Do I need Active Park Assist for my teen driver?

Does this remind you of your driver’s license test:

“Back in my day we actually had to parallel park a car”.

Sadly in some states it’s no longer a requirement, even though the technology to do so is so far advanced. Mom’s and Dad’s today we are talking about the various parking aids available to help your teen driver. Like many of the Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) there are some confusing terms because of the automobile industries inability to create a single naming convention for each new driver technology. Park assist is one of them.

Park assist is a component of the rearview camera system that shows guidance when backing up the vehicle. Most systems will indicate where the car is about to go based on where the wheels are pointed. They can also alert the driver if they are getting too close to an obstruction while backing up.

Depending on where you live, parallel parking could be an every day driving task, or it may be one that is seldom needed, if at all. Since there doesn’t seem to be a standard size for parking spaces, a teen driver needs to be able to fit their vehicle in a variety of parking spaces. Many municipalities, where feasible, have done away with parallel parking.  However, established urban areas simply don’t have the room, so parallel parking will continue to be a necessary skill set for city driving.

What is Active Park Assist?

Active Park Assist however is a semi-autonomous driving technology, meaning it can park the vehicle for the driver with minimal assistance from the driver.

Active park assist literally takes the wheel. Once activated by your teen driver, the system starts by helping your teen guide the vehicle into an appropriate parking space.  All the driver must do is shift into reverse and take his or her hands off the wheel. The system then navigates the vehicle into the space while the driver retains control of the accelerator and brakes.

In some vehicles, such as the Ford, the next generation park assist technology now offers assistance both entering and exiting a parking space. Not only will the system navigate the entry or the exit of a spot, but will also control shifting, braking and acceleration for both parallel and perpendicular parking situations. In really tight parking spots, these systems will actually help the vehicle exit a parking space safely and without hitting the car in front of it.

Does my teen driver need Active park Assist?

Active park assist is more of an insurance saving technology than a life saving technology and for that reason, we at Rookie Rides do not consider it to be a must have technology. The only time Active Park Assist affects our algorithms is if you want the feature and it is not available on a particular car, the criteria match score will reflect that.

Having said that, if your young driver will be navigating parking on street or frequently visiting areas where parallel parking is a daily occurrence, the ease and driver confidence it can allow your teen driver, the feature might justify the added cost.