Women better at parking than men - study

[Aussie Revhead]

WOMEN are better at parking than men, according to new research which contradicts popular belief.

An analysis of drivers across England gave women a score of 13.4 out of 20 compared to 12.3 for men. Parking technique, accuracy and time taken were assessed in the research by a parking garage operator, NCP.

Women are slower than men at parking, taking an average of 21 seconds compared with 16 for men.

But they scored better on finding a space, positioning the car, reversing into spaces and making sure the car was centrally placed once in a space.

The study found men often missed available spaces by driving too quickly through car parks.

Well over a third of women opted to reverse into spaces - the method preferred by instructors - compared with just over a quarter of men.

Men were also happier with the position of their cars once in the space, with only 29 per cent choosing to start repositioning the car.

A majority of women found themselves shuffling forward and backwards to try to obtain a better final position, the study found, resulting in more than half of women parking centrally, compared with only a quarter of men.

Researchers said the study found men also loved to "pose park" when accompanied by a female passenger by opting to squeeze into a small space when a bigger one was available.

The study was conducted by looking at CCTV footage of 453 drivers parking across the country with further research carried out into the views of 2,000 drivers.

The scoring system was designed for NCP by driving instructor Neil Beeson of ITV's Last Chance Driving School documentary.

He said: "I was quite surprised by the results, because in my experience men have always been the best learners and usually performed better in lessons.

"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."

Jo Cooper, NCP chief executive said: "Parking is our business, so we carried out the research to see how well people park their cars.

"As an interesting by-product of the research, we've also found out that there is a difference in parking skills between the sexes, although perhaps not in the way that most people expected."

[acarmody]

Yeah but we all know that England is backwards anyway.

They should try a study of Aussie parking (or at least in my neighborhood). I can see the headlines know, "99% of Australian Public are Shit at Parking".

[Dr HaxZaw]

Another scientific study about stuff that is not really relevant except to people on twitter... we all know men are better at driving than women

[elmaso]

i must say, i've seen more shit female drivers than male, like pull out of side streets without looking both ways, cant park/use drive throughs and not to good at reversing.
but then most blokes behind the wheel are more aggressive.

[Jonah 101]

i must say, i've seen more shit female drivers than male, like pull out of side streets without looking both ways, cant park/use drive throughs and not to good at reversing.
but then most blokes behind the wheel are more aggressive.

Exactly, and what did they deem a bad park? just because you are not perfectly central does not mean you parked badly, so long as there is enough room for people to reverse out and get in and out of their cars. I think women are just more pedantic.

[Kernal]

This is the biggest load of sh1t since . . .

[acarmody]

Exactly, and what did they deem a bad park? just because you are not perfectly central does not my you parked badly, so long as there is enough room for people to reverse out and get in and out of their cars. I think women are just more pedantic.

Like this chick I saw today who had to correct her parking approximately 10 times thereby holding me and many others up for way too long.

[TVR-190]

WOMEN are better at parking than men, according to new research which contradicts popular belief.

An analysis of drivers across England gave women a score of 13.4 out of 20 compared to 12.3 for men. Parking technique, accuracy and time taken were assessed in the research by a parking garage operator, NCP.

Women are slower than men at parking, taking an average of 21 seconds compared with 16 for men.

But they scored better on finding a space, positioning the car, reversing into spaces and making sure the car was centrally placed once in a space.

The study found men often missed available spaces by driving too quickly through car parks.

Well over a third of women opted to reverse into spaces - the method preferred by instructors - compared with just over a quarter of men.

Men were also happier with the position of their cars once in the space, with only 29 per cent choosing to start repositioning the car.

A majority of women found themselves shuffling forward and backwards to try to obtain a better final position, the study found, resulting in more than half of women parking centrally, compared with only a quarter of men.

Researchers said the study found men also loved to "pose park" when accompanied by a female passenger by opting to squeeze into a small space when a bigger one was available.

