PA license test - parallel parking

[victimizati0n]

Im sure this is probably standard in all of the states, but i need to know how big the space is.

I have a HUGE car, ( caprice classic) and someone told me the spot was 17' long, well, my car is probably longer than that (maby about the same length acually) so there is no way to get that boat into the spot.

Can anyone tell me how big the spot acually is?

[noctorum]

Not sure, but I'd see about borrowing a friend's civic.

[andr3w]

see about borrowing or renting something small.. in ohio we have a test with five cones instead of parallel parking, arranged like this (dots used in place of spaces):

.......O

....O....O

....O....O

you drive through, turn at the middle one and back through. i have a ford aspire and i made it clear on through without bumping a cone at all. AND i drive stick

tiny car is the key

[victimizati0n]

I cant borrow a car, you need to have the owners card for the car you are taking the test in.

:bangs head:

[andr3w]

you are good and screwed then

[zagrot]

you might want to practice a lot. here's a quick crash cource in paralell parking. pull up next to the car in front of your target spot (since you said there will be cones on an off road test you'll have to pretend). you want to put the rear end in the last 3/4 of the spot that you intend to occupy and idealy you should start to turn the front in as soon as you have the clearance (in the real world three inches is acceptable; you have to be able to judge the location of your front end). practice in a parking lot -- that is the only way you'll beat this one if you can't obtain a smaller car. *wavering voice* be the barge .......... bbbeeee ttthhhheeee bbbaaarrrggggeeee

[victimizati0n]

lol, yea, im screwed.

hopefully there is someone in PA that just got their license

[curtis73]

I got my license in PA and this may have changed since 1989 (boy I'm dating myself) but ours was a pre-determined route on the streets. We always parallel parked on a street in Carlisle that didn't have any parking on it. We had to "simulate" starting in the lane, then backing in on the diagonal and getting within 1 foot of the curb.

My friend who took the same test later that day said there were cones up simulating cars. He nudged one but the tester didn't see it. I was the first that day so maybe they didn't have the cones up yet.

I wouldn't stress about it. For the most part they won't look or act sympathetic, but they are. If you have a large car, just take it slowly and practice first. Inside, they'll understand that you don't have a civic, but outside they won't show any love.

They're more interested in the technique. They want to see you use the back-in method, getting close to the curb without causing monetary damage to any vehicles. Its more of seeing that you can do it and getting a feel for your driving ability than it is actually perfectly executing each task.

You might have more luck taking the test at a more rural location. Not sure where you are in PA, but the smaller towns typically have easier tests with a more laid-back attitude. I took my test in Carlisle, but the Harrisburg test is much more traffic intensive, and parallel parking is much more difficult.

I had such a time with the motorcycle test. I borrowed a friend's bike. I have a cruiser, he has a crotch rocket. That test they give you a painted box on the parking lot and you have to do figure 8s inside it. Not easy on a crotch rocket, especially one you're not familiar with. I just let the tester know what was going on and he let me pass even through I went outside the lines twice.

[victimizati0n]

allright, thanks.

At the place where i need to take my test, they make you drive around, then you parallel park between 2 cones in their lot.

Theres really no un-populated place around me that isnt 250+ miles away. My cousin took his, and when he was driving, the guy asked him what some sign ment, and he was like "I have no clue" and he stilled passed. Well, he lives out in the middle of nowhere too.