Men need to park prejudices after being outmanoeuvred by women

IT IS the driving skill that men claim women lack the most.

However, research published today appears to confound perceived male wisdom – that the fairer sex are inferior parkers.

Car park CCTV footage of hundreds of drivers shows women are actually more adept at manoeuvring into a space, according to parking operator NCP.

The firm said women scored an average 13.4 out of 20 in overall parking prowess, compared with 12.3 for men.

However, the research did not include parallel parking on streets – and experts are divided over whether that would have produced a different result.

NCP viewed footage of 500 drivers from car parks including the St James Centre in Edinburgh, assessing skills in eight areas.

Women were found to be better at finding a space, positioning their car and manoeuvring. They were beaten by men only in manoeuvring speed.

However, a higher proportion of women drivers, 39 per cent, reversed into spaces, which is seen as safer than driving in forward compared with 28 per cent of men.

Yorkshire-based driving instructor Neil Beeson, who calculated the scores for NCP, 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.”

Mr Beeson, who appeared in ITV’s Last Chance Driving School, added: “The results also dispel the myth that men have better spatial awareness than women.”

He was unsure whether men would have fared better at parallel parking, but Neil Greig, the Scotland-based policy and research director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) expected they would still be worse.

He said: “Men tend to be more aggressive and that is shown by the figures on missing spaces.

“They also tend to make snap decisions about how good a space is and if they can fit into it quickly. The most disappointing figures for the IAM are the low numbers reversing into spaces. Reversing into a bay saves time and fuel on exit and is generally safer for pedestrians as you can see better when you leave.”

Automobile Association president Edmund King said: “Men tend to talk a good game when it goes to parking, but women often show more finesse.”

Driving instructor Sally Robinson, from Livingston, said: “I must confess to being initially surprised at the results.

“However, once I read the full report, I can believe that women may be better as they tend to take their time with things, which would give them the opportunity to park more centrally and straight in a bay.

“This result may have been very different if it had included the reverse park around another car. I suspect men may be more confident with this manoeuvre.”