Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-05

TT would be interesting to know
Just how much it costs Amer
ica's 22000,000 car owners to find
u parking places for their automo-
biles. Undoubtedly the figures would
be startling. Many thousands of gal
Ions OF gasoline are wasted daily, al
most. while the motorist makes his
Futile trek around this block and
that, looking vainIy for a niche in
which he can place his property
while he goes about his profession,
business, trade or shopping excursion.
In addition to the time wasted and
the gasoline consumed in this proc
ess, there are the thousands of miles
put on the cars speedometer in the
form of those two items known as
wear and tear Perhaps it is not
greatly expensive to the individual,
because cars will stand great deal
Of wear and tear these days. but
multiplying the individual experience
uy z2,4S0, 600 probably would be pro-
ductive of total that would interest
even a millionaire.
The responsibility for this predica-
ment usually is placed upon those an
cestors OF the 1927 motorist who
built the narrow streets that served
very we'll for the horse and-carriage
era, but very poorly for the motor
age. Such a verdict undoubtedly is
lust. The narrow street is the chief
cause of congestion and the parking
problem.
Every one admits this fact. There
are many. however, who are not IN
clined to let the modern motorist go
entirely free of blame. As cordially
as he loathes the problem, he is held
partly responsible for it. For, say
the accusers, if the motorist parked
correctly. he could save himself and
all his fellow street users large
measure of the annoyance they feel
when out on a parking place ex-
ploration.
Granted. they add, that the streets
are narrow. This places upon the in
dividual the burden of conserving
what space is available. He must
use it to the utmost. There must be
no waste.
In the light of this criticism, which
is becoming more and more general,
it perhaps would be we'll to look to
the parking practices of metropolitan
drivers. Do they park haphazardly,
wasting enough space to park an
other car between their own and the
machines on either side? In blocks
wnere 00-degree angle parking is per-
mitted, do they sacrifice space by
cutting in at 45, 90. 20 and so degree
angles? In parallel parking, do they
leave the rear or the front of the
car SO far from the curb that back
ing in behind or getting out is made
X n X
Dispassionate study of the situa
ton will convince observers that
there is much truth in these charges.
Parking well is one of the most
difficult features of driving. The
motorist who attempts to show how
clever he really is behind the wheel
can be made or broken by the man
ner in which he puts his car into the
aperture available for parking pur-
poses. And, among his own friends,
MANY a motorist can name many who
were broken" during this process.
Motor vehicle commissioners and
metropolitan traffic bureaus have
much interesting data to substan-
tiate this point. Parallel parking has
been made part of the test to which
the applicant for an operators per-
NIT is submitted in virtually all of the
larger cities. And, figures show, it
is the test upon which great many
of them fail. Driving in traffic, max
ing turns, knowledge of the regula-
of these may not bother
the applicant. But he often comes
a cropper when the examiner asks
him to back into the narrow space
between two cars parked parallel to
tbe curb.
Passing the test helps. of course,
but even this does not assure that
one will be adroit at parking car
forever after. 1t may be luck rather
than ones skill that gets one by the
examiner in this particular respect.
Facility in putting an automobile
into space not much larger than the
car itself is a matter of practice plus
a knowledge of few fundamental
Even drivers who are
rather skillful parkers have difficulty
attempting to explain the technique
that makes for their success.
Although it probably is not any
more abused than angle parking. the
parallel variety is the only one that
offers any real difficulty.
x x X X
The motorist who sincerely is in
terested in contributing his NEED to
the solution of the parking problem
can acquire skill by practice. In this
connection it has been said that II
one-tenth the time were devoted to
this driving feature that is given, say,
10 the matter of easy shifting-also
very important-two weeks would
see about 20 per cent more parking
SPACE available in the congested areas
of our cities.
For the new driver and for the
old who sets seriously about the
problem of overcoming this def
ciencv in his driving, some funda-
mental principles are available that
may help in developing fine park
ing technique. AS pointed ont previ-
ously, parallel parking offers perhaps
the greatest difficulty.
There is one way to get quickly
into limited parallel parking space.
That is to back in. Backing in is
a process that may vary, of course,
under different conditions, but only
in detail With allowance made for
possible variation in the size of the
space available and variation in the
wheelbases Of different makes Of
cars. here is technique that may be
applied:
Drive up alongside the car directly
in front of the space desired to be
entered. Have the running board OF