If you’ve ever had to reverse into a space in Castle Car Park next to a giant Chelsea tractor in the pouring rain, you’ll understand this news.
York is the worst city in England for parking accidents.
More motorists here are apt to get into a parking pickle than in any other city in the country.
Cities with the highest proportion of parking accident claims
| Rank | City | % of parking accident claims |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh | 13.20% |
| 2 | York | 13.10% |
| 3 | Aberdeen | 12.90% |
| 4 | Middlesborough | 12.80% |
| 5 | Stockton on Tees | 12.00% |
| 6 | Ipswich | 11.70% |
| 7 | Southampton | 11.50% |
| 8 | Plymouth | 11.30% |
| 8 | Southend on Sea | 11.30% |
| 10 | Norwich | 11.20% |
And we have to go all the way up to Scotland to find a city with a poorer record.
Admiral Insurance found that Edinburgh, York and Aberdeen were the worst three cities for insurance claims related to parking accidents.
More than 13% of accident claims in York were related to parking. That’s more than double the number in Bradford, the city with the best parking record with just six per cent.
Big cars, small spaces
Tourists unfamiliar with the city, and historic streets not designed for modern traffic, are two possible reasons why York is at the top of the parking prangs league.
Sabine Williams, head of motors at Admiral, said:
Historic and attractive cities like York that are hubs for tourism and employment will naturally attract high volumes of traffic, in turn making parking spaces sought after.
High volumes of accidents, could be a result of a number of factors including oversubscribed car parks; unfamiliarity of visiting drivers with parking arrangements in the city and perhaps larger cars and vehicles using historic car parks with smaller spaces.
Cities with the lowest proportion of accident claims for parking
| Rank | City | % of parking accident claims |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford | 6.00% |
| 2 | Luton | 6.50% |
| 3 | Birmingham | 6.80% |
| 4 | Liverpool | 7.10% |
| 5 | Manchester | 7.20% |
| 6 | Leicester | 7.40% |
| 7 | London | 7.40% |
| 8 | Walsall | 7.60% |
| 9 | Wolverhampton | 7.80% |
| 10 | Sheffield | 8.20% |
Admiral found that nearly one in 10 UK car insruance claims made for accidents last year related to parking. This includes drivers hitting a post or barrier while parking or attempting to park, hitting a third party whilst parking or being hit by a third party whilst parked.
Women drivers claimed more for parking related accidents (10.6%) than men (9.1%).
And when it comes to the age of drivers getting into trouble, 14.7% of claims were made by drivers 65 and over.
Drivers aged 17-24, were half as likely to have an accident while parking, accounting for just 7.2% of claims.