Tuesday 9 April 2024
Small Spaces
People struggling to get out of cars parked in bays due to increasing size of vehicles
Drivers are struggling to get in and out of parked cars because of the increasing size of their vehicles, according to a new study.
Many manufacturers have increased the width of vehicles despite the size of most UK car park spaces being based on guidelines dating back to the 1970s, research by Churchill Motor Insurance found.
It isn't only the size of parking spaces of course, but the problem is something we've noticed. We don't park in our local Sainsbury's car park for that reason, the spaces are too narrow, the chances of some monster pickup parking next to us are too high. Plus the problem of shopping trolley scrapes of course.
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Our VW Tiguan is essentially a Golf with a bigger body shell. It's nice to have the extra room, and that's basically why we got it, but it means that it's comparatively under-powered, and in every encounter on a narrow country lane we are millimetres away from forking out a thousand quid for a new mirror and body repairs.
Govt regulation and crash safety requirements are a main reason for the size increase. Crumple zones, airbags all round as well as pedestrian impact
mitigation are not free, rules of physics and all that.
It's more a case of govt planning regulations have not taken account of govt traffic & vehicle regulations.
I've said for years that car parks are designed - to use the term loosely - by people who don't drive.
We just don't go to the places where parking is tight or difficult. When earnest people decry the death of the Hight Street I suggest they sort out the parking and they look at me as if I'm speaking an ancient language.
The 'John Lewis' car park in Leicester and the local Morrisons car park have marked narrow strips between car parking spaces to allow for easier access. We shop there.
QED.
There used to be a BMW that had a door at the front so that it did not matter how close the car beside you was. Isetta.
Then some other cars have doors that swing up and inwards. Mercedes.
There are also sliding doors which only need a couple of inches to the side to open.
Or make all parking parallel. Maybe à la Paris.
We changed up to a Tiguan from a Golf as well for the same reason Sam, although I thought last year, I'd never bother to change cars, but some important MOT issues decided me!
I agree with all you say, and just mention that in country lanes, I switch the mirrors inwards, as hopefully, I don't need to keep looking behind...
As for parking, I'm now trusting the self-park mechanism more and more as my reversing skills really have gone to pot since I retired!
But I agree, AK, that supermarket bays are far too narrow for the modern cars, so I always park as far away as possible from the entrance!
Mrs Tammly is always complaining about people buying huge cars and then being incompetent and anti social with them.
Sam - most of the time we could tootle around in a very small car like my father's Suzuki, but having some space for holiday baggage, taking stuff to the tip etc is useful. Small just doesn't work all the time.
Nessimmersion - that's my impression too. Side impact protection seems to have made cars wider too.
Jannie - hospital car parks certainly give that impression.
DJ - yes, parking seems to be essential to keep the High Street going. A large car park which isn't excessively expensive makes a visible difference.
Doonhamer - it's a pity we don't see more quirky cars like the Isetta on the road these days, although the potholes might make them rattle.
Scrobs - I'd use a self-park mechanism if we had it. We do occasionally go to a couple supermarkets where the car park is big enough to park well away from everyone else when it isn't too busy.
Tammly - we see some monsters when we do the school run. I'm not sure why people buy them because the size seems to be a disadvantage.
"There are also sliding doors which only need a couple of inches to the side to open."
We owned one of those when we were in Oz, bought to make it easy for the aged parents-in-law to get in and out. Worked a treat, the doors that is.
The car itself was woefully underpowered and it once broke down in the modest hills between Adelaide and Melbourne. We had to retreat to Adelaide and catch the sleeper train. Which worked well but it meant we didn't have the use of car in Melbourne. Still, the trams were good.
dearieme - sliding doors seem to be a school run, minibus, airport taxi kind of market. Often based on a van I think, so maybe they can be underpowered.
"Often based on a van I think, so maybe they can be underpowered"
You talkin' about my motorhome! It may "only" have 120bhp to shift 3 tons, but I'm constantly being held up by dozy drivers who don't appear to know what the right pedal is for. Or those who seem content to amble along a dual carriageway until I pass them, then shortly afterwards overtake me...until the next roundabout: rinse & repeat. As for parking spaces - I can get it into most supermarket bays, but only if there's something small either side. But that applies to many cars these days. I normally look for one right at the end, with a verge or pavement I can step onto. I was pleasantly surprised at a Sainsbury's in Cambridgeshire last year to find they've put a 2ft wide "wavy line" box between EVERY space. I've not seen that elsewhere.
Went shopping on Monday, 12 mile drive. Car park at shop small, very packed, and attracts the sort of people who have difficulty in small paces (I'm getting older, so I should probably include self). So I turned straight round and went home gain.
"There used to be a BMW that had a door at the front so that it did not matter how close the car beside you was. Isetta."...
I actually sat in one of those cars, which was kept in a garage in Maidstone as a showpiece! The steering wheel folded outwards, or inwards as it was attached to the door!
I'd just had a nasty back operation and it really did hurt to get in and out! But the Manager told me that BMW were rather embarrassed about the model as they were after a better up-market image, and this little chap wasn't exactly what they needed as their new format...
Big cars. School run.
Daddy gets to choose the car and because he is a real man who does not want a namby- pamby mid-sized estate car. And because he dreams of doing what the butch chap in the advert does - heading for the traffic free bush, wading rocky creeks, roasting a man sized steak over a sunset camp fire - why not buy a big four by four.
Unfortunately Daddy heads off to do battle in the office every school day leaving wife to use the beast and because she is worried about scratching Hubby's pride and joy she drives and parks as if the car is a foot or two wider and longer than it really is.
Dave - I like the idea of a a 2ft "wavy line" box between all the spaces. Our Sainsbury's doesn't have a big enough car park to do that. Tesco has a big enough car park but hasn't done anything like it.
djc - that's probably what I'd do, not worth the hassle.
Scrobs - yet as a little shopping car it was practical.
Doonhamer - and always parks with two wheels on the pavement so you are never sure how risky it is to walk past if the engine is running.
AK, if you're interested, pop me an email, and I can chat a bit about a local bloke who really was into car design with the big boys!
Scrobs - busy at the moment but I'll take you up on that.
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