Sunday, November 09, 2008

Parallel Parking for Dummies


MacGyver was bubbling with excitement the other night. He said he wanted to show me something, a Top Gear episode. He set up his laptop so that I could view the video.

I was amused when I found out that the episode he wanted me to see was one which featured a car with a special device that would (theoretically) perform parallel parking AUTOMATICALLY, i.e., without the driver having to do anything.

(Surely a car with that sort of special device was made just for me! That is right. If I had that device when I was in school then I would not have had to leave the house very early in the morning just so that I could get one particular slot at the driveway of the College of Engineering. If I had that device now then I would be more willing to drive, maybe go to Greenhills during the Christmas season or take a car to church instead of walk.)

Alas, as I viewed the episode, it showed that the device was not yet quite ready for the real world. The car WAS able to move on its own, without the intervention of the driver. It DID approximate the parallel parking requirement by getting in between two cars parked parallel to the curb. HOWEVER, as shown on TV, it hit the fence as it was backing up and it nudged one of the cars as it was trying to park.

Oh well, I'm sure they'll perfect that device eventually. In the meantime, I can only say that it never ceases to amaze me how some drivers can parallel park with such great ease. Thank goodness MacGyver is one of those skilled drivers. We're sticking with him at the wheel.


(There are many more theories, tips and techniques for parallel parking. I would think for parallel parking, the same rule applies -- Practice makes perfect.)

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