A survey that will leave most male drivers amazed and surprise a few women makes the controversial claim that women are better at parking than men.
Women tend to take longer to park than men but are more proficient at parking the car centrally and are better at finding a parking space.
The survey of 2,500 drivers, rated them in the different aspects of parking. Out of a total of 20, women scored on average 13.4 and men scored an average of 12.3. A mere 18% of women believe themselves better at parking than men.
The first aspect analysed by Britain’s biggest car park operator NCP, was to find an available space. It indicated that men often miss spaces because they are driving too fast through the car park, whereas, the women’s approach meant they were able to notice when drivers were about to leave. They were also much better at spotting empty spaces.
The second aspect was to test positioning the car correctly before entering the space. 39 % of women opted to reverse in, a method preferred by driving instructors, compared to the 28 % of men.
The third aspect was positioning the car once in the parking space, 29% of men readjusted the car compared to the 56% of women. 53% of women parked centrally with only 25% of men managing the same.
The final aspect was the time taken to park, on average it took 16 seconds for a man to park compared to women 21 seconds.
The survey designed by NCP, Neil Beeson featuring in an ITV documentary also showed men accompanied by women tended to pose park, that is to squeeze into a smaller space when bigger ones are available so as to appear more skilled behind the wheel.