By Emily Jerez and Gabby Redpath

On May 19th, 2015 the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association removed parallel parking from the driver’s test. The decision was made by the MVA that “completing a two-point turn and backing up are similar enough to parallel parking to eliminate the parking element from the test” (“MVA Drops Parallel Parking From Driver’s License Test.”). Drivers Education will continue to educate new drivers on how to parallel park, but they’ll never be tested on this skill.

THIS IS A HORRIBLE IDEA!

By Gabby Redpath

I can’t believe this. Living in Downtown Frederick, I will frequently parallel park. I want to be confident in my own ability and the ability of those around me to park our cars along the streets of our city. Without this aspect of the test, how am I supposed to know that the young driver parking his car behind me is qualified enough to execute the operation?

Yes. two-point turns and backing in do show an understanding of driving – but they aren’t the same as parallel parking. The size of parking spaces are fairly consistent, but parking between two cars can be unpredictable. Sometimes there’s only a few inches between the individual parking and a brand new BMW.

By not ensuring that new drivers can properly park their vehicles along our streets, the MVA is endangering the lives of our precious vehicles. Why should my innocent Honda Civic suffer a dented bumper because the new driver parking in front of me didn’t know how to properly complete the procedure?

“I’m scared for my car, I love her and I don’t want anyone hitting her,” replied Walkersville High Junior Darius Bowie will be paying to park his Mitsubishi Lancer in a garage when he goes downtown.

Like Bowie, I can’t see myself parking in the streets. It simply isn’t worth the risk. Getting rid of parallel parking from the driver’s test removes the safety net that caught all the horrendous parallel parkers before they attempted to injure my car. Now that the net has been removed, I fear for Maryland vehicles.

“Maryland Drops Parallel Parking from Driver’s Test.”WTOP. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://wtop.com/maryland/2015/05/maryland-drops-parallel-parking-from-drivers-test/>

The Best Change Made by the MVA

By Emily Jerez
Parallel parking has been on the Maryland Driver’s Test for many years. When it had finally been removed my sigh of relief could be heard all throughout the house. The teenage and adult populations of Maryland that have not yet taken the Driver’s Test no longer have to stress and sweat over those dreadful 3 minutes of parallel parking.

Parallel parking is not a necessary technique that needs to be learned or taught. Now a days there is never a situation that absolutely requires parallel parking. There are parking garages and parking lots everywhere, with  five parking garages in Downtown Frederick(www.downtownfrederick.org), over ten in Washington DC (www.parkme.com) , and over twenty in the highly populated New York City (manhattan.about.com).

When I asked Iliana Jerez, a 24 year old adult, about this new change to the test she said,  “I think the change is a good thing. Parallel parking isn’t something I use regularly. Teaching it at Driver’s Ed and making it be a part of the test is a waste of time.”

I agree with Iliana’s statement; like I mentioned earlier it is not necessary to learn how to parallel park. It is good that Driver Tests are now focusing more on the driving portion making sure rookie drivers are safe on the road and looking at all signs, rather than the parallel parking portion.

Now all of us that are taking our drivers test for the first time will have a better chance of passing and safely driving on the roads.

Oakdale Senior Andrew Forrest shows off his perfect parallel parking skills.

“Downtown Frederick Partnership.” Getting Around -. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.downtownfrederick.org/getting-around>.

“We Make Parking Easy.” Washington, D.C. Parking – Find & Reserve Parking. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <https://www.parkme.com/washington-dc-parking>.

Skillings, Pamela. “Guide to Parking Garages in New York City.” N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2015. <http://manhattan.about.com/od/gettingaround/a/parkingnyc.htm>.