Park the problem!
Published
British parents are having a real problem when trying to safely park their cars, according to new research from Churchill Motor Insurance.
It was found that almost 1 in 4 parents have had no option but to leave children unattended standing in car parks while they squeeze in and out of tight spaces. And more than 1 in 3 have been forced to park in standard sized car parking bays that are too narrow to get infants in and out of safely.
The problem for parents using standard bays is that the average width of a newborn baby car seat exceeds the usual available space to exit a vehicle by 17cm. Parent and child parking bays not only have the benefit of being located closer to building entrances, they offer an average of 120cm extra space between bays. For parents of toddlers, using rear facing and/or rotating car seats, the space available in a standard car parking space is is not enough to open the car door fully to assist lifting children safely in and out. Alarmingly, one in four parents with children aged 13 and under often have to let their kids get out of the car before they can park in a space.
This comes as over a quarter of drivers admit to parking in parent and child spaces when they’re not eligible, causing a shortage of parent and child parking bays.
It’s not just problematic for parents and children: the tight squeeze can result in dinks and scratches to both the driver’s and neighbouring vehicles. Nearly one in ten parents surveyed reported having damaged their own vehicle attempting to remove a car seat, while admitted to damaging the vehicle next to them.
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