Car park prangs leave motorists with £90m bill
Crash-prone drivers are racking up a £90 million repair bill as a result of prangs in car parks...
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 figures, released by 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.
The increasing width and length of modern vehicles, coupled with the infrastructure of ageing car parks, is to blame for the rising number of car park crashes as a result of someone else's misjudged parking or manoeuvring, according to the company.
For example, the recently launched 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.
But, overall cars are getting bigger with Britain's best selling car, the Ford Focus, measuring just over 1.8m wide and 4.3m long. In comparison, its predecessor, the Ford 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.
Steve Evans of Accident Exchange said: "Some drivers struggle to judge where their cars start and stop. 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."