Britons are paying almost £1.5 billion a year to repair car damage caused while parking, new research has revealed.
A study by Skoda of 2,000 drivers in the UK found 11 per cent had seriously damaged their car while parking in the last 12 months with an average repair cost of £396. Scale that up to 11 per cent of all drivers in the country, 3.74m based on Department for Transport figures, and that equates to almost £1.5 billion in total annually.
Four in 10 said they had at some point hit another car’s door while exiting their vehicle, though 73 per cent of all surveyed described themselves as good parkers.
Despite that last figure, just 53 per cent are confident in their ability to satisfy a driving instructor with a parking manoeuvre if they were to retake their driving test.
A Skoda spokesperson said: “While many people feel confident in their parking capabilities the numbers show motorists have forked out significant sums in the last 12 months repairing their cars from parking mishaps.
“The advanced technology on our cars means they no longer have to do the parking themselves. Driver aids, such as the Park Assist function on our Kodiaq family SUV, help reduce stress around parking and should see the number of parking prangs decrease so Brits won’t be hurt where it hurts most - in the pocket.”