Readers’ ideal driving test? Parallel parking at top of the list: Roadshow

Q: In response to the ideal driving test, how about bringing back parallel parking? I cringe every time a neighbor “parallel parks” by driving slightly into his driveway, then down the sidewalk, before dropping his right front wheel off the curb back into the street.

Robert Turner, San Jose

A: A reader recently described her ideal driving test. Today, a few more.

Q: I grew up in San Francisco and learned to drive on a manual transmission car there. My dad wouldn’t let me get my license until I could go up the Fillmore Street hill, stop and start up again without any problem.

I still can drive one in my 70s.

Also, whatever happened to learning to parallel park? People have a hard time doing that, even with backup camera assistance.

Barbara Bricca

A: And…

Q: My requests: Handling a busy four-way stop, merging onto a freeway, knowing what to do when you miss your turn/exit (go straight, then make a U-turn), parallel parking, and fast-lane driving (move over if you’re a boulder!).

Patti White, San Marcos

A: And…

Q: I’m not sure if it’s my ideal, but when I took my actual driving test in New York City, I had to:

(1) Parallel park

My girlfriend still cannot do this, and it is not tested in California, which means she is helpless in a downtown city street.

(2) Use hand signals

Heck, most Californians don’t even use their car’s electronic turn signals. And if someone does use hand signals, as some proper bicyclists do, they think they are driving behind some madman who is simply waving his arms around. The only recognized hand signal in California is the “one-finger salute.”

(3) Do a figure eight on a motorcycle

I had to do a figure eight on a city street, the short way (i.e., the tips of the figure eight were constrained by the curbs). If your feet left the pegs (as one might do to improve balance), it was an automatic failure.