I can't parallel park to save my life. I have to do it where I live but usually I end up on the pavement or in the middle of the road. Either way I just leave it. (unless it's really bad).
Didn't have to do one on my test, I had the 'Turn in the Road' and Reversing around a corner.
I have an irrational fear of bay parking as well. I try to find somewhere with two free spaces so I know I have more room to swing in. I never actually use the other space but if I have to go in to a single space I always have to reverse back out and straighten up. I did this once in Tesco car park (took 3 attempts), when I finally did it I looked up and my old driving instructor was in the space in front facing me, roaring with laughter.
I can't parallel park to save my life. I have to do it where I live but usually I end up on the pavement or in the middle of the road. Either way I just leave it. (unless it's really bad).
Didn't have to do one on my test, I had the 'Turn in the Road' and Reversing around a corner.
I have an irrational fear of bay parking as well. I try to find somewhere with two free spaces so I know I have more room to swing in. I never actually use the other space but if I have to go in to a single space I always have to reverse back out and straighten up. I did this once in Tesco car park (took 3 attempts), when I finally did it I looked up and my old driving instructor was in the space in front facing me, roaring with laughter.
If your worried about parking nothing anyone says will calm you, its all about practise, my friend told me it was easier to reverse into a parking space, i tried it and messed up but now 3 years later i do it using mirrors and yes its easy.
I still mess up on parallel parking sometimes but usually if there is another car waiting to pass...pressure.
Parking parallel to a line of other cars - usually by the side of the road. You line up with the car in front of a space and reverse in. The number of "r"s and "l"s in the name is apparently optional.
Parking parallel to the kerb, surely? You know you've done it right if the gap between the car and the kerb is even along the whole length of the car (and preferably not 3ft).
In a supermarket? I thought people normally went into the bay forwards, so that they could load their shopping from trolley to boot?
Where I normally park at our local Sainsburys I reverse in so that the boot is towards a walkway. It all depends upon the car park layout which is best.
Parking parallel to the kerb, surely? You know you've done it right if the gap between the car and the kerb is even along the whole length of the car (and preferably not 3ft).
Well, if everyone's done it right, you should be parallel to the kerb and all the other cars!
Hopefully not. You should be parallel with the kerb and in line with the other cars.
Well, to be pedantic, if you are in line with them, you are also parallel to them. Parallel just means "pointing in the same direction on the same plane".
Well, I was taught that parallel lines were ones which did not converge or diverge, so did not intersect when extended to infinity. Two parallel objects can share a line which has zero-distance between the two, but which do not diverge/converge.
Having said that, you are more than certainly right that "parallel parking" relates to the kerb rather than other cars.
I had to do it on my test back in 1971.
I found this very useful:
1. Stop your car alongside the car in front of the gap, with about 2 feet spacing.
2. Start to reverse and wind on half a turn of lock to get your back end into the gap.
3. When your passenger door-mirror lines up with the back of the car, start to wind on 1 turn of opposite lock.
Cars steering speeds vary and so do their sizes, but I've found this method will always 'get you in'. You can then shuffle to get in line.
Well, I was taught that parallel lines were ones which did not converge or diverge, so did not intersect when extended to infinity. Two parallel objects can share a line which has zero-distance between the two, but which do not diverge/converge.
Hmm! Interesting. However, I have looked in my OED and also Wikipedia and the OED specifically mentions "side by side" while both mention that the lines can never meet, which if they had zero-distance they would. As far as teaching is concerned, I cannot remember what my teachers said as it is far too long ago (50 years plus!!).
Just occurs to me I was only taught emergency stop in my final lesson about an hour before my test. So I was only doing it for the second or third time during my test.
Parallel parking I think my instructor had a trick - he made a mark on the wing mirror that you used to line up the car you were parallel parking behind. But I forget how he did that. I did my test in that car so I managed to parallel park convincingly even though have the feeling it was something I'd consistently ballsed up - on the day of the test by a fluke, it did it OK. Never again, though. And I've been driving for about 10 years now.
I have an irrational fear of bay parking as well. I try to find somewhere with two free spaces so I know I have more room to swing in. I never actually use the other space but if I have to go in to a single space I always have to reverse back out and straighten up. I did this once in Tesco car park (took 3 attempts), when I finally did it I looked up and my old driving instructor was in the space in front facing me, roaring with laughter.
