Angry drivers push for dozens of vehicles to be banned from car parks

Drivers given 8.6 million parking tickets by private firms in a year

Angry motorists have called for certain vehicles to be banned from large multi-storey car parks due to concerns around safety.

New research from Startline Motor Finance revealed a majority of road users feel bigger vehicles should be blocked from entering.

The study shows that 54 percent of those polled felt vehicles below a certain size should be allowed in car parks.

A larger 65 percent said today’s modern vehicles were much too big for multi-storey bays.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Many multi-storeys still in use were built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s when cars were simply much smaller than they are today.

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“Vehicles have grown substantially thanks to increased safety and comfort measures in the intervening years, and our research shows that drivers don’t feel they can drive around car parks easily as a result.

“The fact that many simply can’t get out of their cars once they are parked shows how bigger cars and undersized parking spaces just don’t match.”

A number of frustrated motorists have been involved in accidents in parking bays with the size of vehicles getting the blame.

According to the research, 28 percent of road users have dented the car occupying the next space while opening their door.

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Meanwhile, 45 percent said they had been “stuck” inside their car as there was not enough room to open the door.

A total of 34 percent said they had scraped their vehicle while using a multi-storey car park bay.

This all contributed to a staggering 71 percent backing car park changes to accommodate vehicles.

They said spaces inside multi-storey bays should be made bigger to help prevent collisions.

Startline’s research was conducted after Which? revealed 161 cars tested were longer than a standard parking bay.

A whopping 12 models had exceeded the bay limit by more than 30cm.

This was a major increase when the study was conducted in 2019 when just 129 cars did no fit in car park spaces.

Mr Burgess added: “Sadly, there is no easy solution to this problem.

“Cars are unlikely to start to become smaller any time soon, while rebuilding hundreds or thousands of car parks across the country is just as unlikely.”

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