Should parallel parking be tested?

[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.

[Dr Smith]

Not only should it remain as part of any driving test, you should get bonus points if you can reverse parallel park with a trailer, lol.

[Phildo]

Parallel parking is a test of reversing.

Just go have a look at any shopping centre in an immigrant area to see how that works.

We should forget this whole parallel parking thing though.

Instead, the person has to reverse the car though a series of manoeuvres on a football oval.

With land mines in it.

Plenty of motivation to get it right.

[Gothefalcon]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Not only should it remain as part of any driving test, you should get bonus points if you can reverse parallel park with a trailer, lol.

I can ! Though... I find it a bit easier with the tandem, than I do with the single axle !??

[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.

[Syndrome]

100% mandatory. I don't want to return to my car to find that somebody has hit it because they cannot park their car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf4TIWECZ30

[Vesper Martini]

I always preferred the handbrake method
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vCZB_kiN9A
plus a good looking RS

[XG_Falcon]

If you can't parallel park, you shouldn't be driving a car.

[Silver Ghia]

Licence testing will be further dumbed down if reverse parallel parking test was no longer tested.

And the number of times I see people trying to reverse park in shopping centres into 90 deg parking spots and hold up a queue of cars while they keep trying, maybe that should be tested as well.

The things I see red P plate drivers do these days especially on freeways, I often think how slack the licence testing already is these days, considering they have recently been tested. 40 years ago you had to get 100% to get your licence, one thing wrong and you fail.

[fordomatic]

I live in a "yuppy" part of Canberra right on the water. We have rich people everywhere here who cant drive to save there lives. Our street is right on a foreshore and lots of people come down here to eat at the restaurants. I park my 1990 Ford Maverick outside due to not having a space underneath our appartment. The drivers here are so bad that even on a Friday night when easy parks are full 500m from my place i am guaranteed to find a parallel park in my 100m culdesac.

People just cant do it anymore, it literally takes me 10 seconds to do it in my 2.8 tonne 4x4. The wife and i often watch them from the coffee shop downstairs, they have 4 or 5 attempts then just drive off. Ive seen so many blokes gutter rash there c63's and other saloons.

I say dont include it in the test so that i can continue to park close to my house and not 500m away

[2011G6E]

"Nobody dies" while parking...but you can easily damage someone elses pride and joy if you can't bloody do it...

Of course it should be part of the test...make the test harder if anything, don't dumb it down.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Gothefalcon

I can ! Though... I find it a bit easier with the tandem, than I do with the single axle !??

Agree about the tandem and then a Barina pulls up when the space vacates in front and takes 8 movements to park, with the back 50cm from the curb and the car in the back half of the clearly marked bay 20 cm from by front bumper.

[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.