For the love of god!! Why can't women parallel park!?!@#?
 

/rant_1

I've been letting my wife drive my '99 C280 cause her mini-van is in the body shop. Before the van went into the shop I put new 17" AMG chrome wheels and Michellin Pilot Pros. I spent $2600 on them. When I let her use my car full time I told her "DO NOT CURB MY WHEELS". It's happened at least 3 times already! Luckly it's only been the tire to suffer so far. But I know it's a matter of time before I get curb rash on my wheels.

I know im generalizing but is it so hard to parallel park for women? And I say women cause most if now all the women I know can't do it. I tell her to use the right rear view mirror or "feel" for the dip before the curb but still no use.:rolleyes:

/rant_0

/me makes note to call body shop monday morning

http://exn.ca/Stories/2003/05/07/51.asp

/nothing more constructive to add

Great suggestion KMA. But seriously I know where Keycheck is coming from. Hopefully your wife will be more careful where she chooses to park.

studies have shown that although women's peripheral vision is superior to men's their spatial skills are inferior, which may account for the increased difficulty with parallel parking. Or there is the always popular theory that her parking would improve if it were HER $2600 rims!

Or...she'd just find a parking lot. ;)

Really...I'm the last person to generalize, or stereotype, on the driving/parking skills of women. But, Mrs. O'Rights...cannot parallel park to save her life. Of course, none of our vehicles have $2600 rims, so I just laugh it off.

All this scientific stuff the answer is quite simple. The reason why women can't parallel park is because there are no parallel parking spots at the mall. :-D

A chick taught me to parallel park.. go figure.

A lady I knew kept on curbing her tires all the time....she eventually popped both passenger side tires. She then learned :)

A good friend of mine grew up in South Philly. Both her and her husband are EXCELLENT parallel parkers. She was able to pull a Mercedes S500 into a very narrow space, one shot, and the little parking sensor didn't go off but once. Now, this is the exception.

Most women can't parallel park because they never have to. It's all about learning the right way. It's doubtful that most women were ever taught correctly - since they're just "girls".

similarly stereotypes like the one enforced in this thread perpetuate their own reality. When a person is constantly reminded that a group they identify with (gender, race, culture, etc) is not good at something he or she is often discouraged from making an effort.

Parallel parking is so easy. I haven't figured out why people can't do it. I dunno.

I know exactly what your saying DEI37. I once when I first started driving, had to park my 68 Impala in a very narrow space on a busy, one lane street on the coast in a spot that could barely hold a civic, let alone a huge boat like that, and swung it in like it was nothing, after that I am no longer afraid to parralel park anywhere and can do it anywhere as well, especially when I'm driving my little Honda Accord.

It's a pretty broad statement to say all women can't parallel park. My sister couldn't parallel park if her life depended on it, but my mom is a great parallel parker, who just chooses not to whenever possible. I know a number of guys that can't parallel park either.

I know it's a broad statement but another thing that adds to it:

I run a auto parts department and I sell more wheel covers and wheels to women than men. Why? cause they curbed the wheel so hard they had to replace them.

It's not just girls, I consider myself a great driver, but I can't parallel park if my life depended on it. It is one of those things I have been needing to learn, but I just haven't gotten around it. In SD there aren't many places which require you to parallel park so I never worried about it.

Not all women can't my GF is awesome one try in streight, but she drives a small 2 door RSX and I drive a 82 Full Size Chevy Van!


And she doesn't let me drive her car!:(

I know a girl that passed parallel parking on the driving exam on the first try... in a crew-cab dually. What suprised us all is the fact that she passed after some of her classmates had snuck down there and moved the test stands about 8 inches closer together.

I rarely have to parallel park, so I'm probably not that great at it. I tend to go for those parking spots in really obnoxious places to get to, anyway. :)

*waves hand wildly in the air* I can! I can! Pick me!

:D

If your worried about the rims throw your old stockers on until her car gets out of the shop.

I will teach your wife;)

Daily city driving has taught me how to parrallel park in one smooth motion using one hand. Ms. Fish is envious of such an ability and has attempted herself a number of times to replicate my technique. Because of this we have had to buff a fender and replace a tire.

Because she wants to jump right into being 'pro' she tries too hard and always disappoints herself. Rarely does she practice, and when she does it's always in the wrong place/time, where we need to get out of traffic and/or don't want to hit another car.

Parrallel parking is a skill that is learned over time.. ..yes, some of us are born with it, but for the other 99.999% of mortals, the skill must be learned.

-SF

I think it goes along the same reasons as stated in a thread about women "bumping" other cars. A couple of things were decided as I remember them. First off, the women, in general, just were not that worried about it. I don't know to many women who are nuts about cars. I know a lot of guys who are anal about their cars. Guys, we don't bump because to us it is unacceptable.

The same thing goes for parellel parking I would imagine. Scuffing the tire just isn't that big a deal to women, and therfore, they don't focus on it as much as guys do. That would be my guess as to why it happens. Not that they don't care, but that it's just not something they would get bent out of shape about.

Where as I would flip shit with curb scuff on my wheels.

Second was the scientific part, where most guys have better spacial and motor skills then women do. Whether or not this is true (and though it is a generalization, I would say it is true) everyone knows it, so there is no need to discuss it at any further length.

One time my mother drove over a curb trying to get into a parking lot, relaized her mistake, and turned out of the parking lot, curbing all 4 wheels so bad the rims bent all the tires deflated this over an hour away from home at 9pm.

Well, I can't do it too well, even after practicing over 50 times, and my sister just slid a FWD off the road into a fence, so I have no clue how she even got her license

Maybe you should treat your wife with as much respect as you do your meaningless wheels.

Good call. Maybe you should offer to teach her to do it if she can't.

well, heh, the wheels are cool ans spendy too, what about getting her a rental ? that's what I'd do. but my gf can't drive stick so it wouldn't matter.

i haven't had to parallel park since i took my drivers test. i'm sure i suck at it now.

I dont think its a matter of respect. If anything, its a lack of respect on her part. And don't go calling me a chauvenist. You can have respect for someone, and still want them to take car of the car you are letting them use.

Perhaps she needs some more respect for the things he takes pride in?

Respect is a two way street.

Ilow is right about spacial abilities in women. Goes back through evolution and male hunting I think. I learned in a Ford Econoline Extend-O van at age 16. Now enjoy watching people (male and female) struggling to parallel park.<BR><BR>The meak shall inherit the Earth, but not the good parking spaces.

Has anyone been to Rome? Ask them what parking means. It might be a generalisation but it is not in their vocabulary! Although most of there wheels seems to be unscratched its more the body work. (Rome have very narrow streets with buildings either side!)

I can't parallel park all that well, my tires have tons of "curb rash". I am male. I blame my car for not listening to me :D

i fall into the 'woman can't parallel park' catagory...i'll drive around the block many times just so i don't have to do it. passed in driver's ed...haven't done it since :P

I can't parallel park. It is an endless source of amusment for my wife. She parallel parks effortlessly. My previous two girlfriends also excelled at parallel parking...Maybe I'm just attracted to a certain type of woman.

My mom taught me how to parallel park. I got it right after the first try, but she's pretty good at parallel parking, probably better then me still.