Fred Bredemeyer Wins Parking Professional of the Year
When Fred Bredermeyer was 18, Chicago's Nikko Hotel gave him a job as a parking attendant. Little did the Indiana native know that he was about to embark on a career that would earn him the ultimate accolade from The International Parking Institute. Not only did Fred get the nod, but his department– the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) won "2008 Parking Organization of the Year." Obviously, I had to call Fred to congratulate him on his victory and find out what it takes to stand at the pinnacle of parking profession. There's lot of blockbuster info in the podcast, but here's a couple of off-the-air tidbits. Fred doesn't know if the Sunshine State's license test includes parallel parking and "Miami doesn't have a parking problem. It has a walking problem." Oh, and I forgot to tell Fred that "put my money in your meter baby, so it won't run down" is one of my favorite lyrics of all time. So now he knows.
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The road test for a Class E Florida Driver's License does include a simulated "hill park" at the end of the test. An essential skill for driving in a state where the greatest incline most drivers face on a daily basis is a driveway. Heck, some of the road tests are conducted in closed off parking lots. We wouldn't want to conduct a challenging, realistic test, now would we?
I once saw a very attractive woman parallel park a Suburban on a busy California street. When she got out of the truck and noticed me looking impressed with what she had done, she just smiled and said, "My dad taught me to drive big trucks and I have been doing so since." Now that is an American woman!
Airhen, You must travel sometime to Europe and check out how many of these true "American women" leave there. Admittedly, the cars are much smaller in Europe but the parking places are way smaller too leaving inches between the bumpers at the end of the maneuver. Driving a big rig does not an American make!
I hope the Aussie readers don't get all upset. But to be honest, the drivers in Western Australia are the WORST parallel parkers I've even witnessed. My jaw drops sometimes when I see someone take 5-6 tries to back into a space that has room for 3 of their car. I can't blame them. It is a big state, bigger than Alaska, with only 2 million people. So why parallel park when you have all that room?