Study: Women park their cars better than men
Jan 31, 2012, 1:16 PM | Updated: 3:04 pm
Next time you're parking valet, asking for the female driver. A new study says they do a better job at parking. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
If the stereotype is true, women are not good drivers, but a new study says they are better at parking than men.
Britain’s National Car Park Report looked at technique, accuracy, and time spent trying to park in an effort to build out a scoring system for 2,500 drivers. Woman scored a 13.4 out of 20, while men scored a 12.3 in the month-long study.
“I was quite surprised by the results, because in my experience men have always been the best learners and
usually performed better in lessons,” said Neil Beeson, the senior driving instructor from ITV’s ‘Last Chance Driving School’ documentary. “However, it’s possible that women have retained the information better. The results also appear to dispel the myth that men have better spatial awareness than women.”
While it may seem like it takes your favorite lady FOREVER to find a spot, she’s actually more successful at finding a spot (most likely closer to the front door). The study revealed men were just too impatient and missed spots.
Men made up for their impatience in the speed category. On average, it takes men 16 seconds to pull into a spot, while women spend 21 seconds to park. Since we park our cars 1,004 times a year, the study concludes women take 12 days to successfully maneuver the car over their lifetime. Men only spend nine days.
While men were much more confident in the position of their cars once in the spot, women, who spent more time repositioning the car, beat the men in the final position. The study says more than half of women parked the car evenly between the white lines, compared to only a quarter of men.
The study also found that men love to ‘pose park’ when a female passenger is on board by trying to squeeze into a smaller spot when another bigger space is available.
