Should the state of West Virginia remove parallel parking from the driver’s test like many other states? Do you believe a parking maneuver should be required to show new drivers are in control of their vehicle at all times?
Parallel parking is rarely necessary and barely used by anyone anymore. Most of the time, there is either a perpendicular or an angled parking spot available nearby, preferred even by those who know how to parallel park.
“I’ve never had to parallel park once,” senior Lucas Hoke said. “It just seems pointless on the driver’s test.”
A handful of states (16 in total, including near neighbors Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and North Carolina) don’t require drivers to parallel park on the driver’s test. Yes, parallel parking shows that a driver can use their mirrors and reverse the vehicle, but it’s not the only test that involves mirror checking and otherwise demonstrates a motorist is capable of driving safely.
“Yeah it helps show that someone can drive,” sophomore Braxton Beasley said, “but there are different ways you can ensure a driver is spatially aware.”
Regardless, most new cars have an auto park feature, phasing out parallel parking even more. “Park assist and auto parallel parking is becoming a normal feature that’s even on the new Toyota Prius,” Beasley said. “Learning how to parallel park is becoming even more obsolete.”