Parking a car is a task that some people find impossible to do properly. Pick a spot someday and just take a bit of time to observe some of the efforts. It is a good spectator sport. Most of us seem to manage it ok but there are those among us who just can’t handle it and should really stop trying.
I have seen drivers making several attempts to reverse into a space only to find themselves three feet from the footpath each time. I have also seen drivers drive into a space and then go backwards and forwards fifty times only to find themselves back where they started.
In Cyprus, a car is considered to be parked properly if any part of it is in the parking space. So if you have enough room to fit the front of the car in, or even one of the wheels, then the car is parked ok even though the rest of it might be sticking out and blocking the roadway.
But before we start to take the mickey too much, we should stop and consider the possibility that maybe they just can’t help themselves. There could be a reason why some drivers find it so difficult.
It could be down to the fact that they lack ‘spatial awareness’. You may not know what this is but it is something that can affect your daily life and might even prevent you from putting your car into a space.
Spatial awareness is needed for a wide range of activities in life. If you lack spatial awareness then you may find many ordinary activities more difficult to carry out or understand. Certain activities that are seen as second nature to the average person on the street will prove to be very difficult for someone dealing with this issue.
The simple task of trying to make your way home can get complicated. Trying to determine the direction to head off in could prove to be a significant challenge especially when north and south are indistinguishable. Trying to work out how far you have to travel to get home can get complicated too when you can’t work out whether you live ten miniutes away or ten miles.
This is difficult for us to understand but that is the world of spatial awareness. Most of us, when we go out, just automatically know how to make our way home again. But someone suffering from a lack of spatial awareness has to be on the alert. Constantly checking for landmarks and being very conscious of their surroundings at all times. Some will stick to the main streets and not move from them for fear of getting lost.
Ironically, one of the best ways to increase your spatial awareness is to get lost. Apparently getting lost makes you feel anxious and, as a result, increases brain activity. Getting lost also helps you find exit solutions and plot routes that connect you with what is familiar.
So the next time you see some poor soul struggling to get his car into a tight space spare a thought for the fact that he might be suffering from a lack of spatial awareness and be grateful that he’s not trying to berth a cruise ship.
I watched one of these ships berthing at the quayside in Cobh recently and it is some feat.
MS Independence of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line. It’s enormous and it is a regular visitor to Cobh during the summer season. It has fifteen decks and can accommodate 4,370 passengers. It has a crew of 1,360 and is one of the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels yet built. It is 1,112 feet (339 m) long.
The Independence of the Seas has a water park, a dedicated sports pool for volleyball and basketball, whirlpools, and an internal shopping “street”, the Promenade, lined with shops, pubs and wine bars.
There is also the two story theatre with seating for 1,200, and a complete conference center. On a lower level there is an ice skating rink, heated, fresh water pools, a rock climbing wall, a basketball/hockey court, a mini golf course, and a Flow Rider for surfing.
It is almost an insult to call this a ship. It’s actually a floating city and you don’t really appreciate the size of it until you stand next to it when it berths. That’s parking to you and me.
When this liner calls to Cork Harbour, it ties up at the quayside in Cobh. Before it ties up it has to turn around completely to face back out the harbour again. Standing at 1112 feet long and fifteen stories high, it turns on a sixpence between Haulbowline and Cobh, before it glides to a halt at the pontoon at the quayside.
So that got me wondering about what would happen if the captain was one of these guys who couldn’t park a car? Let’s just imagine for a miniute that he was suffering from a touch of this spatial awareness business.
He’s not going to get too many chances to get it right. If a ship this size gets out of control then things are going to get very messy. It is a big responsibility for the captain. One mistake and he could sink the entire Irish Naval Service or turn the main street in Cobh into a canal without too much difficulty.
I think if I’m ever going to travel on one of these cruises, I’ll just wait for the captain to come to work in the morning and I’ll watch to see how he parks his car. If he is having any kind of bother then I’ll just grab my suitcase and leave quietly.