5 steps for parallel parking, is this accurate?

Step one: line up cone between trailer tandems

Step two: turn wheel all the way to the left, and back up three to four seconds

Step three: straighten up tractor, and back up two to three seconds, making sure not to hit the curb

Step four: wheel all the way to the left, put entire vehicle in space

Step five: straighten vehicle in space

I take my test Friday hopefully

 

step 4 should be right.....you need to get the rear of the tractor infront of the trailer. then step 5, turn hard left to straiten tractor in front of trailer.

In step two, you turn hard left because you need the rear of the trailer to go right. Once you get the trailer at he right angle you turn right to get back in front of it. in step 4, you go hard right to get the rear of tractor in the space, In step 5 you go hard left untill tractor is in spot, pulling up as necessary. There is no exact science. Practice untill you have a feel for it.

 

This is a pretty good walk-through...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM_pIOApuuE

 

My students seemed to benefit a great deal from imagining they are seated in the rear (or front) of the trailer looking backward and steering from the tractor, but there is no substitute for "attentive" practice.

Students tend to get justifiably frustrated, so taking a break and observing the success and failure of others can shorten the time to the light bulb going off and "getting it".

That rig seems huge at first, but it will eventually shrink to a much more easily manageable size.

 

Don't forget you never know which one your going to draw until the day of, Parallel Park (Conventional), Parallel Park (Sight Side).

 

All states test programs are not the same. Michigan every body get the same exercises.

 

Texas only does a blind side parallel (or at least my city does, cause the parallel section at the dmv is on a one way street

 

Can confirm only blindside in Texas.

 

Parallel parking is the easiest thing to do since a lot of places I go to park on the side of the street so I have gotten used to blindside parallel parking inbetween trucks (since another pulled off) in about 10 seconds one pullup. I just backup at an angle til my left side of trailer corner is in the hole, catch the truck up, and pull up to straighten truck and you are done. So if there is nothing but a truck behind me parked, I backup til the left corner of my trailer is lined up with the truck behind me, turn my truck into the space, and pull up a little it works every time. Blindsiding is a little different, I look at the front of my trailer to see when it is facing forward as much as possible to let me know that it is lined up.

 

Been driving for 50 years and only did a paralell park once except in a range training situation with students in CDL school. It is a totally worthless maneuver dictated by desk jockeys in DC.