5 steps for parallel parking, is this accurate?

I have to do it at one place that only allows shoulder parking and has a huge line of trucks about two miles down the road. The shipper only allows you to park first and walk up to checkin and they call you when ready. Some mornings I am able to pull up close to the shipper, but most of the time there is no parking but there may be a space from when a driver just got called into a door and that is when I take their spot. BTW I used to think 30 and 50 year drivers were masters of driving but you guys must have forgotten how to backup since I have to wait a long time for you doing 50 pullups to get into an easy door. It takes me 10 seconds without any effort to parallel park so its no big deal. Perhaps for you, yes.

 

YOU have driven for three years, I have driven 50 years with over 4 million miles. There is a pretty good chance I have backed up more miles than you have driven forward. I didn't say I couldn't do a blindside parallel park, I just have never been in a situation where it was necessary except for once. As all of us know a blind side maneuver is the absolute last resort. Do too many of them and the odds will catch up to you and you'll have to buy somebody a new front end for their tractor.

I have done 100's of parallel park when I was a CDL instructor for 5 years. I taught it because it is required to pass the test, but at the same time made the above statement that it is for the most part useless and extremely dangerous to blind side, use only as a last possible resort.

I'm not trying to insult you or anything just pointing out the chance you re subjecting youself to, be safe and take care.

 

Have a good one driver

 

I just passed at dmv on the 30th.
I failed on my 2nd try, I got driver's side parallel. One my school never really set up for too much. I pointed out with pull ups. After that terrible day I practiced it 90 percent of the time at my school. I am in the minority I prefer the alley dock. Well on my 3rd try I got the same exact parallel, and I got out of it with 4 points. I scored 6 on skills 10 on drive. I was and still am elated. SO happy to be out of that crappy ### school.
They kept stressing that their is NO formula, and after a while I saw that they were right. Stay in your test truck. Get intimate with it. Every truck is diff and turn radius also. Keep it up.

 

Congratulations on your graduation and passing your tests. Now you get to start the real work, been safe and take care.