Parking Bumps And Scrapes Cost Brits £1.5 Billion A Year
New research has shed light on how much Brits fork out each year on bumps and scrapes caused by parking. Collectively, we’re paying out £1.5 billion…
Bumps And Scrapes
Skoda has surveyed 2,000 drivers on their parking experiences. It discovered that 11% of them had ‘seriously’ damaged their cars whilst parking over the course of the year. For perspective, that’s the equivalent of 3.7 million drivers out of a total 34 million in the UK. Approximately 40% said they’d struck a lamppost, tree or space divider and that the average cost of repairs was £396. Four in ten of the respondents also admitted to striking another vehicle whilst opening their car doors. On average, a British driver will also kerb his or her tyres twice a year; a sure way of damaging or even bursting them over time.
Despite these findings, most Brits feel pretty capable when it comes to getting their car into a tight space. Nearly three-quarters of us (73%) feel that we’re ‘good’ at parking. Despite this, only 53% felt they’d be good enough at it to satisfy a driving instructor during a test. Somewhat worryingly, 19% of respondents admitted to having an argument with a bystander over a space. Another 14% have even temporarily stopped speaking to their partner after a parking-related disagreement.
A Skoda spokesperson noticed a discrepancy between the abilities purported by drivers and their actual experiences. They said, “while many people feel confident in their parking capabilities the numbers show motorists have forked out significant sums in the last 12 months repairing their cars from parking mishaps”.
Taking The Pain Out Of Parking
It might be easy to dismiss the drivers scraping and bumping their cars as poor drivers. But the reality is it’s getting tricky to park in Britain for a number of reasons. The first is that cars are getting bigger. Consumers are opting for bulky SUVs and crossovers. Combine these with aging infrastructure and you’ve got yourself an obvious problem. Often parking is hard to come by in general, forcing drivers top opt for less than ideal spaces, too’ often being cramped, poorly lighted and insufficiently maintained.
Fortunately, we may not have to rely on our driving ability much in the future. A number of new technologies promise to take the pain out of manoeuvring our cars. Position indicators, reverse cameras and warning systems are making it easier and easier to navigate tight spaces. Some cars are also coming with self-driving features; some of these will even ease our cars into spaces for us.
The Skoda spokesperson said, “the advanced technology on our cars means they no longer have to do the parking themselves. Driver aids… help reduce stress around parking and should see the number of parking prangs decrease so Brits won’t be hurt where it hurts most – in the pocket.”
Until these technologies become more widespread, we’re probably better off simply opting for smaller cars. Unless, of course, we really do need a larger option. In which case, it may simply be a case of practice makes perfect. Either way, there’s £1.5 billion to be saved…
Is Parking On The Pavement Legal? What You Need To Know – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-tips-advice/is-parking-on-the-pavement-legal-what-you-need-to-know/
Has Expensive Parking Killed Off The High Street? – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/has-expensive-parking-killed-off-the-high-street/
