Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Training #17: Alley Dock? Arrrgh!

Well, I finally figured out the offset parking today, but we were introduced to a new torment: the alley dock. For those who aren't familiar with the various maneuvers I have to do, here's the page right out of the Florida handbook (alley dock is last on the list). I can't even put into words how frustratingly difficult the alley dock is. You have to start out perfectly, do everything exactly right without any reference points, and end up perfectly straight in the "dock". Thankfully we should get more practice with this when we get to Evergreen, AL on Monday. Everyone had a hard time with it.

I also found out exactly how the backing (maneuvering) test is going to work. We randomly are assigned three of the six backing techniques: straight line, parallel park (either side), offset backing (either side), and the alley dock. Scoring 12 points in penalties is a failure. Points are assessed as follows:

  • Getting out of the vehicle more than twice: 1 point (each exit)
  • Pulling forward more than twice: 1 point (each pull-up)
  • Hitting the boundary line with any part of the vehicle, including mirrors: 2 points*
  • Parking on a boundary line: 10 points (automatic failure)

* During the alley dock, crossing the far boundary line with two or more tires is also an automatic failure.

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