For many, it's a nightmare. According to one survey, some people even find it more stressful than going to the dentist. Yes, parallel parking is a real challenge – and the cause of many a rear-wing dent.
Now, though, there is an aid for the tricky manoeuvre. Many cars are fitted with sensors and cameras to offer on-board advice via bleeps and pictures – some even have a 360-degree view. ŠKODA has all this, too, but in some models it even goes further in the form of partially automated “parking assistants”, which more or less park the car themselves. The system works out the angle and trajectory, all the driver has to do is put the car in gear and accelerate. It’s only a short step from there to the car taking complete control.
ŠKODA is focusing even more on the subject and looking at ways to make the whole process fully automated – even including “unparking” the car.
It's an area rich for development, not least because it is unaffected by legislation applying to driverless operations that occur at higher speeds than parking manoeuvres.