If you reverse in you wouldn't need the room to straighten up as you would be going into the space straight rather than at an angle to the space.
Plus it is easier and safer to leave the space forwards.
In a supermarket? I thought people normally went into the bay forwards, so that they could load their shopping from trolley to boot?
You can walk from the front of the car to the back with a bag of shopping...
And it is vastly safer (and easier) to drive out of the space forwards as you can actually see where you are going.
If its now part of the test, how can the examiner guarentee to find the correct space?
They don't do it on every test, they will only do one parking manoeuvre, either a reverse bay park or a parallel park.
On the test the examiner will not ask the candidate to park between two cars, they will select a car with nothing behind it to park behind.
The trick is to keep the wheel hard to right until the car is parallel with the kerb. An awful lot of people start turning it back too early and then you end up all squint. Of course it depends how much room you have.
I am not the most confident at parallel parking although I did it perfectly on my test. This tip has just made me do a beautiful parallel park, behind an expensive car with the owner watching, and in front of my OH's car! (this kind of pressure usually makes me give up ).
Comments
Didn't have to do one on my test, I had the 'Turn in the Road' and Reversing around a corner.
I have an irrational fear of bay parking as well. I try to find somewhere with two free spaces so I know I have more room to swing in. I never actually use the other space but if I have to go in to a single space I always have to reverse back out and straighten up. I did this once in Tesco car park (took 3 attempts), when I finally did it I looked up and my old driving instructor was in the space in front facing me, roaring with laughter.
If your worried about parking nothing anyone says will calm you, its all about practise, my friend told me it was easier to reverse into a parking space, i tried it and messed up but now 3 years later i do it using mirrors and yes its easy.
I still mess up on parallel parking sometimes but usually if there is another car waiting to pass...pressure.
If you reversed in, you wouldn't need to straighten up.
Parking parallel to a line of other cars - usually by the side of the road. You line up with the car in front of a space and reverse in. The number of "r"s and "l"s in the name is apparently optional.
In a supermarket? I thought people normally went into the bay forwards, so that they could load their shopping from trolley to boot?
Parking parallel to the kerb, surely? You know you've done it right if the gap between the car and the kerb is even along the whole length of the car (and preferably not 3ft).
Well, if everyone's done it right, you should be parallel to the kerb and all the other cars!
Well, to be pedantic, if you are in line with them, you are also parallel to them. Parallel just means "pointing in the same direction on the same plane".
|| is parallel
|
| is also parallel
|
\ is not parallel.
Well, I was taught that parallel lines were ones which did not converge or diverge, so did not intersect when extended to infinity. Two parallel objects can share a line which has zero-distance between the two, but which do not diverge/converge.
Having said that, you are more than certainly right that "parallel parking" relates to the kerb rather than other cars.
I found this very useful:
1. Stop your car alongside the car in front of the gap, with about 2 feet spacing.
2. Start to reverse and wind on half a turn of lock to get your back end into the gap.
3. When your passenger door-mirror lines up with the back of the car, start to wind on 1 turn of opposite lock.
Cars steering speeds vary and so do their sizes, but I've found this method will always 'get you in'. You can then shuffle to get in line.
Parallel parking I think my instructor had a trick - he made a mark on the wing mirror that you used to line up the car you were parallel parking behind. But I forget how he did that. I did my test in that car so I managed to parallel park convincingly even though have the feeling it was something I'd consistently ballsed up - on the day of the test by a fluke, it did it OK. Never again, though. And I've been driving for about 10 years now.
The trouble with driving in, is that you then have to reverse out into traffic.
Plus it is easier and safer to leave the space forwards.
You can walk from the front of the car to the back with a bag of shopping...
And it is vastly safer (and easier) to drive out of the space forwards as you can actually see where you are going.
On the test the examiner will not ask the candidate to park between two cars, they will select a car with nothing behind it to park behind.
I am not the most confident at parallel parking although I did it perfectly on my test. This tip has just made me do a beautiful parallel park, behind an expensive car with the owner watching, and in front of my OH's car! (this kind of pressure usually makes me give up