Parallel parking! Are they serious?

I would think that parallel parking is the same as dock side parking. It is just the name that causes the problem. There are places under shopping malls where that maneuver is done all the time. It really is just pulling up and moving over one truck link. I am sure that early on in your career you tried to line up for dock 3 and found your were lined up for dock 2. It didn't cause you too much grief to simply point your trailer back to three and pull in. Same thing.

 

I'm almost finished with my cdl course. In florida as well and we had to learn sight side and blind side parallel, you will probably got one of those or an alley dock on your backing test, they're not hard to do tho, you can message me if you need help, where are you going to school?

 

Had to do it just last night at the Maryland welcome center on 95

 

I did it when I got my chauffer's license back in 1987, I parallel parked when the examiner asked if I could, I did and the examiner looked at me and said "I think you know how to drive one of these."

 

I am parallel parked blind side right now lol. It just takes practice, no other shortcuts. It is actually really easy, since you can look at the side of your trailer and see if it is lined up with the curb and then you straighten your truck and done.

 

I took my CDL test in 1997 in Ohio and parallel parking was part of it along with the alley dock, 90 degree corner, and the serpentine back, I loved that one, seriously, it was fun. Back then though, the examiners didn't fail you for not double clutching as long as you weren't grinding the gears either, they took 5 points off once and that was it.

As many have already stated that last spot in the rest area in the middle of the night or even the edges of a truck stop parking lot often require a blind side parallel as do some facilities where I have to park my vac tanker to hook up my hoses to pump product. Of course some of the facilities I go with my vac tanker require even more creative backing than a parallel, a parallel is one of the easier maneuvers I get to do

 

Parallel parking is an absolutely necessary skill I sometimes use several times a day. Often rest areas only have parallel parking, or when all the spots are full then you are forced to parallel park on an on or off ramp.

Two nights ago as I left a rest area in PA I noticed one driver in particular that would have been well served to brush up on his parallel parking skills. He was parked on the on ramp, with the tail of his trailer well positioned, but the front of his trailer was a good 2 feet out over the line into the lane and his tractor was jackknifed almost 90º toward the ditch. He had PLENTY of space to have been able to get it in there correctly and legally, but left his trailer vulnerable to a collision.

The fundamentals of parallel parking are much the same as maneuvering your trailer in any yard or dock.

 

Yes, they're for real. I prefer to park at rest areas, some don't have rows and only allow parking against curb AND the only spot may be between 2 trucks. If so, I have no qualms about it, I do it often enough it's like hitting a dock.

It's just a tool in your box, you can choose to not use it, many don't...

Tell ya what though, nothing feels better than pulling into a rest area at 2am behind another truck that bypasses a space like that because he/she can't hit it and you can!

Also, some shippers/receivers only have parking on streets, the skilll could keep you from walking a mile further than necessary...