The study was conducted by looking at CCTV footage of 453 drivers parking across the country with further research carried out into the views of 2,000 drivers.

The scoring system was designed for NCP by driving instructor Neil Beeson of ITV's Last Chance Driving School documentary.

He said: "I was quite surprised by the results, because in my experience men have always been the best learners and usually performed better in lessons.

"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."

Jo Cooper, NCP chief executive said: "Parking is our business, so we carried out the research to see how well people park their cars.

"As an interesting by-product of the research, we've also found out that there is a difference in parking skills between the sexes, although perhaps not in the way that most people expected."

[Julie]

As a female I would confidently say that in my experience men tend to be better at parking than women. Of course there are exceptions some blokes are shockers and some women can park very well.

[Rufys]

This is the biggest load of sh1t since . . .

LMAO!!! Best laugh all day...

Most up'd comment: "I have never seen some one walk up to a pile of shit with so much swag" Hahahahahahaha! GOLD!

[Jonah 101]

I work at McDonalds and i mostly work with women, I always park with my bumber closer to the fence and I never hit it

[Jesterarts]

All that has proven is that woman drive slow.

[Jonah 101]

What I hate about these gender studies is they only say when WOMEN are better at something, apparently its sexist otherwise.

[VZ_SS]

Someone was paid to find this out? Gees.....

[lmoengnr]

Aussie blokes dont bother to park......

We Just stop!

[Mbro]

must have been studying asain men drivers then,

[Ghost]

Yep lol for sure

[Banicks]

From memory there was a study made a while ago regarding what the strengths are in men and women.

Men scored highest in geometric shapes, distances, logical thinking, mechanical and such.

Women scored highest in creativity, art, and such.

I just remember the geometric shapes and distances one because that is 110% driving - knowing your car size, other distances and shapes on the road.

The claim that women are better drivers by insurance companies is unfounded - but the truth behind the original statement is that women are less prone to be hoons on the road. God knows I've seen enough to cause accidents though.

[Rufys]

The claim that women are better drivers by insurance companies is unfounded

No insurance company claims that. Insurance companies operate on risk assessment. If men are involved in more road incidents than women (which they are) then men are a higher risk for insurance companies. Doesn't mean men are worse drivers.

[troykinsvt]

i think they screwed up the info......ive NEVER seen a decent chick drive
they may pass their test but confidence and ability to drive with it is lacking ,
then again the missus cleans better then me, i clean up soon as i use a dish ,

EACH TO THEIR OWN ON THIS ONE

[Nitronic_12]

No insurance company claims that. Insurance companies operate on risk assessment. If men are involved in more road incidents than women (which they are) then men are a higher risk for insurance companies. Doesn't mean men are worse drivers.

I would've imagined it was the other way around. I know a fair few ladies who've trashed several cars... but then again...

[vicarious]

I would've imagined it was the other way around. I know a fair few ladies who've trashed several cars... but then again...

i know of 2 young women that are complete shockers there cars look like stevie wonder has just driven it

[monkeys437]

Wow great study, sounds very scientific. You could just as easily get the same data taken and design the criteria and weightings to make men achieve a higher score and reach the opposite conclusion to your study

[RiCeY]

women drivers - YouTube

/end thread.

[Drawnnite]

No insurance company claims that. Insurance companies operate on risk assessment. If men are involved in more road incidents than women (which they are) then men are a higher risk for insurance companies. Doesn't mean men are worse drivers.

i would say its because men are normally driving when with the family (or going out with partner/wife/missus)
i would also say more men drive greater distances (eg tradies)
its all facts and figures, and men do drive more in %. its not rocket science =P


i would rather a test on what % of each gender can do general car maintenance, change a tyre, drive and back a trailer. and other various activities.
but hell its england they tested in. you could just walk quicker over there! =P

the problem with "scientific" studies are that its a select group of people.
no wonder those guys sucked at it... the rest of them were probably doing something half decent with their time.