Stress levels rising due to bad parking habits

This time of year marks the countdown to Christmas gift buying season with many planning the best day and time to take the car into town to complete their shopping list.

Stress levels can rise with the search for a convenient parking space according to research.

Parking habits

Being conscious of other vehicles in the car park is of benefit to all motorists however there are parking habits that drivers find most annoying about their fellow motorists as the research revealed. Here are the top five:

Taking up two parking spaces (86%)
Drivers parking too close to your car (71%)
Drivers parking in a designated disabled parking space (when they’re not disabled) (70%)
Drivers parking in a family car space (when they don’t have a child/children in the car) (38%)
Blocking the parking aisle while they wait for a parking space (26%)

Drivers themselves have also revealed their guilty habits when it comes to parking their own vehicles, with parking too close to the next car highlighted as the number one bad habit for 39% of respondents. This was followed by blocking the parking aisle while waiting for a parking space (26%), and parking in a family car space (when there are no child/children in the car) (23%). Taking up two parking spaces was also revealed as a guilty habit for one in six drivers and even 6% of drivers confessed to robbing a parking space from another driver.

Car parking incidents

The research by easytrip revealed that 62% of respondents had their vehicle scratched or dented which may have been as a result of a driver parking to close to their car. This was followed by 32% of respondents who couldn’t find where they parked their vehicle, and one in five motorists who revealed that they have been clamped for parking in the wrong location. A small number of respondents also admitted to fighting with another driver over a parking space.

On street parking incidents

Finding a parking space in a car park can be much easier and convenient than on-street parking and respondents to the easytrip survey revealed incidents that they have been guilty of when on street parking also, including illegal parking. The top five are: