Conference terri::cars_uk

    I wonder why reverse parking (a fundamental and frequently required
    manouevre) isn't part of the driving test?  It is in Australia, where
    everyone is therefore moderately competent at it. (If you bump the kerb
    or either of the two dummy cars, which are set the length of your car +
    4 feet apart, then you fail the test.)

    Isn't it ?
    
    I thought the UK test had recently been changed to include
    Parallel Parking (which is what I assume you mean) ?
    
    Anybody taken the test recently?
    
    Ian

    
    My girlfriend took her test in February. Parallel parking is part of
    the test but you are given a gap roughly equal to two car lengths to do
    it in!!!!!!!!!
    
    
    When do you ever see a parling space like that in real life?????
    
    
    
    POL.

     
    I took my test 17 years ago and it was in the test then, or am i
    missing something ?
    

    
    Was that a driving test Garry? or some other kind?
    
    
    

    
    Well it warrant a spelliong test wor it. Seriously though, I was asked
    to reverse twice; First time round a corner with both wheels ending up
    parrallel to the curb and secondly when parking at the end outside the 
    exam center.
    

In the Isle Of Man there has been parallel (reverse) parking as part of the test
for years. You have to reverse into a space between two hurdles, the distance of
which is x% longer than the length of the test vehicle. I don't remember what
value x% is, but I'm sure its < 100%

    
    I remember having to reverse round a corner as part of my driving test.
    Reversing into a parking space is a little easier, if not more
    advantageous.
    
    mac

    It is mandatory to reverse park in the Valbonne site car parks
    (although not everybody does it) for safety reasons. If evacuation of
    the site was needed (because of fire or flood) it would take ages to
    get everyone out of the danger area. With reverse parking a couple of
    traffic cops could empty the site in 10 minutes.

    It is sometimes advised NOT to reverse into parking spaces as this
    renders your car slightly more liable to theft as it takes just a small
    amount of time longer to back a car out.  I guess this will only apply
    if the thief has a good choice to choose from.

    I seem to recall from a holiday in Florida that it's illegal to park
    your car reversed in there.  As the cars only have numberplates on the
    rear and you reverse in, the police can't then check your number plates
    as they cruise by!

Surely safety is paramount?

/Dave.

>Surely safety is paramount?

	On the drive and survive course, they recommend that you reverse in - 
	most of accidents in car-parks occur when people reverse out.

	However, if you do this, it's #$@%$^&%&* awkward to load the shopping
	in the boot!

	Heather

    My dad saw an article last year that said most of the cars stolen from
    car parks had been reversed in, so it was easy to make a quick getaway
    by driving straight out, rather than having to ponce about reversing
    the car out. I don't know if the way the car is parked has any bearing
    on it's theiveability, but I have stopped reversing into parking spaces
    now.
    
    M:

    
    Presumably Hyenas have trouble reversing?
    
    Mark

How do they know that? I've had three vehicles stolen and the police ask where
it was parked , not how.

/Dave.

	I find that car parks tend to fill sequentially and empty at
random. A stream of cars entering Decpark car park in the morning will be
able to park very quickly if each driver swings into the next available bay.
But if one joker decides to reverse then the whole queue has to wait whilst
he makes two or three attempts at parking straight. Very few drivers can
make a good job of reversing, especially if there are impatient drivers
waiting for them to finish.

	When drivers leave in the evening they arrive at their cars in a random
order and there is plenty of time and space for them to reverse out. On a
similar subject, when I have the choice between swinging into a bay on the
right or the left I always choose the right to avoid colliding with, or delaying
the opening of the driver's door of the car which has parked just before me.
But if that car also has a passenger, I will leave a bay free and park in the
next so that we can all get out of the cars without bumping doors. But there
is always somebody who will immediately try to park in the spare gap...so I
take my time and let them wait.

    
    re:.51
    
    I've not seen too many hyena parks about?

Mark is talking about all the hyenas used in the stop people nicking
your car ads on the TV

Greg

The fact that there are drivers who can not reverse into a parking space is the
strongest argument I can think of for making it compulsary! If they can't
reverse in, how the hell are the supposed to reverse out safely?  I think the
scrape and dent in my lease car (curtesy of a fellow DEC Park resident) is
evidence of that!

/Dave.

    
    re: .56
    
 > The fact that there are drivers who can not reverse into a parking space is the
 > strongest argument I can think of for making it compulsary! If they can't
 > reverse in, how the hell are the supposed to reverse out safely?
    
    The two cases are not the same - reversing IN requires the driver to
    line his car up and get correct spacing and position in the parking
    bay; reversing out is performed soley as an intermediate operation
    prior to driving away (forwards).
    
    Steering a car in a forward direction is much easier to do with
    precision than in reverse because in the former case the rear wheels 
    'follow' the front wheels while in the later case any slight
    mis-alignment of the wheels is exagerated as the car moves.
    
    I also agree with a previous 'speaker' that reversing in, just slows
    the whole thing down for people waiting.
    
    Mike H.
    

>    The two cases are not the same - reversing IN requires the driver to
>    line his car up and get correct spacing and position in the parking
>    bay; 
    
and is this not a very basic skill required by every driver ??????????

sheesh...

Car parks do not fill up perfectly sequentially. They obey a variant of Fermi-
dirac statistics. You can still get someone who parks on the roof. But they are
only hotheads.

    That's another way of getting your car to spontaneously combust I
    expect :^)
    
    Gary.

    I thought the ones who parked on the roof (of the car park, not the
    car) were the ones with blinds in their windows.......
    
    JK
    
    p.s. Did you see the picture of the car thief who left the second floor
    of the multi-store without using the ramp!

      <<< Note 219.61 by VOGON::KAPPLER "Spontaneity is fine in it's
    place...." >>>
                        -< Assume they're all blind.......... >-
     
    >>>    p.s. Did you see the picture of the car thief who left the second
    >>> floor of the multi-store without using the ramp!
    
    
    	Was he in the car at the time though John? 8^)
    
    
    	The ones I hate are those (many!) who drive into a car park and
    just abandon their car someplace!
    
    				Malcolm.