So his "sexist" move actually punishes males. It isn't just spots for men but bad spots for them and the good spots for women. And how they think is going to create tourist traffic is beyond me. I can see it now "Hey Helga....let's go drive to this town to see the male and female symbols painted on the ground".

If he looked at insurance actuary's statistics, women are better drivers, and can maneuver better.
Maybe Germany hasn't given up its bigotry quite yet.

The guy's a tool regardless of whether he's from Germany or anywhere else.

He clearly subscribes to the 'anything for publicity - nothing is to freaking stupid or out of bounds' school of thought.

Funny. I'm a guy who can run the autobahn at 100+mph, and "shoot the gap" like a NASCAR driver. But ask me to park, especially parallel, and it will take me a few tries. Something is weird with my depth perception in small spaces.

I think its funny and he readily admits up front its a publicity stunt to drum up interest in his town. But the rest of you keep on hating. Didnt take you all long to throw out wah wah comments on this whole thing. And as for women being better drivers, I dont disagree with that because most of them drive like little old ladies so they arent going to fast to interfere with their texting or putting on their make up. Oh, and they multi task better than us men.

LOL, let the hating begin once again. Come on, you trolls know you want too!

I grew up in the city and LOVE the challenge of parallel parking in tiny spaces....I live in the country now and miss it dearly....my hubby thinks I'm nuts....my skill as it were still comes in handy from time to time and it always amazes peeps how quickly I can get my car parked on a city street!!!

well, limiting the size of soft drinks allowed and promoting the concept of people living in closet-sized apartments were ideas already taken. what's a mayor of a german town to do with bloomberg around>

I can park my car in a shoe box yet my boyfriend takes 12 minutes to park his truck...ANYWHERE!

What a douche.

Elizabeth said:

If he looked at insurance actuary's statistics, women are better drivers, and can maneuver better.

Women are generally safer drives - they take less risks, are more patient, and thus get into less accidents, so they are generally priced lower by insurance companies.

Women, however, are not "better" drivers and their hand-eye co-ordination generally lags behind that of males, if we're being intellectually honest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm05QwCj4rk (just for laughs)

This is of course not to say that all women are terrible drivers. Janet Guthrie was pretty exceptional in her day and if I ever wanted to rob a bank, I'd designate her to drive the getaway car for sure.

Good point Baldman. Men also are involved in more highway accidents. Women actually have more fender benders but the big high speed accidents likely involve men because statistically they do more highway driving.

I think this is hilarious, and good for the mayor for doing some innovative thinking. We've all seen the headlines about cities and towns here being in a financial fix, and it's really no different elsewhere. If this can promote some tourism in his town, more power to him. It's not like they don't have designated parking spaces for women, so no one is being overlooked. I'd prefer the larger, well-lit space since I wouldn't worry as much about safety, or dinging the car next to me when opening the door.

Could do without his sexist remarks, but I don't have to live there, and I'm chalking it up to a bit of stirring the pot for some publicity anyway. And if he increases tourism by appealing to someone's competitive nature, it just makes it better for the town's bottom line. As he said, this cost them about 50 EUR, and it's bound to return much more than that since some folks just can't resist a challenge.

gtouch

So his "sexist" move actually punishes males. It isn't just spots for men but bad spots for them and the good spots for women. And how they think is going to create tourist traffic is beyond me. I can see it now "Hey Helga....let's go drive to this town to see the male and female symbols painted on the ground".

Its not that people go to see the male and female symbols. He just got an article on worldwide news on MSNBC mentioning the town name, so he is getting a lot of free publicity.

Thistle get attention.

Jodeman - exactly. This was a funny bit. Anyone here complaining can't read and/or has no sense of humor.

For those of you that have never been to Germany, German driving school last a full year of classroom and drivers traing and it cost them (when I was there) about $1,000 to get licenced. they get actual traing on how to handle all kinds of situations so when they go for the first they are very well skilled and knowledgable.

When I first read this I didn't have my coffee .... I thought it said which spaces were for SEX !

Wow how forward thinking would that be !!!!! Those darn German's.

Whine, whine, whine...jesus people.

And how they think is going to create tourist traffic is beyond me.

I've never heard of the town, and now if I happen to be driving thru Germany, I just might have to swing past and snap a pic or 2 of those parking spots. His mission was accomplished. His statement was very tongue-in-cheek and only an idiot would think he was really being sexist. Then again, there are plenty of those on here.

At least he admits it. Otherwise he'd just look like every other moron politician. ;)

Unless it is for specific times, such as pregnancy, that is just as bad. Disability parking spaces are enough.

I thought being a woman was a disability.

