Invisapeeps 2.0

Evil Stepmother · Guru

Parallel parking fail

FrootLoop · Naturally Frootilicious

Oh I'm bad. Really bad. I've been known to ask a total stranger to park on those occasions where I've no choice but parallel parking. Backing up is also an issue for me, like backing into a parking place. I back up like a drunken snake!

To be generous I give myself a solid 1 lol. In reality I'm more likely a -3.

Balloon Animal · Guru

I cannot parallel park. I am not even that good at street parking where you just pull up close to the curb and no other cars are near you. I go out of my way to avoid it. I park in parking lots even if that means paying more to park or walking further.

Our driving center does not require you to parallel park to pass the test just park in a regular space. My mom also cannot parallel park.

RichardInTN · I believe in I.D.I.C.

I'm pretty good at it NOW... but it's the one part of my test that I failed (way back when, when people started their cars by running their feet on the ground through a hole in the floorboard... "Flintstones" style) ).

Currently, I'd give myself a 4 (on a 1 to 5 scale)... maybe a 4.5. I can USUALLY get within 6 inches of the curb without the "shimmy" (moving over a few inches at a time, pulling forward and then backing up, then pulling forward, then backing up, et cetera).

RTL · Member

When I had a car, I was definitely a 5. I usually nailed it on the first try. None of that back and forth and repeat movement. I would back in, then go forward once to center myself in the stall, and I was done.

FrootLoop · Naturally Frootilicious

RTL wrote:
When I had a car, I was definitely a 5. I usually nailed it on the first try. None of that back and forth and repeat movement. I would back in, then go forward once to center myself in the stall, and I was done.

You know how it is supposed to be a three point move? Add about a dozen more into that and you've got me attempting to parallel park lol.

Desdenova · Motherhood: Sleep is for the weak!!

I'm pretty decent at parking in general.
Someone was really impressed with my parking abilities once when it was my turn to drive him to a business dinner.

Now my car has a camera in the back and parking is easier than ever! I love that thing :D

Balloon Animal · Guru

I am good front parking. I cannot back into a parking space unless no one is on either side of me and I will have to make several attempts to straighten up and parallel parking freaking forget it all together.

Evil Stepmother · Guru

I backed into a parking space once. It did not end well.

Richard, RTL and Desdenova I salute your superior parking ability!

RichardInTN · I believe in I.D.I.C.

If you think parallel parking is a challenge... you ought to try the parking portion of an E.V.O.C. (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course). I had to take E.V.O.C. when I became an Ambulance driver.

Part of E.V.O.C. is back-in parking of your Emergency Vehicle... they put a orange "warning/safety" cone in the middle of a paved area, they position your vehicle for you so it's not just a "back up in a straight line" test, and then say "Line up so the cone is centered on your back bumper but doesn't fall over, and you must be 6 inches or less away from it when finished, without getting out to check."

Desdenova · Motherhood: Sleep is for the weak!!

Evil Stepmother wrote:
I backed into a parking space once. It did not end well.

Richard, RTL and Desdenova I salute your superior parking ability!

aww

My dad is the one that should be saluted, he is the that took me out for drives while I was learning. I remember once, after a particularly stressing driving session, he went right after the liquor cabinet.

He poured a tequila shot for him and one for me lol.

Balloon Animal · Guru

LOL Des

My mom could never teach me to drive. She tried once and freaked out on me causing me to accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and made me hit a retaining wall in our driveway. I do not think that was my fault. If someone screams in your ear for no reason when you are a new driver, that is their fault, not yours and to this day we still disagree about it. She thought I was going to hit the wall and I wasn't I was going slowly down the driveway and not going to hit it, but when she screamed at me I jerked the wheel and hit the wrong pedal. Which is an easy mistake for a brand new driver.

So after that only my StepDad or my Dad would take me out and they were much calmer about it. I also was taught by my driver ed instructor and he laughed his ass off about me. I was so scared at first I was just driving around the school parking lot and was going so slow I got stuck on top of a speed bump. He said in all his years of drivers ed I was the first student to do that. Like I was going so slow it did not have enough momentum to make it over the bump.

I think I will have to just pay the driving school nearby to train the kids and I might be able to help them a bit too. DH will be zero help. He is still a nervous driver himself and he won't be able to handle it most likely. I think I will be okay driving around empty parking lots with them and maybe not busy streets. I don't know if I can handle teaching them to drive on fast busy roads. Might have to let the professional handle teaching them that!

Even after I got my license I still just stuck to easy roads for a long time because I was scared to go on the interstate and merging scared the hell out of me. I would avoid it. I finally learned to do it over time and kinda taught myself.

-- Edited by Balloon Animal on Tuesday 5th of August 2014 12:18:07 PM