On Tue, 8 May 2018 12:47:42 +1000, Peter Moylan
Post by Peter MoylanPost by Quinn CNow I wonder whether the practice of the time made "parallel parking"
the terror of the learning drive, as in so many TV shows. I didn't
find it that difficult, but nothing like the precision in the above
photo was expected.
When I got my driver's licence (1969) great precision was expected. The
test required us to parallel park on a steep hill, and to make a
three-point turn (no more than two changes of direction) in a narrow street.
On my third licence test (nobody ever passed the first two) I was doing
well until the examiner asked me to parallel park behind a truck. I
Man, you had it tough. In the panhandle of Texas, there were no
steep hills available. The only parallel parking I saw near home was
a piece of curb with paint, and pylons marking where cars might be.
The high school had that, for Driver's Ed. The DMV (in Panhandle,
Texas, 14* miles away) had a similar setup.
Failing parallel parking took maybe 5 points away from 100, the same
as most other mistakes - staying above 70 in the 10 minutes of
test-drive was not hard. I failed to turn my head enough when
backing up, and failed to set my brake after parking at the end. But
I still passed the test. At age 14, after taking Driver's Ed.
Somehow, my mother had failed the test, the first couple of times she
took it. She learned to drive at age 35, about 6 years before I did.
Post by Peter Moylanended up with the driver's side of my car perfectly aligned with the
driver's side of the truck, which of course meant that I was a long way
out from the curb. To my surprise the examiner forgave that error, and I
passed that time.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
*trivia - and might be true: Towns in the panhandle of Texas tend
to be separated by multiples of 7 miles. The main purpose of
settlement there, 110-120 years ago, was wheat farming. Seven miles
was a standard spacing for the wheat silos, determined by how far
it had been reasonable to haul wagon loads of grain.
--
Rich Ulrich