The UK's biggest parking space supplier, National Car Parks (NCP), is looking to widen parking spaces across the country to combat a 35 percent increase in parking-related accidents since 2014. The alarming rise, more than third, in just two years is being attributed to the soaring popularity of SUVs and 4x4s in the UK market.
According to Auto Express, parking spaces in London, Manchester and Bournemouth have already increased in size thanks to the initiatives of the NCP, and it doesn't plan on stopping there. NCP has told media this is precisely to enable owners of large vehicles to park with ease, given that a typical parking space in the UK is 2.4 meters wide and 4.8 meters long.
SUVs are the top-selling vehicles in the UK, with cars like the Nissan Qashqai, Mercedes' GLS-Class, BMW X5 and Audi Q7 all being larger than 4.8 meters. In fact, an estimated one in every three new cars sold in the country is an SUV.
An NCP spokeswoman specifically mentioned SUVs, saying it "is our intention to provide bigger parking bays wherever possible to do so." Scott Hamilton-Cooper of courtesy car supplier Accident Exchange concurred, saying many drivers are deterred from carparks due to the size of their cars.
"Not only are popular SUVs usurping smaller hatchbacks when it comes to new cars sales, older smaller cars are being taken off the street," said Hamilton-Cooper.
The parking-related collisions have also hurt UK insurers who now spend an estimated £1.4bn each year to address the damages left in their wake. According to the BBC, accidents related to parking have climbed to 30 percent of all vehicular accidents, with 675,000 parking incidents registered per year.
The NCP's initiatives, however, have been met with some opposition from UK car owners who haven't been swept up in the SUV craze. NCP itself has admitted that larger bays means sacrificing the number of parking spaces, which may prove counter-productive in the long haul. Others are worried that those who choose smaller and more environmentally-friendly vehicles instead of SUVs are being punished for it.
A chief scientist from Greenpeace UK, Doug Parr, said SUVs are "large gas guzzlers" that should not be encouraged.
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