By Neil Coupe
I am gradually coming to the conclusion that the most challenging part of driving is not actually finding a destination (sat-nav has eradicated that), congestion, or even aggressive or selfish fellow road users, either on two of four wheels. The most stressful part of driving is parking.
Arriving at work this morning, there were three spaces, all of which were perfectly accessible, in each case with satisfactory gaps between two perfectly parked cars. After deciding to follow best practice of reversing in, I slowly reversed into the correct spot and the beeper went off to tell me I had gone as far back as possible.
Happiness.
Or was it?
I got out of the car and off I went, after turning for a cursory glance. It was at an angle, meaning the car to my right was slightly hemmed in.
I could not possibly leave it like that.
So, I drove it out, just as someone else was arriving, thinking I was leaving. Of course, I wasn’t, but now had the added pressure of a spectator as I drove out, attempted to straighten it and then reverse back in. Another failure. As this time, I am straight, but have now trapped in the vehicle to my left.
I let my spectator pass, as she was going to a space further into the car park. Within seconds, she had parked, without batting an eyelid, and then strode purposefully towards her office, as I tried again. Palms sweating, after two more attempts, I finally found a position that felt reasonably fair to my fellow car park users, although aesthetically could hardly be given more that six out of 10.
The truth, I have realised, is that this is a regular occurrence in what is a very easy car park to use.
I used to visit a company in Wycombe with several parking levels below ground, with the tightest of angles, where it was often necessary to reverse back up the ramp to be able to access the level below.
Attempting to park was complicated by huge protruding pillars and narrow spaces that allowed absolutely no room for error.
The company thought they were doing me a favour by reserving a space on the fourth level down. Four hairpin bends and two scratches later, I decided that for my next visit it would be far less stressful to pay for a meter and make sure I was out of the meeting within the hour.
So, I cannot cope very well with a nice simple external car park I used every day, and I generally recoil at the thought of multi-storey car parks. An exception must be made for the parking facilities at The Lexicon in Bracknell, which feels generously proportioned and has nice big parking spaces, which allow plenty of scope for error.
The only problem is that when I have been there, there have often been several different spaces to choose from, which can bring its own problems, especially when my passenger decides to be involved in the discussion about which spot to go for.
Recognising that I may need to address my sub-optimal parking ability, I decided to search ‘How to Reverse Park’ on YouTube.
What an absolute treasure chest of tips and advice, often delivered in a reassuring American drawl.
I shall start reversing only if I am at least 5ft away from my destination and will start using ‘reference points’.
People do say that the first step in solving a problem is recognising it, and the second step is finding a solution on the internet. Wish me luck.
