Parallel parking removed from Maryland driving test

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Photo Courtesy of Flickr/State Fram

The MVA has removed parallel parking from the drivers test.

Sally Tuszynski, Staff Writer

On Wed. May 20, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association announced that parallel parking will not be required in the road test taken to obtain a driver’s license, effective immediately. It was decided that a driver’s readiness can be determined by simply the two-point turn and the short drive on a real road. This decision will affect many aspects of the drivers test, making it arguably easier to pass and also making it easy to sign up for a test in the forever booked schedules.

Driving is a prominent topic with students in various stages of obtaining a license. This announcement therefore aroused a variety of responses, many of them expressed on Twitter and other forms of social media. While teenagers may not be the best advocates in terms of safety, the drivers test tends to be most relevant to them.

Junior Jackson Miller passed his road test, but not without two previous failures, both attributed to parallel parking. Miller hasn’t needed to parallel park since he took the test, relying on other available spots. He is glad that the Maryland MVA took out parallel parking because he believes many people fail on parallel parking as it is a difficult skill to master and is a nerve racking task that is amplified in the timed situation.

“In essence parallel parking really isn’t that hard but people start freaking out about it because it’s the first thing on the test and a lot of people have heard it’s the hardest part of the test. They start backing up and know they only have three minutes counting down and they have to be within 12 inches of the curb. It’s really scary,” said Miller.

After taking the test twice, it was difficult for Miller to muster up the motivation to take the test again.  Luckily on his third try he passed. While it did cause some embarrassment, failing also gave Miller more time to practice his parking and increase his overall comfort as a driver. Many upset teens who have failed their test may not look at it in this way, but failing a test could actually make one be a better driver.

Now however, new drivers can potentially be less prepared for their test as they do not have the challenge of parallel parking. While many agree that the actual skill is not highly useful, the technique and familiarity with the car that parallel parking requires is an important component that goes into one’s driving abilities.

“Its not that parallel parking itself is a big skill, it’s just the ability to control a car in a tight space like that really is hard and it shows a lot of control over the car,” said Joel Maiman, a junior who just took his test on May 26, after the parallel parking was taken out.

Maiman already was practicing parallel parking before he took his test so he has some experience with it. As time passes however, teens will not have any reason to practice parallel parking before they get their license outside the required 6 hours of professional driving lessons.

Maiman passed his test on the first try and has already felt the freedom driving permits. This freedom is not without responsibilities though. When a driver under 18 receives their license, they have a provisional license for five months, meaning they can only drive themselves or their direct family members. Lots of people don’t follow this rule and have a hard time adhering to other rules when there isn’t a parent member in the car.

“Taking the car out for the first time it was a little hard to focus because I was getting too distracted. Finally there wasn’t someone in the seat next to me constantly nagging about the speed or lanes,” said Maiman.

It’s not a secret that teens aren’t the safest drivers, and especially if they aren’t ensured to have complete control over the vehicle, which parallel parking can prove, there is reason to be worried to some extent. Some are excited because it will allow more people to pass, but this also means more inexperienced people will be on the road.

“It wont affect the amount of people that pass the test it will just affect the fact that people will not practice parallel parking,” said Maiman.

Both Miller and Maiman agree that a large part of driving is not just the physical ability, there is a large mental component that goes along with it. Doing a task like driving or taking a drivers test requires focus and determination as well as self confidence. Parallel parking or not any driver, new or old, will still need to know how to drive and the mental component involved can never be taken away.

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