Only cause we have to deal with morons like you Mud. :)

@Elizabeth-1372999: The specially marked parking spots for women are typically closer to exits and have been created in request to women raising safety concerns.

However, these dedicated women parking spots are not limited to Germany. They can be found in the US (California, Oregon, Minnesota, etc) as well. Not very common though...

I have no problem parking in spaces 'reserved' for knocked up women. Walking is GOOD for pregnant gals. And for those who gain 75 lbs and blame it on an 8 lb baby: Ummm,,, no.

Fred the azzhole - "knocked up women" - really? That is just uncouth. If you would park in a space designated for a pregnant woman, you are crude, rude, simple-minded, and a jacka**

Walking is NOT always good for "pregnant gals." Women experience edema in one or both legs, hands and/or arms, and that is painful. Late term also makes negotiating oneself around in tight spaces a challenge. Then there are high risk pregnancies - the risk being the loss of the baby, and/or the mother. The OB/GYN orders bed-rest in some cases, but the woman still has to get to her check-ups, etc.

If a women gains 75 lbs for an 8 lb baby, then there may be other problems...However there are other things to consider, like the weight of the placenta, the amniotic fluid, and also edema common to some women. My mother never looked pregnant with me, and gained 53 pounds. My mom went from a size 6 to a 10 dress - no maternity clothes. In one year after my birth she lost all the weight.

The mayor of Triberg is a misogynist, and an idiot.

Women are the givers of life. We brought you into this world, and we can take you out. Show some respect.

But you still can't do it with out something from us !!!

@saintbitchy, the Mayor is a Misogynist, for giving women better and well lit parking spots? I'm sure a lot of women would disagree with you on that. in any country. I am male and don't mind the idea the least.

Mud1101

I thought being a woman was a disability.

Ok I admit I laughed.

I wouldn't. It is silly and I wouldn't care who did what. If there is a spot who cares? And his idea that men are better at the challenges is so mature and thoughtful.

I wasn't saying it was fair, politically correct or right but what is it they say..... Any publicity is good publicity.

Ja, I know I should be offended, but as the late author Robert Heinlein said, "A truly wise man cannot be insulted because the truth cannot insult and untruth is not worthy of notice." Alas, for me, the mayor's parking assumption is truth. I'll park three blocks away rather than attempt to back into a tight space.

@cgtrav, inresponse to #4, no, not in germany. Germans are more Law Abiding than Americans profess to be. They are very Detail Oriented, Americans not very much at all. Before anyone blast me here I am an American. If you feel I insulted you in any way, than all I will tell you, if the truth hurts, tough.

6dogs.

I'm an American of German descent with family in the south of Germany and very familar with the culture. I doubt the labeling of that spot was anything more then publicity and anyone who wants to park there will park there.

100% of statistics are biased and completely incorrect.

countering a "biased and completely incorrect" statistic with your own "biased and completely incorrect" made up statistic ? nice, that is some flawless logic right there.

Seriously who spoon fed you that crap mike? And how wide did you open?

Mike is making an old joke. Jeeezus

Mire and William, everyone knows that he was being sarcastic and making a joke. My goodness, the slow people are out in force today.

I though all pole accidents resulted in pregnancy.

Nav - a 'pole incident' mostly involves public embarrassment in front of friends,
my wife has had several of those. Now a true 'pole accident' may indeed result
in pregnancy if it occurs at the right time.

He's gotten one ticket, hit one deer, and hit a utility pole, smashing in the front end of his truck

While parking? Or did you not read the whole article?

I noticed all the negative replies to C NJ MOM were all coming from men. I'm a man and have tried to rise above being egotisticle, narrow minded, and self centered. She is correct. Go ahead the next time you renew your auto insurance ask you agent on this statistic. Be prepared to have you ego deflated. If you one of those guys who blows up at the truth, don't ask. I really hate seeing a grown man cry for no reason.

Thank you for yer support, 6dogs.

The spaces set aside for women are wider, well-lit, and closer to the exit, The Local reported, while those designated for men require the driver to skillfully maneuver the vehicle into the spot and avoid hitting cement pillars.

Yes, I DID read the article. I didn't realize that parking and driving were exclusive of each other. I foolishly assumed that they fell under the category of DRIVING SKILLS. /sarcasm. Having good driving skills includes being able to get to point A to point B without cracking up your car and endangering others and safely parking a car.

I commented regarding the "men are better drivers than women" posts in the commentary above mine. Sorry if that confused your widdle bitty brain, Al.

