Okay, I wrote this out before but then my computer messed up so now this is my 2nd time writing it so im gonna try and make this decently breif

Okay so my lil brother is learning how to drive. He hasnt been driving for that long but hes been doing a good job. So i decided to teach him on my car. I thought it would be a good chance for him to learn manual transmission as well. Jus so hes 1 step ahead of the game. I must tell you guys, hes doing phenominal. He has only stalled it like 2-3 times and they were on hills, so i told him he did better then me :P

Anyways, heres the situation...hes doing a good job but hes having trouble when it comes to parking. He says hes having trouble when it comes to judging the front end (the passenger side mainly) he asked me how to get the judgement and im having a hard time explaining it to him. So i decided to come here and maybe see if u guys could explain it so maybe he has a better understanding. Hes doing soo well but Its this one thing thats messing him up. Hes fine when there isnt a car next to him. As soon as there is car, hes like worried that hes gonna hit it or something. I told him he'll get it by practice and confidence, but he wants someone to explain how to kinda start out judging. I dunno if that makes sense, but maybe u guys can help me out.

Anyways...thanks in advance

 

If hes just mainly concerned with cars on his right, when he pulls in just keep in tight to the left, meaning park a little closer to the car to his left than he would normally do.

 

ya but whens approaching it, he has no judgment of the front bumper, so he thinks his front bumper is gonna hit the car...he has no judgement, thats the problem...he wants to know how to get that judgment...dunno if that makes sense...

 

When your brother figures it out, have him fill me in, cause I've been driving for 16 years and I still have the same problem.

 

lol... i notice little nuances on the way my vehicle is shaped to help me drive when my mind is not fully on the topic at hand (i realize this is bad but sometimes you just have those days). For example on my dad's f-250 the hood has a crease running down the middle of it. Well when driving if I hold the upper portion of that crease on the white line on my right, i usually stay centered in the lane. Not sure if I am making complete sense here or not.

My problem has always been when in reverse. All of the cars I have driven all seem to have a big "butt" usually with wings which helps to reduce visibilty. I have a hard time judging where the car is in relation to the car behind me. lol... i guess there is always something

mike

 

just get a cone and stick a long stick in it so the stick is visible from the driver seat. then what you have him do is tell him to get as close to the cone as possible while he's parking and even tell him to hit it a couple times so that he remembers and would be able to gauge the distance of the front of the car in some aspect. hope i was of some help.. but in due time he'll get used to it.. every person has to get accustomed to the new cars they get.. but this may be able to help him out faster

 

For me, it's a matter of getting a feel for the dimensions of the car. There's no exact science to it, and I guess you can practice different things until you get that feel. Just gotta get comfortable with how long/wide the front end is.

 

ghostrider got this one nailed... One has to get a feel for where the four corners of the car are, there's really no exact way to teach this. The ones who do, can't explain; the ones who don't, can't understand.

 

Tell him to relax. He'll get it with time. Maybe you could spot for your bro a few times when he's parking and maybe after a few times he'll have a mental image of where the corners are on the car. This happened to me when i was learning how to drive and it just takes a little time to be comfortable with the car. Hope this helps.

Junior

 

If he's having trouble with pulling into a straight parking space with a car to the left and right, tell him to pull in wide. Meaning take the car to the left most part of the lane in the parking lot then make a hard right to turn into the space. That usually can get u straight enough not to worry about hitting other cars when u pull in.

dammit... the diagram didnt show up right, damn library computers dont have MS paint and stuff...

 

I agree with the experience part, but here's an excerise I do that has helped me. It's basically knowing when your instincts tell you you're close and then use that as a guide to compensate.

Find an object to pull upto or back into. It could be a friend, just have him stand in front of the car. Now pull up to him until you think (your instincts tell you) you're 2-4" away. Stop and get out of the car and check. Do this a few time with different objects and you'll begin to see how far instincts get you everytime. Most people usually underestimate how close they are. So just add a few inches everytime you park to compensate.

Here's another tip, when I part next to other cars and they're roughly the same size as mine, then I just pull up until our side mirrors are parallel and that usually gets me close enough.

Bryan

 

i used to do the same thing when i got my permit way back when.. everytime i used to park, i would just walk out and see how far i was and use it as a reference point.. as weird as it sounds, it works..

 

Have him park with the headlights on. While this won't work in all lighting situations and with all vehicles in the space next to you, it may provide some assistance in gauging 'closeness'. You can get a reflection of the light off of the vehicle next to you. Don't know if he will have a 'feel' for this method, but it does work for me in some circumstances...


Cabo

 

Wow, nice ideas guys. I like the cone one and the friend one. I have pretty good spacial judgement from autocrossing, but I will definitely recomend these ideas to some of my friends.

 

Now I feel like I need to attend the driving school all over again...
How did I get my DL in the first place????Oh wait, I don't have one....

BTW, juz a quick question, how many of you can actually parallel park in between 2 cars (just enough space for one car) on a slope in ONE trial, where you drive a STICK and have to back-up uphill??
'cuz if you can do that, I wanna sign up the driving school you went to...