Study shows women are worse at parking than men

Women are slower and less accurate at parking than men, according to a scientific study that confirms the suspicions of many male motorists.

Female drivers take an average of 20 seconds longer to park their cars but are still less likely to end up in the middle of the bay, the research suggests.

As part of the test 65 people were asked to park a family saloon in a standard-sized parking space. Their manoeuvres – including head-on, reverse and parallel parking – were timed and rated for accuracy, which was judged by how far they kept the vehicle from the edges of the bay.



While the researchers expected the women volunteers to be slower, they were surprised to find that the cautious approach did not lead to a tidier final result.

Dr Claudia Wolf from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, who led the study, said that the research confirmed previous findings that men have better co-ordination and spatial awareness than women, and take more risks behind the wheel. "These prejudices exist and as a scientist I decided the find out if they are true or based on myth," she said.

"I don't think that feminism or the cause of women is in any way set back by these findings. It only proves what previous studies about the spatial differences between men and women have shown. Besides, it is not as if there was a massive failing by women. It is just about parking – not the triumph of men over women."