7-A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

7-A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Large vehicles have a hard time getting in, out and centered in small, perpendicular parking spaces because they lack the maneuverability.

The Who: Large vehicles

The What: Have a hard time getting in, out and centered in small, perpendicular parking spaces

The Why:They lack maneuverability

Testing the Who: No, not all who have large vehicles have this problem, because their vehicles may have better maneuverability.  Also, there maybe someone who is just really good at parking in those small spots.

Testing the What: Not all small perpendicular parking spaces are a problem, because sometimes the roadway is wide enough for someone to swing wide to get that large vehicle centered properly

Testing the Why: Larger vehicles have longer wheel bases and smaller turning angle.

Interview #1

I interviewed a young lady who was fairly new to driving.  Her dad has bought her a mid-sized SUV and when asked about her experience with small perpendicular parking spaces she said she has such an issue with them she finds herself avoiding up-close, crowded spaces and parks far away to avoid possibly hitting the cars on either side of her.  She says it is very hard for her to get into the spots without having a small amount of fear of making a costly mistake.

Interview #2

I interviewed a Mercedes s550 driver. He informed me that when faced with small parking perpendicular parking spaces he will only enter one by a left hand turn so he can swing a bit wider into the space to accomplish a good center.  

Interview #3

I interviewed a Ford F-250 pick up driver.  He stated that he was completely unable to get into a small parking space if there were cars on either side.  He simply said it was impossible to navigate the truck into the spot. He stated he stopped trying many years ago and just drove out “into the boonies” of the parking lot and parked taking up two to three spots as he also noted that the small spots were also too short for a pick-up truck.

Interview #4

I interviewed a woman who drove a Ford Focus.  She said she sometimes had a rough time getting out of a small perpendicular parking spot, but only because she usually had larger vehicles on either side of her and she could not see to if anyone was coming down the lane that might hit her as she was backing out. And because those larger vehicles stick out of the parking spots a bit, it caused her to have to continue backing out straight before she could turn the car.  She felt that there should be layers of kinds of parking spots. She felt that there should be small car parking spots, that were designed specifically for small cars, medium sized for regular sized cars and large spots for bigger vehicles.  

Interview #5

I interviewed a man driving a Volvo V-70 stationwagon.  He informed me that the turning radius on his car was not good.  While he loved driving his car, he was very uncomfortable parking it. He also reported that he preferred the outskirts of the parking lot to avoid having to park in small spots.  He said that parking in the small spots were not easy.  His car simply would not turn unless he had a lot of swing room.  

What do I know about the opportunity that I did not know before?

While I found that there are indeed issues with small perpendicular parking spots, I found that little cars are inhibited too by them.  Not because they are hard to get into, but because they make it harder for smaller cars to get out of when other larger vehicles park next to her.  

After I did these interviews, I wish I had been able to talk to an insurance claims person to find out if parking lots with small perpendicular spaces had a higher rate of accidents over the parking lots with larger, angled spaces.