Designated parking spaces

[Gob]

A German mayor faces accusations of sexism after ordering for his town's trickiest parking spaces to be marked 'men only'.

Gallus Strobel, mayor of the Black Forest town of Triberg, has demanded that spaces are painted with a male or female symbol depending on their perceived difficulty.

Women have been allocated wide, well-lit spaces located close to the exits of car parks, while men are expected to pull in at more difficult angles close to cement pillars.



The mayor has defended the controversial policy, saying: ‘Men are, as a rule, a little better at such challenges.’

However, sensing that his comments might ignite the fury of female voters, he swiftly added: ‘There are also great women drivers who are, of course, most welcome!’
So far the move has been greeted enthusiastically. Tourists have flocked to the town, which is about 100 kilometres south of Stuttgart, to take on the mayor’s parking challenge.

Mayor Strobel, 58, told the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that he hoped to challenge 'political correctness'.

'But I have received mostly positive feedback,' he added.

'One man sent me an email to say he would travel to the town just to test himself at parking.
'Women, of course, are most welcome to try.'

But some female critics say the policy smacks of 'male pig-headedness'.

One woman told a local radio station: 'The implication in his move is that women cannot drive as well as men.

'I wonder what other schemes the mayor harbours for the "fairer sex".'

It comes less than a week after pictures emerged of a car park in China which has introduced a ladies-only parking zone.

The underground shopping centre car park in Tianjin has an area clearly marked with neon signs, bright pink shopping-themed decor, and hazard bumpers in each space.

[dgs49]

What happens when reality differs from how you believe things ought to be?

I guaran-fucking-tee that if you challenged 100 men and 100 women to a contest in parallel parking - in limited time and space, the men would kick ass. Some men are better than others and same for the women, but generally speaking, men are much better at parking cars.

And that's even assuming that you can get the 100 women to put down their cell phones and shut the fuck up.

Oops. Did that come out as a little sexist?

Sorry.

[Scooter]

What happens when reality differs from how you believe things ought to be?

Women are better at parking than men, study finds

WASHINGTON - Parking can be a challenge for both men and women, but a new study of thousands of drivers finds that women tend to be better at parking than men.

Women were also found to be better at finding parking spaces, according to the study.

Parking lots across Britain were placed under surveillance, and each person who parked was graded in several categories. Researchers found that men tended to be less patient than women, causing them to miss open spaces. While women had a slower approach, they were better able to find spaces and see when another driver was about to leave.

As for parking itself, the study by the car park firm NCP found that 39 percent of women were able to cleanly reverse into a space, compared to just 28 percent of men.

While men were quicker at parking, the extra time that women took helped them park better. Fifty-two percent of women parked in the middle of the spot, while 25 percent of men did.

[dales]

Parallel parking (like any other task) is only accomplished by doing it often.

I am a very poor parallel parker (I don't even have to do this once a year).

But how many drivers know how to "double clutch"?

[dgs49]

There is a secret to it. Cut the wheels immediately after your rear axle passes the end of the car in front of your desired space.

Glad to see another example of a study that decides what it wants to conclude, then conducts the study to ensure that finding.

Fucking ridiculous. "Better at finding parking places"? Or willing to wait a half hour while someone is getting ready to leave, in order to park three feet closer to the entrance of the store? I'm familiar with the breed.

[Scooter]

Once again I was shown to be shooting my mouth off without knowing what the fuck I was talking about, but of course I would never admit it.

[The Hen]

Women are better at parking than men, study finds

While men were quicker at parking, the extra time that women took helped them park better. Fifty-two percent of women parked in the middle of the spot, while 25 percent of men did.

Whilst Gob will beat me nine out of ten times at a reverse park, my forward parking skills are superior and I always hit the center of a space. If not, I will correct my park.

I am sure it is a speed issue as well.

[BoSoxGal]

After three years of street parking in DC, I'm pretty terrific at parallel parking. I can pull in perfectly in one action, no corrections required.

[kristina]

I used to be able to parallel park really well when I lived in SF. On steep hills.

Six years of living in the burbs and my skills have atrophied a bit...

[Jarlaxle]

After three years of street parking in DC, I'm pretty terrific at parallel parking. I can pull in perfectly in one action, no corrections required.

But can you do it with a 26' box truck?

[Econoline]

I'm betting that with that same three years of experience she could do it just as perfectly. (With a few weeks practice, so could I, probably; but I've never driven a truck that big for more than a few days at a time. For me the hardest part was always accurately estimating the size of the space, not actually maneuvering the truck into it. Backing into a tight loading dock is easy by comparison.)