Parallel parking is a lost art

[dd74]

I've heard somewhere...can't remember where...that left-handed people are better at parallel parking than right-handed people. Doesn't matter really if no one's doing it (properly) any longer.

[wreckersteve]

When packing up a stick 4wd and you feel you are slipping the clutch to much, drop it in 4Lo. It will go at a nice slow speed. Helps if it has manuel hubs and you can unlock them.

[CurtEgerer]

Parallel parking is still part of the driver's test in Michigan. I just taught my youngest daughter last year. They set cones up to form a space that is only 8 feet wide and (your car + 6 feet) long. That's a fairly tight space! You are assessed an 'error point' each time you touch a cone and each time you adjust your direction of travel beyond 1 reversing move and 1 forward move.

To make it worse for her, she had a vehicle with a horrible turning radius. She had to be very precise with positioning the car to start the maneuver. That's really the key anyway - knowing where to line the car up before you reverse. She passed with no problem.

[GH85Carrera]

I have not needed to parallel park in many many years. I bet it has been 10 years or more since I even tried. Last night at a restaurant the only "door ding safe" spot left in the lot was a spot that required parallel parking. I could have parked in a spot between two, two door coupes but I would rather drive to another restaurant than risk door dings. I was a little farther from the curb than I preferred, but I nailed it in one try.

I was driving my 287,000 mile 1986 El Camino daily driver that I have had for 19 years. It does not have ANY door dings. I plan to keep it that way for another 21 years at least.

[rattlsnak]

my son got his license a few months ago and had to parallel park. it was between cones, not real cars, but still he rubbed one cone and got 1-2 points taken off, but i watched countless teens destroy/crush them. Scary.
And for some reason, ive never had an issue backing up a trailer. Ive always done it well. I usually look over my right shoulder and steer with the top of the wheel.

[Crowbob]

So what's the technique or trick to parallel parking?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

So what's the technique or trick to parallel parking?

Originally Posted by milt

Nose first will never get it. She obviously was never told, "Aim your taillight at the headlight on car behind and back in."

I guess you have to turn the wheel.

[dan79brooklyn]

Very little parallel parking going on in Japan; not a lot of street parking.

Everybody backs into parking spaces.
Entire parking lot at the grocery store and every single car pulls out forwards, I'm assuming it's safer and easier?
Most folks are very good drivers.

Now NYC that's another story, people can parallel park, but they do it by feel, talk about abused bumpers!

[chapo]

Can park anything. In my 20's I lived on the Beach in Newport and p. parked a 78 Chevy Longbed with a concrete pump in tow every day.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by dan79brooklyn

Now NYC that's another story, people can parallel park, but they do it by feel, talk about abused bumpers!

Boston's like that, too. It's called "touch parking."

I thought it was a bit sad in Boston to see a nice expensive car...with scarred bumpers. It would also piss me off to come out and find two evenly-spaced holes in my bumper left over from the license plate screws from some other car...which was always now gone.

I drew the line when I saw some guy trying that with my motorcycle. If I see a full-sized empty parking space, I now park my bike in the middle of it. No more trying to conserve spaces by taking one end or the other and hoping some bad parker won't come along.

[gt350mike]

I spent four days in D.C. and I can tell you that parallel parking is alive and well, especially in Georgetown!

[svandamme]

If you drve a 7 series Bmw in Europe's bigger, older cities with small streets, for any reasonable lenght of time.. parallel parking in most cars becomes a breeze.

PP'ing a Hummer in Europe might still suck, but let's face it, why bother PP in a big ass truck if you can simply nose it in, go over the curb with the right front wheel and let it drop into the slot like that...

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Agreed and its not that difficult. Also not taught is "drive in the right lane when not passing" and it really pisses me off. Half the cars these days immediately head to the left lane and drive slow...

True dat... even worse when you get three cars on a four lane highway driving door handle to door handle (rolling road block)

Wife's daughter just got her drivers license in Oregon... didn't have to parallel park.

[ddbach]

I finally started teaching my 17yo godson to drive stick last Saturday. He's doing well although worried about breaking something on the Passat or hitting anything with it. I asked him if they taught or tested him on parallel parking and he said yes to both but he doesn't like doing it and tries to avoid having to do so. I think one of our next outings we'll practice parking too it'll be good practice using reverse and 1st.

[azasadny]

When my 18 year old son went through driver's ed, they didn't teach parallel parking and it wasn't on the driving test. I tried to teach him, but didn't have the patience. My neighbor (God bless him!) taught Dan how to parallel park and how to drive a manual trans car! It's good to have neighbors like these!