These new cars that can park themselves fascinate me, but how do they work? Must you remain in the car while it parks, or can you dash off shopping and leave the car to park itself and lock up?
I’m afraid you must remain in the car. There are various auto-park systems, but first you need to park the car alongside the car in front of the parking space. Your rear bumper needs to line up with the rear wheel of the parked car. You must check to ensure the flags that come up on the image of the park on your car’s screen are in the corners of the parking spot. If so, press okay and take your hands off the steering wheel. Once you shift the car into reverse, the automatic system takes over and parks the car. But your foot needs to remain lightly on the brake pedal throughout. If at any point you push the brake, or touch the steering wheel, the car will immediately stop and the auto-park disengages.
Manufacturers are reacting to a consumer demand, sensing that parallel parking has always been one of the more difficult manoeuvres for drivers to master. And there is more hopeful news. Trials are also taking place for a car you can leave at the entrance of a car park building to drive itself up, find a vacant car park, park, then lock itself. But that’s not in production yet, so you’ll have to wait a few more years.
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