A recent survey conducted by insurance provider Budget Direct has revealed a widespread aversion to parallel parking among Australian drivers.
According to the survey of over 1,000 car owners, 25% prefer to park elsewhere and walk or use public transport to avoid the stress of parallel parking. Additionally, 14% reported avoiding certain areas entirely due to parking difficulties.
The survey found that many drivers are deterred by the fear of holding up traffic while attempting to reverse park. Only 8% of respondents felt extremely comfortable with parallel parking, while three times as many indicated they would avoid it if possible.
Gender differences were evident in the survey results. Almost half (48%) of female drivers reported rarely or never parallel parking, compared to 31% of male drivers. Furthermore, 35% of women versus 16% of men admitted to feeling stressed or anxious while parallel parking.
Budget Direct chief growth officer Jonathan Kerr suggested that parallel parking might become less common as technology advances.
He noted that younger generations tend to avoid parallel parking, and many drivers prefer smaller cars to make the task easier.
“Gen Z (25%) and Gen Y (26%) car owners surveyed are most likely to have minimal or no confidence when it comes to parking while 64% of the Silent Generation and just over half of Baby Boomers (52%) told us they are very or extremely confident,” he said. “Technology is certainly playing a bigger role with nearly half (48%) of car owners surveyed happy to have some help from technology in the form of reversing cameras or parking sensors, and nearly a quarter (23%) wishing they had the technology fitted to their own cars.
“Also, more than half of car drivers surveyed (52%) said that they had either already bought or would consider buying a smaller car simply to make parking easier.”
The survey also found that 60% of respondents need to parallel park at least once a week, with nearly one in 10 doing so daily.
Key concerns include:
Car damage is another deterrent, with 15% of respondents stating their car had been damaged while parked, and 6% admitting to causing a parking scrape.
In another news, a new insurance report has urged Australian drivers to remain alert as the number of wildlife collisions skyrocket, with New South Wales seeing the highest number of animal collisions (30%), followed by Victoria (29%) and Queensland (24%).
