It has happened to us all. You park your car in what you believe is an ample size space and you return only to find it is wedged between two larger vehicles. Sometimes it is impossible to open a door properly on one side and then you may have to do that awkward shuffle to get into the driver seat. 

The problem has been highlighted by Churchill Insurance in the UK, who point out that while cars are getting much bigger, parking spaces are not. In fact parking bay dimensions are still largely based on 1970s recommendations meaning it can be a serious struggle to get in and out. 

Even with cars of the same model name, the average width has increased from 168cm on initial introduction to 180cm for today’s updated versions. 

The British Parking Association recommendation is that a space should be at least 240cm wide, however, this leaves just 30cm clearance on either side. This can be even less when you consider that two of Ireland’s tops sellers are the Nissan Qashqai (184cm wide) and the Hyundai Tucson (187cm wide).

In a survey by Churchill Motor Insurance, 40% of drivers said they have to squeeze themselves into their car when parked next to another vehicle at least once a month. 22% said they had to climb into a car via the rear hatch on at least one occasion.

Nicholas Mantel, head of Churchill Motor Insurance, said, “Widening cars combined with parking bays that haven’t been redesigned to accommodate today’s models means motorists are at risk of damaging their cars, through no fault of their own.”

The company estimates that damage caused by vehicles hitting a wall, bollard or another vehicle while attempting to get in or out of parking spaces costs UK motorists £424 million every year.