Insurance rates are only a measure of economic risk. Women are less expensive drivers when comparing their per-capita cost of driving accidents as compared to men. This doesn't account for miles driven by sex, for which males are inordinately higher, or the roads on which they drive, which, for males, are inordinately higher risk highways, thereby increasing their risk. It has nothing to do with driving skills at all. They are just cheaper to insure because their aggregated claims cost less. If I were female, I would be insulted beyond belief that some moron German politician thought I was that helpless and hopeless compared to men when it comes to parking my car.

I foolishly assumed that they fell under the category of DRIVING SKILLS.

Men have higher incidence of auto accidents compared to women scientifically because of more aggressive driving habits. The vast majority of accidents involve moving violations while traveling on a roadway. Biologically, men have more advanced spatial recognition on average than women, and statistically, a female is more likely to file an insurance report from an accident while parking than a male. Whether that is due to the spatial recognition factor, an egocentric factor, or both is anyone's guess.

I'm not trying to argue your gender argument "as a guy." I'm not defensive about it at all. I had several speeding tickets when I was younger and I'm well aware that males drive more aggressively and therefore pay a premium for insurance. This isn't a gender diversity training or a lesson in being politically sensitive.

I'm presenting the facts. That's all.

Okay dokey, then!

Germans, for the most part, follow rules quite closely. There is not much need for enforcement.

The last short paragraph gives you the answer: it's all a joke. women are welcome to park there too...

I'm going to agree with Mire, Heathius, and Marc on this.

I'm outraged there are people out there who can't even spell America eating and $hitting my tax dollars

^^ At Bill: YES!!!

You mean women would be outraged. I didn't hear anybody saying anything about the Dannon Yogurt commercial during the Super Bowl when a woman head butted her significant other played by the feminist sellout John Stamos. Imagine what would have happened if the roles were reversed. There would be women in the streets carrying signs and there would be a Congreesional investigation about it. Advertisers realized a long time ago that there isn't enought postive things to reinforce about women to get their attention so they just bash men and women lap it up. How about the Hanes commercial where a husband is dunking his kids feet is plaster to make socks and the woman calls him STUPID in front of their child? No women think that is wrong do they. My father was right, "if women didn't @!$%# there would be a bounty on them".

Typical woman. Always thinking clearly.

That was my first thoughts.... these guys got their ego stroked all the way out of the favorable parking spaces.... so you can park in a cramped space... how fun and impressive.

Men are hardwired to accept challenges because biologically, early man had to take chances if his family were to survive. Women are hardwired to seek safety because biologically, early woman had to ensure that children were not in danger while the man hunted and defended.

This has nothing to do with penis size and it's not controversial. It's science. If science is offensive to you, there's no helping you.

Ich wuerde denken, dass dieser Mann in seinem Job nicht ausgelastet ist. Also muss er irgendwas finden, damit der seine Absitzstunden im Buero belegen kann. Hoffentlich kann er einparken. Wahrscheinlich nicht, wird sich von seinem Chauffeur fahren lassen.

I have been in 6 accidents in parking lots. Every single one of them has been a woman running into me while my car is stationary. Please give them the wide open spaces right by the exits!

My parked car was run into by an older gentleman. While I might find the German mayor's idea a bit sexist, I wouldn't mind a closer spot.

I'll open the door for either gender if I see that he or she may have their hands full, or sometimes just for the heck of it, to be nice.

This is all true, but a valid US driver's license, a passport photo, and $17 dollars got me an international driver's license 15 years ago. The autobahn in a rental car was a riot. I'm sure Germany was happy to see me go home.

So true. I work in a restaurant in a big US city. I observe daily suburban people trying to parallel park in front, and it's pathetic. Women in particular are having such trouble parking their little Beamer in a spot big enough for a cruise ship. Some try for 5 minutes, back and forth, back and forth, then give up and leave, LOL ! While it's true women are considered "better" drivers, it's because they take less risks and drive slower and less aggressive than men. It's not because they are more "skilled". Of course there are good and bad drivers of both sexes...

Nazi doesn't have a 't' in it.

@ NovaSquid - D.Urbanski knows that...(do I have to explain the joke to you?)

Lol D. spat coffee everywhere . Thanx for my morning laugh.Hahaha.

to grammar nazi's, you often do; they often do natzi the joke as it seems... in more ways than one.

It's nazis, not nazi's, pal.

Being that 'natzi' and Nazi are pronounced the same, do you need to spell it wrong to make the joke work?

For starters, there's a division of powers in Germany too, and Merkel is not in the judicative branch.

That aside, read the last paragraph: women are welcome to park in those "manly" spots too. No drama.

I look at it as a public service announcement indicating which spots are more difficult to navigate. Don't want to fool with backing around pillars? Go on to a differently marked spot. :)