New parking tech could make it easier than ever to find an empty space

YOUR car could soon tell you how many parks are available in the local area when hunting for a space. And it will give you the specific directions to get their quicker than other drivers. New technology currently being develop by Ford and mobile giant Vodafone will tell Brits how many spaces are available in […]

YOUR car could soon tell you how many parks are available in the local area when hunting for a space.

And it will give you the specific directions to get their quicker than other drivers.

New technology currently being develop by Ford and mobile giant Vodafone will tell Brits how many spaces are available in a parking lot.

The system – Parking Space Guidance – will also give drivers the exact directions and the quickest route to get to an available park.

Motorists using the system will get the real-time data, which has been collected from local parks and digital roads signs, displayed on their screens.

The technology will even be able to predict when traffic lights are going to change, as well as give updates on lane closures, speed limits and poor weather.

The technology is currently being tested in Germany.

Motorists in big cities such as London spend more than 67 hours each year searching for a park.

But it might not be due to a lack of available spaces.

According to Ford, average occupancy rates of car parks across the UK can be as low as 50 per cent.

Tobias Wallerious, product development engineer at Ford Europe, said: “Sat navs are great at helping us to get to our destination but aren’t so useful when it comes to helping us to park there – especially in city centres.

“Parking Space Guidance is a connected‑vehicle technology that could help drivers to more quickly complete their journey, saving them money, time and benefiting overall air quality.”

Michael Reinartz, head of innovation at Vodafone, said: “When vehicles can exchange data with infrastructure in real-time, traffic will become more intelligent, searching for a parking space will become less stressful and people will get to their destination more quickly.”

Earlier this year, BMW announced it was working on a new system that could allow drivers to control features in their car with their eyes.

Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover is currently developing technology that would let motorists earn cryptocurrency as they drive.