Best parallel parking job ever?

[Not_Done_Living]

time lapse video of a car squeezing in between to other cars leaving less than a sm in between the vehicles.. i know i am good at parrallell parking but man, this is a tight squeeze--- can it actually be done?

[musicgeek]

I don't see why not, if, like the driver in the video, you have a cavalier attitude toward nudging the car behind you back several times with your own bumper. (Even moreso to get out of the space later!)

[iskinner]

It apparently helps if your are willing to shove around and likely damage the vehicle behind you.

The mini van behind is clearly being moved and it's lights come on every time it is hit. The car may have moved slow enough to leave no dents in the bumpers (but how low speed bumpers are engineered for these days I wonder). But scratches are almost guaranteed.

So I would say there was much less then a centimeter, the vehicles where touching.

ETA: On second viewing I noticed the bike rack mounted on the back of the parking car that clearly goes over the hood of the van. So not only is the van being pushed at the bumper, it's hood is at risk from the rack.

ETA again: The front vehicle is also shoved around.

[GenYus234]

Since the driver keeps hitting the car behind him, I would say it is definately not the best parallel parking job ever. I don't see any reason why it couldn't be real in that someone could park that way if they were patient enough and didn't mind repeatedly hitting another vehicle. The back up lights and wheel movements seem accurate.

I assume this is staged though considering how perfectly the parking car is framed in the camera.

[Mateus]

Bah! Everyone knows this is how to get in and out of a tight space:

[snopes]

The video was taken in Bushwick, not far from the Wyckoff Heights Hospital, which makes parking in short supply in the surrounding area — but not if you dare to dream and tell yourself anything's possible. At press time, the driver of the car has not been identified.

http://gothamist.com/2011/12/08/vide...parking_in.php

[Hans Off]

Meh, I've seen far better jobs than that in Paris, where people are not so precious about their cars and don't tend to leave the parking brakes on.

I saw one driver park in a space that, at the outset was a clear 2 ft shorter than his car, he simply pushed the cars in front and behind him out of the way. watching a number of drivers find spaces in a street where, in the UK, would! be considered full to capacity was a fine way to spend an evening

[Chloe]

Well done, Reginald Molehusband!

[RobDBlackwolf]

Originally Posted by iskinner

The mini van behind is clearly being moved and it's lights come on every time it is hit.

Just a small correction. The lights of the minivan do not come on. It's the reflection of the reverse indication light of the parking car, with the high speed video clip it's a bit harder to see.

[Singing in the Drizzle]

I have seen it done with about 6 inches of free space at each end of the vehical many years ago and before cheap video cameras. Sitting around Seattle's Space Needle eating dinner one night when their was a concert in the colosseum. Two teens in a compact care found a free parking place, but it was a very tight fit. So on got out and directed the other one as he wiggled the car into the spot. Did not hit the other cars, but it did take about 30 minutes to get the car legally parked.

I wish that I had a video camera that day. It was good entertainment watching and listening to them while I eat dinner.

[queen of the caramels]

Originally Posted by Chloe

Well done, Reginald Molehusband!

Thanks Chloe..now every-one knows our age!

[Cervus]

At work I once had to parallel park between a Jaguar and a Maserati. I don't remember how much clearance I had, but that was the most nerve-wracking parallel parking job ever.

Could have been worse, though. At least one of our clients owns a Bentley.

[Die Capacitrix]

Originally Posted by Hans Off

Meh, I've seen far better jobs than that in Paris, where people are not so precious about their cars and don't tend to leave the parking brakes on.

This is what first came to my mind when I saw the video. My coworker recently mentioned that this is the norm for parking on the in Paris. Actually, from what I've seen of the drivers in Paris, bumps and scrapes are a normal part of life. If you want to keep your car looking pristine, park outside of Paris and take public transportation.

[fitz1980]

Originally Posted by Die Capacitrix

Actually, from what I've seen of the drivers in Paris, bumps and scrapes are a normal part of life.

That's the same thing some friends who lived in Chicago during their college careers said of Chicago. My friends had learned to drive in the Atlanta suburbs, where space is plentiful and parking is abundant; hence they were not good at parallel parking. Their classmates who had grown up in Chicago told them "just bump him (the parked car behind/in-front of); that's how it's done here."

[NorthernLite]

I've never parallel parked with so little clearance. The one I'm most proud of had about 6 feet of clearance front and back. I did it one go on main street with people watching. I was driving a 45 foot tractor trailer at the time. Never tried it again. There's only so much luck a person can have.

[RichardM]

Well, I "parallel park" my car trailer and pickup in my drive. I have about 12 feet total clearance and the total length is 41 feet. This is harder than a big rig because the truck is the same length as the trailer more or less.

I have gotten very good at replacing fencing.

[Xia]

Originally Posted by fitz1980

Their classmates who had grown up in Chicago told them "just bump him (the parked car behind/in-front of); that's how it's done here."

I've lived in Chicago all my life any never heard anyone suggest that sort of thing. Not saying I haven't seen people bump the cars they were parking between, but I've never heard it suggested as a matter of course or on purpose.

[Moku]

Originally Posted by Singing in the Drizzle

I have seen it done with about 6 inches of free space at each end of the vehical ... but it did take about 30 minutes to get the car legally parked.

When I lived in Birmingham (West Mids) six inches either end of the car wouldn't have been all that unusual on my street. The road had a steep camber though which helped as you could roll into the space in a very controlled way rather than risk accelerating too hard.

I did once parallel 'park' a 72 foot long narrowboat in a space only about a foot longer than the boat in the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon. I got a round of applause from a bunch of tourists.

[fitz1980]

Originally Posted by Xia

I've lived in Chicago all my life any never heard anyone suggest that sort of thing. Not saying I haven't seen people bump the cars they were parking between, but I've never heard it suggested as a matter of course or on purpose.

It's entirely possible that my friends were far too timid about how to parallel park given that the ATL suburbs have huge parking lots and said girl was trying to get my friends to be more aggressive. However you also mentioned that bumping the car in front of you is grudgingly accepted as a fact of life up there while here in Atlanta it would probably be greeted with either a "holy god we've got to get out of here before the police show up" or "did you see that, somebody should call the police?"

[Lainie]

Aren't automatic transmission cars the majority in the US? Would an auto-transmission car in "Park" move enough when bumped to make any difference to the other parker?