Does Parallel Parking Make Your Heart Race?

I met my husband through an online dating site, and he told me that one of the little things that intrigued him about my profile was the line where I boasted about my skill in parallel parking. I think the phrase was: "I'm an excellent parallel parker."

And while yes, I was trying to be a bit cheeky and clever by including something in my profile other than so much of the standard stuff about likes and dislikes, it's 100% true: I am an excellent parallel parker!

I can't totally explain why—since my spatial skills aren't actually that sharp, ordinarily—but whether I'm in a tiny two-door or a big SUV, I can usually glide into a cramped spot in one quick attempt. Maybe one or two wee adjustments so that I get close enough to the curb, but in comparison to some people who need ten minutes to get situated, I feel oddly proud of this tiny (but important!) life skill.

Turns out, many people DO find parallel parking a chore—and a difficult-to-master one at that! In a new study at the New England University Transportation Center at MIT, (sponsored by Ford Motors, who's touting their new Active Park Assist System), 43 percent of female drivers label their skills as "fair" or "poor" while 21 percent of men say that their parallel prowess is similarly lacking. According to a Harris Interactive Poll for Ford, 31 percent of all drivers say they avoid it altogether!! (Not sure how they'd fare in NYC where it's pretty much all parallel parking and dog-eat-dog at that!)

And there are physical effects too—anxiety over this task can raise your heart rate! The MIT researchers found that the added help in parking lowered people's heart rate by 12 beats. (The Ford system identifies a parking space and pretty much slides the car into the spot without all that much driver participation.)

Do you find parallel parking stressful? Or are you more of a white-knuckler upon highway merging? Or freaked out while in the passing lane?