Worst Parkers in Britain Revealed!

Tuesday 26th March, 2013

You'd think with so much space in which to manoeuvre, drivers of small family cars and super-minis would be the parking kings of Britain.

In fact, they are proving themselves to be the absolute worst at parking by straddling white lines, sticking out of bays or sitting askew.

Instead, it is drivers behind the wheels of large family estates, big multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and 4X4s among the best performers, a startling new study reveals today.

Badly parked: A Renault MPV mounted up on a kerb

And those in big Land Rover off-roaders are among the best, with Audi drivers highlighted as the worst by brand, according to a survey looking at the parking habits of Britons.

And Vauxhall Vectra drivers are the worst parkers by individual model, with Ford transit's close behind.

The results come from a study of more than 8,000 cars were analysed during February by online company www.StressFreeAirportParking.com, the UK's biggest provider of 'meet and greet' parking at UK airports.

Ironically, despite having the advantage of more space in which to manoeuvre between the white lines of a parking bay, it was drivers of 'small family cars' should have no problem slipping in between the white lines of a standard parking bay.

Yet, when ranked by size of car, they came out as the worst parking offenders with one I 7 (14.5 per cent) badly parked, followed by vans (12.0 per cent) and then superminis (11.3 per cent)

By contrast the best parkers were drivers of big estate cars with only 1 in 22 (4.4 per cent) badly parked, followed by multi-purpose vehicles (6.3 per cent), compact executive cars (6.3 per cent) and 4X4s.

BMWs came tenth in the list of badly parked cars by brand. The driver of this one hasn't even bothered trying to align the car into a bay though

This Volkswagon has been left stradling two parking bays

A Chrysler badly parked in a multi-storey car park

The company looked at cars parked in various city centre and out-of-town shopping centre car parks.

Allowing for the proportion of each car marque on Britain's road, Audi-branded cars were streets ahead of their nearest rival in the 'parking hall of shame'.

Nearly one in four Audi car drivers (24 per cent) were parked badly, compared to one in six Mercedes drivers (16.6 per cent) and one in seven Mazda motorists (14.3 per cent). They were followed by Lexus (11.5 per cent), Jaguar (9.6 per cent), Vauxhall (8.6 per cent), Suzuki (8.3 per cent), SEAT (8.1 per cent), Ford (7.9 per cent) and BMW (7.6 per cent).

Audi driver came out as the worst parkers in the survey with 24 per cent of motors found badly parked

Nearly one in four Audi car drivers (24 per cent) were parked badly, compared to one in six Mercedes drivers

Best parkers were those in a Land Rover 4X4 with just 2.6per cent of owners parking badly, followed by Rover (3.2 per cent), Skoda (3.3 per cent), Citroen (3.8 per cent) and Kia (3.9 per cent).

By individual model, the drivers of Vauxhall Vectras – the model once lambasted by BBC Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson – were the worst parkers, followed by the Ford Transit, Ford Focus, Audi A6 and Volkswagen Golf.

By paint colour, drivers of black cars were the worst parkers (29.6 per cent), followed by silver (27 per cent), blue (15.1 per cent), white (11.9 per cent) and red in fifth spot (5 per cent).

With parking spaces at a premium in most city centres, parking infringements cause major frustrations to motorists unable to park their car because a neighbouring vehicle has straddled two bays – 19 (1 per cent) of the 8,000 cars surveyed straddled two or more parking spaces.

Martin Mansell, managing director of online company www.StressFreeAirportParking.com, said: 'We are all aware of the common stereotypes aimed towards certain drivers and what cars they choose to drive. However our survey, for the first time gives UK drivers a chance to see the real facts.

'Many will be surprised to see drivers of small family cars as the worst offenders when it comes to breaching the parking bay white lines. Yet van drivers – second worst culprits – will probably confirm many people's stereotypes.'

WORST PARKED CARS BY COLOUR

1. Black 29.6%

2. Silver 27.0%

3. Blue 15.1%

4. White 11.9%

5. Red 5.0%

Source: StressFreeAirportParking.com

BEST PARKED CARS BY BRANDS

1. Land Rover 2.6%

2. Rover 3.2%

3. Skoda 3.3%

4. Citroen 3.8%

5. Kia 3.9%

Source: StressFreeAirportParking.com

BEST PARKED CARS BY CLASS

1. Small Family Car 14.5%

2. Van 12.0%

3. Supermini 11.3%

4. Executive 8.2%

5. Large Family Car 8.2%

6. Compact 6.9%

7. 4x4 6.3%

8. Compact Executive 6.3%

9. Multi Purpose Vehicle 6.3%

10. Estate 4.4%

Source: StressFreeAirportParking.com

WORST PARKED CAR BY BRANDS

1. Audi 24%

2. Mercedes-Benz 16.6%

3. Mazda 13.5%

4. Lexus 11.5%

5. Jaguar 9.6%

6. Vauxhall 8.6%

7. Suzuki 8.3%

8. SEAT 8.1%

9. Ford 7.9%

10. BMW 7.6%

Source: StressFreeAirportParking.com

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