I just recently recalled a strange feature story on one of the network news broadcasts, purporting to study how people park. You know, the strategies and tendencies people have when hunting for a parking space in a large parking lot.
You've got those that circulate constantly. You've got those that stake out a stretch of cars and just sit and wait. You've got those that don't care about proximity, and take the first available spot, even if that usually means parking at the far end of the lot. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages, and are chosen as much for effectiveness as they are for a driver's personal style. Hey, some folks don't like to sit and wait for anything!
So what do you do?
I think the segment concluded that, in terms of average time to park, shop, and get back, the best strategies were "first available (far end of the lot)" and "sit and wait" - the Jaws-like wanderers often missed half a dozen chances at a space simply by rolling past them a few seconds too early, and were also more likely to have spots "stolen" (or get into shouting matches)...
You've got those that circulate constantly. You've got those that stake out a stretch of cars and just sit and wait. You've got those that don't care about proximity, and take the first available spot, even if that usually means parking at the far end of the lot. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages, and are chosen as much for effectiveness as they are for a driver's personal style. Hey, some folks don't like to sit and wait for anything!
So what do you do?
I think the segment concluded that, in terms of average time to park, shop, and get back, the best strategies were "first available (far end of the lot)" and "sit and wait" - the Jaws-like wanderers often missed half a dozen chances at a space simply by rolling past them a few seconds too early, and were also more likely to have spots "stolen" (or get into shouting matches)...
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