Okay an Even More Important Question!

Updated on June 07, 2016
J.S. asks from Saint Louis, MO
9 answers

I was just watching the Pacifica (sp?) commercial where the van is parking itself.

So you are a 16 year old taking your driver's exam. You get up to the cones, press the button, perfect parallel park. Would it stand?

Not saying I am considering buying this car because my kids cannot parallel park a car mind you! That is what rentals are for, right?

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So What Happened?

Guys, my kids that drive can in fact parallel park. The younger ones will learn. The commercial just made me laugh. Jim Gaffigan lecturing on teaching kids responsibility as his car parks itself.

Featured Answers

W.W.

answers from Washington DC on

oh no...too much technology...

just like that new refrigerator that has three cameras in it?! WTH!?!? You realize that since it's wireless ANYONE can hack it, right??

Oh yeah - oldest is learning to drive....he's going to be a pro at parallel parking...LOL!! He's learning on a manual transmission too!! YAY ME!!

6 moms found this helpful

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E.B.

answers from Honolulu on

Out of curiosity, I googled a couple of states' laws regarding self-parking cars. It only took a few minutes to find similar language in all of them. To paraphrase, they all state that self-parking cars are permitted during the driving test, but the self-parking function must be turned off before beginning the test. Old-fashioned parallel parking still is the requirement.

5 moms found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from Portland on

I learned to drive in an old Chevy station wagon. I think it was one of the largest station wagons ever made. It was a piece of rust by the time I got it handed down to me, but I actually could parallel park that thing. It would take me 5 minutes but I could do it. I remember holding up traffic.

I can't imagine it would stand in an exam - but who knows. Times have really changed. I just realized tonight my eldest doesn't seem to be able to do cursive writing. He said no one expects him to now so he just prints. I find that so disturbing.

ETA: mynewnickname - funny you mentioned the manual driving. I had to learn both. It was the same thing in my family - you never know when you might need to drive a stick shift. I took my actual lessons in an automatic car (I think they felt I'd pass more easily if I took the test with an automatic) but I remember stalling and trying to get up hills in our manual car. I ended up buying a manual car for my first so I guess it was good to know :)

4 moms found this helpful
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Z.B.

answers from Toledo on

Parallel parking wasn't part of my driver's test. Weird.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Portland on

Parallel parking hasn't been a part of the test in Oregon for years. Instead, DMV requires a 3 point move.

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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Kinda reminds me of the ancient days when I learned to drive. Although both our cars were automatics, before I was allowed to go for my test, my dad insisted that I had to learn to drive a manual shift car just in case I needed to do it.

So I wonder, when automatic shift cars were new, did drivers license centers require that kids take the test in a manual shift? It's kind of the same thing, and as more cars start offering the technology, parallel parking as a skill will become less valuable, and maybe eventually unnecessary.

If you require that your kid know how to parallel park even if you have a car that doesn't require it, do you also require that your kid know how to drive a manual shift car even though your car is an automatic transmission?

1 mom found this helpful

D.D.

answers from Boston on

Nope and seriously why would you want your teen to have the confidence of knowing she can handle any situation in that car? Our test involved backing into a parking space and we practiced it over and over until they could do it without thinking.In Parallel parking is one of those things that you usually don't use often but its nice to know you can do it when you need to. I have to do it a couple times a year and my youngest lives somewhere with on street parking only so she's parallel parking every single day.

T.D.

answers from Springfield on

if you use that feature to park your car and it fails (as technology usually does) causing damage to your car and someone elses then whos the responsible party? the cars manufacturer since they were te one "driving"

i would never let a vehicle park itself. and i can parallel park perfectly. (my first place was a rental with only on street aprking so i had to parallel park several times a day got really good at it)

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