Two in three motorists’ vehicles damaged in car parks, says RAC Insurance
Damage to vehicles is common in car parks but very few culprits own up. - Credit: PA
RAC Insurance finds that 66 per cent of motorists have had cars damaged in car parks.
Around two-thirds of UK motorists have had their car damaged in car parks, according to research by RAC Insurance.
More than a third of those surveyed (35% claimed to have been affected at least once, while only slightly fewer (31%) said they had had cars damaged several times.
Of those, 23% said they had seen this happen on five or more occasions.
The majority of the damage took place in supermarket car parks, with 48% claiming to have picked up a scratch or a dent while shopping. Town-centre car parks, leisure centres and even libraries were also named in the survey, which quizzed 1,464 members of the RAC opinion panel.
The respondents mostly thought the damage was unintentional, with 70% believing their car had been damaged in some sort of accident. More than half of those (53%) thought the damage was a result of contact by another vehicle, while 32% were of the opinion that scratches and dents had been caused by car doors being opened into their vehicle.
However, only nine per cent of those questioned had received a note from the perpetrator, while almost four in 10 (38%) said they 'wouldn't expect anyone to do the right thing and leave a note'.
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RAC Insurance director Mark Godfrey said: 'It's frightening to think that so many motorists suffer damage to their vehicles in car parks and that the people responsible hardly ever leave a note.
'We all use car parks every day, so the chances of your car picking up a dent or scratch are pretty high, especially as vehicles have got wider over the years while parking spaces generally haven't.'
Have you had the misfortune of your vehicle being damaged in a car park? Share your experience by emailing motoring@archant.co.uk
