Tips from the Pros: Parking Maneuver Practice

Like most driving schools, we have an 8 Hour Driving Curriculum that we use for students that take our Full Driver's Education Program. Every student has a different background; some have been driving tractors, quads and golf carts since youth while others don't know the brake from the gas. We have a foundation curriculum and then make adjustments based on each individual student's needs.

Regardless of how much a student needs to learn, one method of teaching always holds true:

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

Although many consider driving to be a natural skill, it is not. It is an acquired skill. You'll hear many people in this industry compare it to learning an instrument or taking up golf. You learn a skill, and then you practice the skill until it is second nature. REPETITION!

We teach our students every parking maneuver they will need once they are licensed:
a.) Pull In (and Back Out)
b.) Back In (and Pull Out)
c.) Parallel

Unfortunately, in most cases we only have each student for a couple of hours. Thus, it is the student's responsibility to practice these moves at home. Here are some tips for the home instructor that will help your new driver perfect these maneuvers:

1.) Verbalize. While completing a maneuver, make the student tell you, step by step, what they are doing. Saying the steps out loud will help the steps become nature.
2.) Don't take the easy route! When parking, don't just let the student pull in. Try parking in different spots. Make them back into the space.
3.) Don't take the fast route! Allow an extra 5 minutes to get to where you are going. Once there, make your student park 3-5 times in different spots.
4.) Perfection is Key!  Don't settle for less. Make sure that the car is straight in the parking stall and centered between the lines. If it isn't, make your student fix the park until it is.
5.) Finally, stay calm. We have students that get 15 parks in a row perfectly, and on the 16th try, royally botch it up. This is ok. The mistakes the students make are necessary for them to learn how to a. correct them and b. not repeat them.

In the coming months, we will have some of our instructors blog on the step by step instructions for each specific parking maneuver. We have a number of diagrams that I am happy to e-mail to anyone that needs some help.

Until soon...
BD