An increasing number of motorists are complaining that car parking spaces, in various car parks, are simply too small. Is this really the cause of the problem or is the issue really that people are driving increasingly large vehicles?
According to Park Rite, the largest operator of public car parks in the United Kingdom, the dimensions of parking spaces need to relate to the vehicles that the space is intended for. The current standard calls for bays that are 2.4m wide and 4.8m long. But many of todays popular vehicles will only just fit into this space leaving no room for doors to be opened easily.
It has been suggested that some car park operators have purposely made their parking spaces narrower in order to squeeze more fee paying parkers into their parking lots. Some of the worst offenders are reported to be certain hospital car parks, some supermarkets and some long-stay airport parking lots. There have been reports of people unable to get into their cars due to adjacent vehicles being parked so close.
Is the problem due to the size of parking spaces or is it due to the increasing size of popular vehicles? A typical and popular 4 wheel drive vehicle is the Toyota Rav4. This has a width of 1.815m, excluding its mirrors. Allowing about 35cm for the width of the wing mirrors brings the width up to 1.85m. In a parking bay of 2.4m width this would leave only 0.55m or only 0.275m on each side. Clearly not a great deal of space in which to open the doors and get into or out of the car.
Narrow parking spaces present a particular problem for many vehicles that have long side doors, as do many 3 door models. The popular Renault Clio 3 Door, with its mirrors, is 2.025m. In a regular 2.4m space this would leave only 0.375m or only about 0.19m on each side for opening the doors and getting into and out of the car.
The only option available to motorists is to plead with car park operators to provide parking bays that are actually big enough for the vehicles that people are driving these days.
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