Dumbfounded at the thought of parking your car in a small space? Don’t worry, now scientists have developed a mathematical formula that will help motorists park perfectly.
The formula, developed by Professor Blackburn from the University of London’s Royal Holloway College, begins by using the radius of a car’s turning circle and the distance between the vehicle’s front and back wheels.
Then, using the length of the car’s nose and the width of an adjacent car the formula can tell exactly how big a space needs to be for your car to fit.
By applying this to basic parking guidelines, one can work out exactly when to turn the steering wheel to slide in perfectly, The Telegraph reported.
“Parking the car is something that most of us do on a daily basis – and we all get a little frustrated with it sometimes,” said Prof Blackburn.
“This was the perfect opportunity to show how we can apply mathematics to understanding something that we all share. The formula and our advice can help people understand what good parallel parking involves.
“If you understand the angles and the dimensions of your own car then you can work out how to park in a nice, confident way.”
The formula was released after a survey by car giant Vauxhall Motors showed 57 per cent lacked confidence in their parking ability and 32 per cent would rather drive further from their destination or to a more expensive car park, purely to avoid manoeuvring into a small space.
“Everyone has had the experience of ignoring a space because you’re not sure if you can fit in or not. This formula solves that problem,” Blackburn added.
Simon Ewart, from Vauxhall Motors, said: “There’s no escaping the fact that parking can be challenging for the best of drivers.”
