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That's like saying someone is fat because they don't know how to cook in a crockpot. People are bad drivers because they're distracted or have poor reactions or are impatient jerks.
Ok, Boomer. How does that make us Safer?
My Ex was one of those people that wouldn't go somewhere if she had to parallel park. She was a good driver. She had two masters degrees. She didn't have any accidents on her record and never had a ticket that I know of.
What does higher education have to do with driving skills?
I've lived in major, crowded cities for 10 of the 12 years I've been a licensed driver. Parallel parking is pretty much the only kind of parking I do. I also have to know how to do it fast or I'll have a dozen angry, impatient drivers behind me honking, swearing, and middle-fingering.
That's the scary part. You have a driver who has never learned to parallel park, who suddenly finds themselves in a situation where they must do it. So they end up with a line of cars behind them, all honking. Then the pressure is on.
What does higher education have to do with driving skills?
People were saying they were eliminating it to “dumb down†the test and as further evidence of the “dumbing down†of America in general. So the poster used his wife as an example of a person who can’t parallel park but is far from dumb.
I don't know what to say about this. It's just sad. It's pretty obvious that states don't really care if licensed drivers are qualified to drive or not. Motor vehicle licensing is just a revenue stream for them. Nothing more.
I’ve been driving for multiple decades and have never had to parallel park. I’ve also never caused an accident or had a ticket. It’s not like parallel parking is a necessary skill for driving.
That's the scary part. You have a driver who has never learned to parallel park, who suddenly finds themselves in a situation where they must do it. So they end up with a line of cars behind them, all honking. Then the pressure is on.
Yes but I passed it on my test but I would still be holding them up and being honked at. Practicing for the test and being able to do it enough to pass the test did not make me a competent parallel parker. People who struggle with this have problems judging spatially. And again, just because it’s not on the test doesn’t mean you can’t learn or practice it. Did you see the list of all the states who don’t require it? Do you really think no one in those states can parallel park, and that everyone in a state that does require it is good at it?
That person likely will not attempt it and be holding up traffic in crowded city, they will probably park in garage.
No need for parallel parking in Oregon. All the street parking has been turned into bicycle lanes, so there is nowhere to park parallel.
LOL, it sounds like you have an agenda against bikes.
1. I don't think Oregon has any remarkable amount of bike lanes outside of Portland and Eugene. Both of which do need bike lanes. In most of Oregon bike lanes seem to be non-existent or a relatively new concept in the planning stages. Compared to other places I have lived that installed bike lanes back in the 1970s and 80s.
2. I have never in my life seen a bike lane that was wide enough to park cars in. Bike lanes are generally 5 feet wide. Parking lanes have to be 7 to 9 feet wide. If you tried to convert a bike lane to a parking lane without widening the street, the drivers would be opening their doors directly into the flow of traffic. Probably not a great idea. Most bike lanes are located between the parking lane and the outside traffic lane. If there is no parking lane, then they are on the shoulder of the road. But those tend to be the type of roads that wouldn't have parking anyway.
3. For the reason outlined in #2, I don't believe any significant amount of parking is being lost to bike lanes, in Oregon or anywhere else. However there is a movement in Oregon to remove general traffic lanes in favor of bike lanes. That generally involves converting narrow four lane roads to three lanes plus two bike lanes. But the bike lanes are not the main goal. Rather ODOT wants to improve traffic flow by adding a left turn lane. The bike lanes are the icing on the cake. The results are mixed from what I have seen. It does improve traffic flow, but also increases congestion in the rush hour.
Parallel parking is not an approved maneuver in Japan. They don't want drivers holding up traffic to do it. As you said street parking is rare anyway, and where they have it, for every two parking spaces, one space is left open to give drivers enough room to easily pull in. That doesn't stop drivers from illegally parallel parking though, and some private parking lots have it. Since it doesn't interfere with traffic.
Interestingly some cities such as Tokyo or some others may have one or two neighborhood streets that allows traditional parallel curb parking, but those are definitely extremely rare exceptions and you really have to look for them to find them, I guess its only for those who learned the skill themselves from abroad as parellel parking is not taught in Japan, a number of people are unfamilar with the rules of parallel parking in these rare stretches too, survival of the fittest, sometimes I witness them park in front of hydrants. Though the fine for parallel parking where forbidden appears very high in Japan. Japan also requires car owners/leasees to secure a long term parking space within 1km or so if where their residences are registered. I guess parking lots or garages that rent or sale parking spaces may suffice.
I would guess while most people might just turn their cars to the valet when they go downtown or gamble, the new hire valets themselves would need to be trained or demonstrate they can do this to get their jobs especially if the skill is no longer needed for licensure.
Interestingly cities in the US could easily eliminate the need for curb parking if not so much of the lot space is occupied by lawns and landscaping. I.e so much of the lot especially residential lots whether single family home or apartment/condo is occupied by lawns or landscaping that could easily had been used for parking many more cars. In comparison office, store, and churches tend to maximize the same amount of space on the lot for parking.
An average sized 1/4 acre lot house could easily fit five more cars in front of it as well as more carport space if it wasn't for the lawn space in front.
I don't know what to say about this. It's just sad. It's pretty obvious that states don't really care if licensed drivers are qualified to drive or not. Motor vehicle licensing is just a revenue stream for them. Nothing more.
We might not be able to do anything, but at least our self esteem will be high because we don't mess up anything....because we don't know how to do anything.
I have to parallel park a lot in Charlotte. Honestly I don't get what's so difficult about it, my car doesn't even have a back up camera and I can pretty much always nail it on the first try. Basically every new development in the urban areas here comes with parallel parking adjacent to it, so if you want to park on the street you better know how to quickly slip in an open spot because it's getting more common.
I don't disagree with you, OP. I had to learn to parallel park for my driver's test, and it's a valuable driving skill, imo.
But I would be satisfied if drivers in the city I live in could learn basic rules of the road. I'd be delighted, in fact, if they used their turn signals when turning; if they knew how to correctly merge with traffic on the Interstate; if they knew how to correctly switch lanes, especially on the Interstate; and if they knew the purpose of the far left lane, and adhered to the rules to uphold that purpose.
In comparison, not knowing how to parallel park is a forgiveable "offence."
Last edited by newdixiegirl; 02-15-2020 at 10:44 PM..
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It's pretty obvious that states don't really care if licensed drivers are qualified to drive or not. Motor vehicle licensing is just a revenue stream for them. Nothing more.
