here we have rear in, 45 degree angle parking and most people can't even get that right, they all park at nearly 90 degrees. Yet they got it right 50 years ago if you look at old pictures of the main street.

My wife has been driving for 35 years and still finds parallel parking a major challenge.

[new2ford]

Anything that encourages people to drive back home and catch the bus because they don't know how to park should be encouraged IMHO - it leaves more space for the rest of us.

Seriously, parking is part of training in spatial awareness which is a fundamental skill for driving. What are they thinking?

[LTDHO]

With the introduction of the auto-park function, it wont be long until all new cars have these. So wouldn't it be testing for something that will never be used.

Getting your licence is easy enough, this will just make it easier.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

With the introduction of the auto-park function, it wont be long until all new cars have these. So wouldn't it be testing for something that will never be used.

With the adding of this sort of technology to cars at an incremental rate nowadays, the logical deduction from this is:

. lane changing won't need to be tested
. braking behind a line of cars won't need to be tested
..... etc, then eventually
. ability to drive won't need to be tested.

I've always had the view that no matter how automated a piece of machinery is, I like to have a mental handle on its functioning for when it suddenly stops being automatic. Call me old fashioned!

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by new2ford

With the adding of this sort of technology to cars at an incremental rate nowadays, the logical deduction from this is:

. lane changing won't need to be tested
. braking behind a line of cars won't need to be tested
..... etc, then eventually
. ability to drive won't need to be tested.

I've always had the view that no matter how automated a piece of machinery is, I like to have a mental handle on its functioning for when it suddenly stops being automatic. Call me old fashioned!

Sadly I agree.

Cars are becoming easier to drive and are taking skills away from drivers.

[desGT]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

With the introduction of the auto-park function, it wont be long until all new cars have these. So wouldn't it be testing for something that will never be used.

Unless you own a Holden.
I have a GEN-F and tried the car auto parking 5 times
- Twice, right rear wheel hit curb, leaving front out on road
- Left car parked about 2' from the curb (unbelievable)
- Stopped it as it would have scraped the wheel on the curb
- Got it right once!!

Only tried it for the novelty, but...

Saw one of my FPV GT's (and another car) being used in a touch park exercise.

This is the life we live in now.

[xisled]

If you are driving in city (Melbourne) and want to park you need to do the parallel park. When I used to drive to work in the city, I would do this daily.

So yes it needs to stay. It is a fine art to learn it, and gives the driver something different than just driving forward.

On my test I got an angle park which was easy because they choose a spot with only 1 car parked next to me. Just lined up my park off the car next to me.

[TheSneakiness]

Yeah it should still be part of the test, you would laugh at the amount of people who attempt this in Brisbane and successfully hold up traffic for 15 minutes while they go in, out, up the road, try again, etc etc etc.

Also add roundabout etiquette, highway merging and how to ignore your mobile as well.

[LG17]

Yes, it's part of the ability of being competent to drive.

[Harrison]

Maybe they should just increase the test time to 40 mins ?

That's how long they are around here.


Emulating virtually any such practices used in the US is not something I'm wishing for our government to adopt.

Commonsense doesn't seem to have a high priority over there.

[Vesper Martini]

Yes it should remain compulsory.

Drivers should also be taught not to drive right up behind someone when they are attempting one. effectively stopping all traffic flow

[pigglesworth]

Eh, leaves more parking spaces for me if fools don't know how to parallel park - it's not a skill that's going to make our roads safer so leave it out for all I care. Whilst it's officially in the 'curriculum' for driving over here in WA, I am not aware of anybody actually being asked to do it in a driving test, I guess the testers in my area don't think it's too important.

[simon varley]

Our response is, nobody dies [while] parallel parking.

10 seconds of googling

http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/woman-dies-...park-1.1784023

http://gothamist.com/2014/03/18/elde...river_atte.php

[mik]

it is part of the dumbing down process, at some stage when enough people can`t drive in a competent fashion , it will be "we should make all cars self drive" problem solved.
As it is already ......... basic seat of the pants driving skills are being weened out of the population with all the safety gear in cars these days.

[noflac52]

Parallel parking should be the first thing tested and if you fail the test ends there! Come back again when you can park the vehicle properly and we will continue with the test of competencies!

All the people you see having trouble with parallel parking will also have trouble with the more dynamic competencies of driving that are done at speed.

So many you tube videos now and real life situations exist where you see someone in a panic situation who locks up and just pile drives other cars instead of using brake modulation and spatial awareness to drive around something and actually avoid a crash.

Parallel parking is just spatial awareness and the ability to carry out a driving evolution at very low speed. God help them if they can't park a car and something happens at a higher speed! God help the rest of us too if their numbers increase!

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by noflac52

Parallel parking is just spatial awareness and the ability to carry out a driving evolution at very low speed. God help them if they can't park a car and something happens at a higher speed! God help the rest of us too if their numbers increase!

With spatial awareness, is there anybody who can precisely judge the distance behind them while reversing in a Falcon Sedan BA onwards, with the high rear boot line? Its a very easy feat in anything AU and prior, and in the utes, but after the BA, its near impossible or I have horrible spatial awareness..

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Seriously if you can not park your car you should probably not be driving one in the first place, it's a very basic skill that people driving in the city use multiple times daily.

I personally know people who will drive around, and drive past perfectly good parking spaces as they require a parallel or a basic reverse park as they can't do it. That is embarrassing to me, it is a simple task.

Problem is most people living in the bush never reverse park in their life.

[blackf6]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

With spatial awareness, is there anybody who can precisely judge the distance behind them while reversing in a Falcon Sedan BA onwards, with the high rear boot line? Its a very easy feat in anything AU and prior, and in the utes, but after the BA, its near impossible or I have horrible spatial awareness..

Easy as mate. Just open the door and stick ya mug out. That's how I judge.

Now on to the op's topic.

If you can't reverse parallel park, don't drive in my opinion.

[fps_grandma]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

With spatial awareness, is there anybody who can precisely judge the distance behind them while reversing in a Falcon Sedan BA onwards, with the high rear boot line? Its a very easy feat in anything AU and prior, and in the utes, but after the BA, its near impossible or I have horrible spatial awareness..

A very useful tip I used a while back:
Flick on your parking lights or low beams as it makes it a lot easier to judge the difference between your car and the vehicles in front and behind you by how much incident light is reflected.

Eventually I got the hang of it and didn't need to do that when asked to do a parallel park on my driving test.

[BENT_8]

Who ever thought this gem up should have their licence revoked on the grounds of sheer stupidity.
Wether parallel parking is relevant or not isn't the point, its about displaying a level of car control to achieve a satisfactory result.
And in conjunction with all the other disciplines it provides a level of competency.

We shouldnt be watering down licence examinations.

[mik]

you see some of the best parkers in melbourne(sarcasm),
im sure there must be a school that teaches touch parking as the technique, you watch people in car parks and hit cars all the time, i had mine woppedd before i even got 15 feet away from the car ... seriously .

[devilcv8]

Yes, it should be tested. Can you imagine how much more time would be wasted by workers standing at windows laughing at poor Parkers than now if it wasn't tested?

Outside my work window there is room for 2 cars, but the road is a slight curve. The number of people who can't park in under 5 movements is amazing, and is hours of fun every week.