In A Tight Spot!

Simon Blackburn of London's Royal Holloway College has developed a mathematical equation for finding the perfect parking spot.

A balance between the radius of the car's curb-to-turning circle, it's wheel base and length, the formula explains precisely how much space you'll need to squeeze into even the tightest position.

According to an article in the London Telegraph, the formula was released after a Vauxhall survey showed 57 per cent of commuters lacked confidence in their parking ability. The survey also notes that 32 per cent of motorists would rather drive further from their destination or to a more expensive car park, purely to avoid squeezing into a small space.

The average driver will find the array of square roots, brackets and symbols more confusing than the driving task at hand.

Professor Blackburn said, "Parking the car is something that most of us do on a daily basis — and we all get a little frustrated with it sometimes. This was the perfect opportunity to show how we can apply mathematics to understanding something that we all share."

The formula 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, you can work out exactly when to turn the steering wheel to slide in perfectly.