Confused.com has revealed that careless car parking has led to £1.3bn worth of damage*. An alarming 1 in 6 drivers would never leave insurance details if they pranged another car, and 45% would only consider it if the accident looked serious. To combat the problem Confused.com is announcing a campaign to promote Car Parking Etiquette. When it comes to car park scrapes, the nation’s lawyers are amongst some of the worst offenders, with more than 1 in 4 (26%) admitting to having committed a prang and run. Also well above the average are those working in property with 1 in 3 choosing to go without leaving their insurance details.

Teachers lead by example and are some of the least likely to be guilty, with less than 9% committing prang and runs. Those working in environmental services prove that they really are more considerate to others – only 8% have left the scene of a scrape. The research also shows that men are more likely to have a car park prang than women, with nearly 20% having scraped another car compared to only 15% of women. Not only are men more likely to be driving carelessly, but they also admit to it. 1 in 5 men blame their own careless driving for a car park accident, compared to women who would rather blame the stingy sizes of the UK’s car park spaces (42% of women against 33% of men).
Those who have been driving the longest behave the most responsibly in car parks, with more than 50% of over 55s always leaving insurance details compared to only 30% of 18-24 year olds.

For all those drivers who prang and run, the most likely reason is embarrassment (31%). This is closely followed by drivers who blame financial implications (30%) for their lack of honesty. As car insurance costs continue to rise, it’s no surprise that drivers are determined to hold onto their no claims bonuses. “To encourage some honesty and car park etiquette,” said Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, “we are offering visitors an ‘If you bump me, don’t run, be nice and leave your number’ sticker for your car window, to encourage others to leave their details if they bump your vehicle.” The sticker can be downloaded from http://www.Confused.com/car-insurance/car-parks.

65% of motorists blame their car park frustrations on the small size of parking bays, with nearly half (41%) finding the amount of pillars in car parks the reason for their bumps and scrapes. Only 1 in 10 drivers find parking in car parks easy but this problem is exacerbated by the trend for bigger cars. Whilst the typical family car has become more than a foot wider over the past 50 years**, the industry standard for the car parking space is 2400mm x 4800mm has not changed.

“Motorists should be extra vigilant in car parks, taking into account the size of our cars compared to the average size of parking spaces,” said Kloet. “This is even more reason to respect other drivers, to confess to any prangs and to exercise Car Parking Etiquette to help other drivers.”