What Every Driver Needs To Know About Parking Sensors

I consider myself a good driver. In over 30 years of driving I’ve only had one small accident and that wasn’t my fault. But I can still be very unconfident when it comes to parking, especially in very tight spaces.

That was until my thoughtful partner fitted my car with a rear parking sensor. Now I find parallel parking and reversing into even the tightest of spaces really easy. I didn’t even know that this technology was available, but it is and I love it.

There are basically two types of parking sensors available today. One type uses ultrasonic technology, which is just the same way that bats determine obstacles in their path. The unit emits a pulse of high frequency audio and measures how long it takes for the echo to be returned from nearby objects.

This provides an accurate indication of the distance between your car and something that you probably don’t want to hit. The second type of sensor uses radio waves, rather like radar. The time taken for the high frequency electromagnetic radiation to bounce from any nearby objects, along with various additional factors, is then used by a mini computer to determine the distance between the object and your car.

But be warned that fitting a parking sensor isn’t a simple task and should really be carried out by an experienced professional. Luckily my partner and my son run an auto repair workshop so they kindly fitted my Beep&Park 1 – Rear Parking Sensor for me. They told me that it was far from being a trivial task and although many car accessories can be installed by an untrained amateur parking sensors take a bit more knowledge and experience.

When I change into a reverse gear my parking sensor comes into action. If there is an obstacle it emits a warning tone which intensifies as the object gets closer. Luckily I don’t need to interact with the technology, its completely hands free. With this parking aid Iv’e become far more relaxed about parking in narrow spaces.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites