Are you a good at parking?

[crystal ball]

Lots of streets in Sydney had mandatory reverse parking, also you could not park facing oncoming traffic. Some streets in Dunedin in NZ required you to park with your filler cap facing uphill they were that steep

 

[Diver Fred]

A previous employer had a 'reverse in' policy applying it to all vehicle travel on company business and company cars at any time.
If you had a reverse out accident it was very much a disciplinary case, at best no more travel on company business except by public transport, at worst - dismissal.
It certainly made us think especially after the first dismissal.

 

[johnny2007]

Anyone who's lived in countries like italy, greece, spain, the balkans and Asia can park any car in gaps with 2 inches to spare...

 

[Notch7]

I've always been lucky in that I find parking relatively straightforward, not sure if you call it good spatial awareness or whatever. Where possible, I will reverse into a space so I can drive out when leaving. And I always do my best to ensure enough space is left for the adjoining cars although not always easy these days i.e. larger cars, tighter spaces. However I notice quite a few people drive in to a space but then struggle when reversing out, especially if the car park spaces are tight and their car is on the larger side. I'm not sure if they're not confident to reverse in or simply find it more convenient to just drive in.

Parallel parking is also something I'm not bad at, although I'm not immune to having to drive out and give it a second go!

How would you judge your own parking skills? Are there any aspects of it you struggle more with?

My Mondeo is sh1t for parking

The side windows go up towards the rear, so I have to by a country mile from the parking space to see the painted lines

and its a big car so barely fits in most spaces

added to which Im quite sh1t at parking so my poor alloy wheels look like theyve been attacked by a Kango

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I think to a degree it's something you do or don't have a natural ability for, like I say good spatial awareness, subconscious awareness of angles etc. It's also interesting how you can start to lose these abilities as you get older. When I first moved into my place, there was an older guy living across the street. I'd sometimes see him reverse his car out his garage and onto his drive, no issues, straight back in a straight line. However as the years went on, he started to do things like coming out at an angle for no reason, needing to then drive back into the garage to give it a second go. Then when onto the drive, his reversing back became a sort of snake-like line instead of a straight one. It was never horrendously bad don't get me wrong, however the difference from a few years previous was noticeable.

 

[robinbanks]

you would otherwise have to reverse out with likely foggy rear and side windows.

Air con in cars should have mostly put a stop to that occurring.. It's a shame that "air con off" and "recirc" buttons still exist to be pushed by muppet drivers who don't appreciate how to use them to effectively clear screens and keep the interior of the car from becoming damp

Anyone who's lived in countries like italy, greece, spain, the balkans and Asia can park any car in gaps with 2 inches to spare...

And in a lot of places they're far less precious about their tin boxes; leaving the hand brake off or lightly applied so the car can be nudged along to create more room for an incoming parker is apparently commonplace in flatter areas

The side windows go up towards the rear, so I have to by a country mile from the parking space to see the painted lines

Use the mirrors and flick the motor to angle the mirror down some? (Some cars do it automatically when reverse is selected)

There isn't any complicated inversion of truth when using a mirror, or driving in reverse compared to forwards.. "If you want the left side of the car to go nearer to the thing on the left turn the wheel left" and the same equivalent for right. This is true regardless of travel direction

 

[Dork Lard]

I taught my kids to drive & it was No'1 son who had the most difficulty with parking. Spacial awareness is a known problem in some brains.

My method is the one taught me by first instructor. Get out of the car & stand by the drivers door, now get a feeling of how far away from your perspective is the limits of the car body footprint. Then, without making "brum brum" noises, imagine you are driving the car & simply walk backwards into the space as if you were in the car but still respecting the car body limits. Get back in & reverse into parking space now you have a better 'feeling' of the car body distances from your perspective.

No'1 son's mastered it, but sadly not the current Missus Lard.

 

[Roy Bloom]

There isn't any complicated inversion of truth when using a mirror, or driving in reverse compared to forwards.. "If you want the left side of the car to go nearer to the thing on the left turn the wheel left" and the same equivalent for right. This is true regardless of travel direction

In reverse, that only applies to the wheels not doing the steering, usually the rear wheels.
In reverse, it has the opposite effect on the front wheels, and the side of the car towards the front.
I.e in reverse, turn the steering wheel to the left and rear of the car moves towards the left, but the front of the car moves to the right.

 

[Diver Fred]

There isn't any complicated inversion of truth when using a mirror, or driving in reverse compared to forwards.. "If you want the left side of the car to go nearer to the thing on the left turn the wheel left" and the same equivalent for right. This is true regardless of travel direction

my first employers driver training included reversing using mirrors - necessary as the company only had vans as company vehicles.

 

[johnny2007]

Air con in cars should have mostly put a stop to that occurring.. It's a shame that "air con off" and "recirc" buttons still exist to be pushed by muppet drivers who don't appreciate how to use them to effectively clear screens and keep the interior of the car from becoming damp

And in a lot of places they're far less precious about their tin boxes; leaving the hand brake off or lightly applied so the car can be nudged along to create more room for an incoming parker is apparently commonplace in flatter areas

Use the mirrors and flick the motor to angle the mirror down some? (Some cars do it automatically when reverse is selected)

There isn't any complicated inversion of truth when using a mirror, or driving in reverse compared to forwards.. "If you want the left side of the car to go nearer to the thing on the left turn the wheel left" and the same equivalent for right. This is true regardless of travel direction

Just wait for the "no shyt sherlock" guy to come along and dispute this based on where on planet earth you're observing the car from...
Oh, wait...
It's here...

In reverse, that only applies to the wheels not doing the steering, usually the rear wheels.
In reverse, it has the opposite effect on the front wheels, and the side of the car towards the front.
I.e in reverse, turn the steering wheel to the left and rear of the car moves towards the left, but the front of the car moves to the right.

 

[robinbanks]

In reverse, that only applies to the wheels not doing the steering, usually the rear wheels.
In reverse, it has the opposite effect on the front wheels, and the side of the car towards the front.
I.e in reverse, turn the steering wheel to the left and rear of the car moves towards the left, but the front of the car moves to the right.

The point is that after you have steered left, and then you continue to move the car in a reverse direction the left side of the car continues to proceed nearer to the thing on the left

"Which way do I turn the wheel if I want the left side of the car to get closer to thing on the left"
"Left"

 

[Roy Bloom]

The point is that after you have steered left, and then you continue to move the car in a reverse direction the left side of the car continues to proceed nearer to the thing on the left

"Which way do I turn the wheel if I want the left side of the car to get closer to thing on the left"
"Left"

If you park in reverse like that, the rear of the car maybe close to the kerb, but the front of the car will be sticking out into the traffic.
You have to then turn the steering wheel to the right for the front of the car to go to the left.

 

[Roy Bloom]

Just wait for the "no shyt sherlock" guy to come along and dispute this based on where on planet earth you're observing the car from...
Oh, wait...
It's here...

Why don't you just admit that most logical discussions on here are above your intellectual ability?

 

[fixitflav]

Really? Which car is it

My tesla is really accurate and I've got a option to adjust the distance.

I drive a Hyundai i30, and it's at least 18" overcautious. If there's a way to adjust it, I haven't found it yet.

 

[johnny2007]

Why don't you just admit that most logical discussions on here are above your intellectual ability?

To answer in your stile:

can you define abilities?
What do you consider normal?
Does normal exist?
How can you define logical discussions?
Are they logical to you? To few? To many? Or 50/50?



Nutter!