Bad parking by others a major irritant for irish motorists

Taking up two parking spaces, double parking, and taking forever to get into a parking space are three of the parking habits that most drive Irish motorists mad, research by Easytrip has found.

A survey conducted by the firm on drivers’ parking behaviour and preferences found that for 70 per cent of motorists, the most annoying thing other motorists do is taking up two spaces.

Other irritants were:

·        48% - Parking too close to your car

·        33% - Double parking

·        26% - Taking forever to park the car

·        26% - Parking in a disabled parking space (when not entitled to do so)

·        7% - Parking in a designated mother and baby space (without children present)

The research also found that 74% of Irish drivers preferred reversing or driving forward into a perpendicular parking space over parallel parking, with 45% of those surveyed admitting to driving past an available parking space to avoid parallel parking.

Interestingly, 50% of those who prefer parallel parking drive a large hatchback or saloon sized vehicle. The survey however found that in general Irish drivers are quietly confident in their driving abilities with 86% of those surveyed stating to be ‘very good’ or ‘good’ at parking.

Preferred parking locations

When asked about their preferred parking location, almost half of those surveyed said they would prefer to take an on-street parking space with multi-storey car parks following closely behind at 41% with 90% of those stating convenience and fear of running out of change for meters as the reasons for their preference. A low 15% preferred on-street ground level car parks while only 4% choose underground car parks.

National Driving Test

In comparison to the United Kingdom Driving Test, there is currently no testing element for parallel parking in the National Driving Test in Ireland. An overwhelming 93% of respondents agreed that the practical part of the National Driving Test should include assessment on parallel parking.

 “As our survey reveals, something as simple as parking, an activity that we all do every day, can be problematic for a high number of drivers,” says Ciara O’Brien, Head of Operations, easytrip. “At easytrip, our mission is to make life easier for motorists and we would advise where possible to use a car park premises where you and your vehicle are guaranteed to be safe and secure.  No matter where you park always remember to be mindful of others when selecting a parking space and when making a parking manoeuvre, be it perpendicular or parallel.”