Car park prangs leave motorists with £90m bill

The increased size of modern cars is being partly blamed for the 66,000 motorists who will collide with another vehicle when trying to negotiate a parking space this year.

The new figures, released by leading prestige accident management firm, Accident Exchange, highlight the number of motorists who now struggle to judge the dimensions of their cars from behind the wheel.

With repair bills averaging £1,350, it means innocent motorists are suffering more than £90m worth of damage in Britain’s car parks every year.

According to Accident Exchange, the increasing width and length of modern vehicles, coupled with the infrastructure of ageing car parks, is to blame for the tens of thousands of motorists who’ll be on the wrong end of someone else’s misjudged parking or manoeuvring.

For example, the new Mercedes-Benz R Class is nearly 2.2m wide and 5.2m long when the average dimension for a car parking space is 2.4m by 4.8m.

And our cars are getting bigger.

Britain’s best selling car today, the Ford Focus, measures just over 1.8m wide and 4.3m long. In comparison, its predecessor, the Escort was 16 cm shorter and 23cm slimmer.

Crash analysis experts at Accident Exchange also point to the increasing width of structural A-pillars, which reduce visibility, and improvements in front end design for pedestrian safety.

“The front end of the vehicle is considerably rounder than 10-15 years ago, and the bonnet drops away more sharply to reduce injury in the event of an accident. Unfortunately, it seems that some drivers still struggle to judge where their cars start and stop,” explains Steve Evans of Accident Exchange.

He added: “Although car park crashes are low speed affairs, the nature of the incidents can leave vehicles suffering considerable damage – especially if it involves scraping down the side of another vehicle.”