► Parking bays not big enough
► Modern cars no longer fit
► Prangs in car parks jump 35%
Here’s a news story we suspect will chime with Britain’s beleaguered motorists: modern cars are too big for parking spaces.
We all know that super-sizing has seen many familiar name-plates bloat into something much bigger. The Mk1 VW Golf, for instance, was smaller than today’s Polo.
And the footprint of a Vauxhall Corsa has leapt by 16% in the past 15 years. Check out our video at the foot of the page where our sister website Parkers.co.uk squeeze a Corsa into a modern parking space – and compare it with a 1982 Peugeot supermini.
New research published today reveals that UK insurers are paying out nearly £1.4 billion to repair parking prangs – purportedly caused by spaces that haven’t kept up with the size of modern vehicles.
How big is a British parking bay?
The average space is 4.8m long and 2.4m wide, according to government guidelines.
Accident repair specialist Accident Exchange reports a 35% jump in parking accidents and blames the fact that 87% of councils use the outdated official measurements. No wonder we have to breathe in when we park…
So my giant SUV won’t fit?
Exactly. Accident Exchange lists a host of vehicles that won’t fit in an officially sized bay.
Surprise, surprise, they’re all SUVs:
* All data provided by Accident Exchange
Do you think parking spaces should be resized? Tell us how you’d fix the Great British Parking Squeeze in the comments below