Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Warning: Park and deride ahead!

The war of the sexes continues... if a study just out is to be believed, women come out the better when it comes to parking a car in a space. The AFP story below, headlined "The driving truth: Women are better at parking, says study," is from Channel NewsAsia's website:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/featurenews/view/1179919/1/.html

After decades of male taunts over their driving skills, women can take heart from a new British study (released Monday). It found them to be actually the better sex when it comes to parking.

A review of CCTV footage from 700 British car parks and interviews with 2,000 drivers found that when a range of factors are considered, including the method used and the time taken to park their car, women come out on top.

"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 driving instructor Neil Beeson, who designed the study for NCP carparks.

"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."

The research looked at seven areas, including how fast drivers found a parking space, how they drove into it, how long it took to park, how much they repositioned the car, and the final result.

Out of a maximum score of 20, women had an average result of 13.4, while the average male score was just 12.3.

Men fared better than women in some areas, including speed -- they took an average of 16 seconds to park, compared to 21 seconds for women -- and they were happier with the result, spending less time repositioning the car.

But women were quicker at finding a spot, a result attributed to the fact that men often missed available spots by driving through car parks too fast. Also, more women chose to reverse in, the method preferred by instructors.

And after all the manoeuvres were completed, 53 per cent of women were found to have parked in the centre of the space, compared to only 25 per cent of men.

---------------------------------------------------------

I then did a Google search, and found other previous studies that claimed the opposite!

Since the above study is a British one, I felt the "opposing claim" study should also be a British one. Here's the link (below, after the Germaine Greer quote) to a December 2009 Mail on Sunday story, with this longish headline, most definitely written up by a male (but ungrammatical) sub-editor: "Men ARE better than women ar parking: Feminist scientists proves what sexist motorists have known all along".

The feminist scientist who stabbed her sisters in the back with a steering wheel? You have to read the story! And, for good measure, there is this delightful quote from feminist author Germaine Greer:

"You must remember that women also have bosoms which makes it very difficult to turn around."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1237236/Men-ARE-better-women-parking-Feminist-scientists-proves-sexist-motorists-known-along.html#ixzz1l8zvVM25

-------------------------------------------

I was tempted to include here at least one of the several YouTube video clips I found -- while doing my Google search -- of women attempting to park their cars, with hilarious results. But I desisted (you can Google "women" and "parking" if you wish).

Instead, here's a tongue-in-cheek joke which I hope is taken in the right spirit. The person who sent me the joke included a disclaimer at the end!...

A new sign at the Bank reads:
"This Bank has installed Drive-through ATMs so customers can withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles.

Customers using the new machines are requested to follow the procedures below, which are the result of months of careful research. Please follow the appropriate steps for your gender."

*******************************
PROCEDURE FOR MALE DRIVERS:
1. Drive up to the ATM.
2. Lower your car window.
3. Insert bank card into machine and enter PIN.
4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw.
5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt.
6. Raise window.
7. Drive off. Thank you, and have a nice day.  

************************* ******
PROCEDURE FOR FEMALE DRIVERS:
1. Drive up to ATM machine.
2. Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine.
3. Put handbrake on, put the window down.
4. Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat to locate card.
5. Tell person you are chatting with on your mobile phone that you will call him or her back, and hang up.
6. Attempt to insert card into machine.
7. Open car door to allow easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the car.
8. Insert card.
9. Re-insert card the right way.
10. Dig through handbag to find diary with your PIN written on the inside back page.
11. Enter PIN.
12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN.
13. Enter amount of cash required.
14. Check makeup in rear-view mirror.
15. Retrieve cash and receipt.
16. Empty handbag again to locate purse and put cash inside.
17. Write debit amount in cheque book and place receipt in back of it.
18. Re-check makeup.
19. Drive forward one metre.
20. Reverse back to ATM machine.
21. Retrieve card.
22. Re-empty hand bag, locate cardholder, and place card into the slot provided.
23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you.
24. Restart stalled engine and drive off. Thank you and have a nice day!

DISCLAIMER: IT IS SAFE TO SEND THIS TO THE GUYS BUT ONLY TO THE LADIES YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT!

No comments:

Post a Comment