Do you find it increasingly difficult to find a parking bay that is the right size for your car? Are you constantly contorting yourself to get in and out of your vehicle without bashing your door against the car parked next to it? Take some comfort from the fact that you are not alone.
In fact, parking is becoming such a problem for Britain’s motorists that new research by crash management service Accident Exchange has revealed that there is an average of 1,373 parking collisions every single day – making parking dings the second-most-common type of accident on UK roads after rear-end shunts.
With an estimated half a million collisions occurring every year, drivers are forking out a collective £716 million annually, with the average repair cost for vehicle damage around £1,428, despite the relatively low-speed nature of such accidents.
Worse still, the number of parking collisions is on the rise, up four per cent since 2010, with vehicles generally growing in size with each model generation, while the average car park bay has remained a consistent width at 237.5cm.
Liz Fisher of Accident Exchange said: “Looking at the statistics, you’d think there is chaos in car parks up and down the country and that drivers are literally battling for spaces to park.
“The fact is, though, that drivers are having to squeeze their larger cars into smaller spaces and there are many more car journeys made than just a decade ago.
“On top of that, visibility from inside the cabin of new cars is compromised compared to older vehicles, which used far more glass and had lower sills and narrower pillars. That could be part of the explanation for the recent increase.”
Do you take measures to minimise the potential for damage in public car parks? Have your say in the comments section below.
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