More than five million drivers think bigger cars should be charged more when using car parks, new research shows.
With a third of UK motorists (33%) saying that larger cars make it more difficult to manoeuvre in and out of parking spaces, new data from Motorpoint found that car owners are growing more frustrated with the lack of space available in car parks.
A survey of 2,000 UK motorists said that car parking spaces are no longer big enough to comfortably fit vehicles.
Almost half of motorists (48%) felt that car parking spaces need to be bigger to accommodate modern cars, with a quarter of drivers saying that many current car parks are no longer fit for purpose.
When it came to what could be done to tackle the issue, almost a third of motorists (30%) felt that car parks should be redesigned to make parking easier, with a sixth (16%) believing it would be beneficial for there to be larger parking spaces reserved for drivers with bigger cars.
Some drivers wanted to discourage motorists driving bigger cars from using car parks altogether.
An eighth of respondents (12%) believed motorists in larger cars should be charged more for using car parks, with a tenth suggesting (10%) that there should be priority parking for those driving smaller cars.
Discussing these potential solutions, Tim Rodie, Motorpoint’s resident driving expert said: “While there are things that could be done to make parking easier for motorists, we can’t get away from the fact car parking spaces haven’t kept pace with modern vehicles.
“Having run the numbers, we know that cars today are on average 25% bigger than they were when parking space sizes were standardised in the 1970s.
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“It’s no wonder drivers are frustrated and blame motorists with cars bigger than their own.
“With SUVs the top-selling car type in the UK and even smaller cars getting larger as safety features continue to improve, the issue is only going to get worse. Instead of penalising drivers based on their car size, parking space dimensions should be updated to reflect the size of modern cars.
“This will not only make parking easier but will also help prevent bumps and scrapes for motorists when using car parking spaces.”
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