With the average Briton today caring 43.4% more about his car than his home (sorry, Ladies, but average Britons usually are male), it’s only natural that we should want to be able to park immediately outside our own property, without members of the general public muscling in.
All too often, however, it’s impossible to exercise even this basic right. That was the shocking conclusion of a major new research project carried out by home interior specialist Hillary who phoned some people with cars and homes – and discovered they’re not happy!
According to Hilary, 58% percent of Britons have ‘confronted a stranger because they attempted to park directly outside or within the vicinity of their home.’ In other words, the average British home is no safer to park near than one of those bridges with trolls living under it.
Part of the problem, it seems, is that too little of this great country of ours has yet been concreted over and someone has put all the houses too close together. Nine out of ten Brits agreed that there is not enough parking near where they live. In fact, more than half of those with cars did not have their own special space to park it in.
Clearly this is a recipe for conflict, a dish that’s regularly served on streets and pavements up and down the land – especially in places like Manchester, Birmingham, Reading and Bristol, where car to tarmac ratios are particularly high.
Car-owning householders queried by Hillary said tensions flare when neighbours park too close to their car (51%), take their ‘usual spot’ (21%) or are suspected of damaging their car in the act of parking near it (16%).
“Parking in towns or cities can be incredibly frustrating,” said Hillary’s spokesperson, especially when people “want to park outside of their own home but have to compete with members of the general public”.
“It’s understandable,” the spokesperson added, that people “get angered when a stranger or neighbour steals a spot directly in front of their house.”
But perhaps we should all remember that physical violence is never the answer, however angered you are.
A polite note is always better.
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