A survey by Privilege Insurance has shown that one in three drivers has parked illegally due to frustration with the lack of parking spaces. More than 32 million motorists are said to be competing for just 2 million car park spaces with one in 10 drivers receiving at least one fine in the past year.
Drivers said that more car parks and off-street parking spaces would help tackle the problem.
What can be done to reduce parking rage?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received:
I don't have parking at my office so I drive to a park and ride. I think they are great but they too have problems. The queues are now huge and the buses are not as regular as they should be. My only other option is train but that would mean walking home in the dark down some dodgy alleys. I do think smaller cars and car sharing is a great idea. As for motorcycles, well they are good but would not catch me on one...too dangerous. They are some silly car drivers out there as well as other motorcyclists being a danger to car owners but I feel safer surrounded by metal rather than air
Cathy, UK
 |  I would rather struggle to find a parking spot than rely on public transport  |
Although parking can be a problem, I would rather struggle to find a parking spot than rely on public transport. I am frequently horrified at the condition not only of the trains/buses, but more importantly of the railway/bus stations. As a middle-aged woman travelling alone, I sometimes find the waiting areas not just unpleasant, but often unsafe to use.
Linda, UK Bus companies are private businesses. Are politicians trying to boost the profits of those companies by driving motorists off the road with congestion charges?
Dennis Spence, West Midlands, England
It's good to see some sensible ideas here: working from home, better building design, appropriately sized cars etc. But some journeys just can't be taken by foot, cycle or public transport. It's nothing to do with being lazy, it's called the real world.
James, UK
Before moving to the city I lived in a very rural area. My village got one bus every two hours - usually a double-decker trundling through the village with half a dozen people on board. The cost of the service was more than the price of petrol and parking. Try running a service based on minibuses and running them every 30 minutes rather than every two hours. Perhaps then people would use them. Also provide at least one late bus - when the last bus home leaves town at 6:20 there's not much option but to drive if you're going out for the evening.
Dave Tankard, UK
| One solution to difficulties in parking is to own a motorcycle |
One solution to difficulties in parking is to own a motorcycle. It takes up much less space, is more manoeuvrable and you are rarely required to pay. It's ideal for the commuter who travels alone.... Well apart from the fact that car drivers are busy on their mobile phones/telling off the kids/lighting another cigarette to notice you before they knock you flying!
Alison, Leeds, UK I would love to leave my car at home some days, but in order to get to work (in an NHS hospital that has moved across the county in order to fulfil the Government's targets of 'centralising' services). I would have a 15 minute walk to the train station, 20 minute train journey, train change, 15 minute train journey, change to bus, 20 minute bus journey, then a walk across the hospital site as it was designed so badly as to place the only public transport area to one side rather than the centre of the site. Mind you, if I drive and arrive after 8am I have no chance of finding a parking space. The company that owns the on-site car park (not the NHS - odd?) has given up clamping and charging those people parking on yellow lines (patients and staff) as they know that there is no benefit to either party in paying those fines. How is it that other European countries appear to manage their transport systems so much better than us?
Stacey, UK
Whilst local councils continue to be allowed to use the revenue from fines as a source of income, there is no reason for them to provide adequate parking in towns and cities. But, if this revenue was taken directly by Whitehall, and used to improve the transport network, I guarantee, you would see a dramatic rise in the number of council operated parking schemes. And this way everybody wins.
Mr Smith, (ex-council employee)
I don't know what all the fuss is about. If you can't find a space within the first three seconds just park in a disabled bay. Then you can get on your phone, book your gym session and hurl abuse at the little old lady who has the audacity to ask you to move to a non disabled space. Don't worry you won't get clamped and you will enhance your reputation as a scum bag. Makes my blood boil.
Pete, Wales
| Don't browbeat drivers and punish them when there is no decent alternative |
While I hate the amount of traffic congestion we now have in major towns and cities and on arterial routes throughout the country, being a frequent user of public transport I can understand people's reluctance to give up their cars. Our local bus service is abominable, and having travelled extensively by train during the summer, I was frequently let down by delayed services and a lack of announcements. This coupled with dirty, litter-strewn services - little wonder people avoid public transport. Either provide a credible, public transport infrastructure that supports the public, or provide better parking facilities for drivers. But don't browbeat drivers and punish them when there is no decent alternative.
CazM, UK Get a decent, co-ordinated, public transport policy up and working! There is a very good 'flyer' bus service between two towns near where I live. It costs the same as it costs to park one's car. Many people I know now use the bus for preference. If the bus was half the price as it is now, I imagine they'd need two or three times as many buses as there are now. Simple, isn't it? And for pity's sake, sort the rail system out and get rid of this ridiculous system where it is cheaper to FLY between UK's major cities than it is to travel by train!!
Andrea Tucker, UK
I am from a rural area but go to university in London. When I am back at home I do notice how poor the public transport is and that driving is the only alternative. I do also notice that there is no problem with parking. When I am at university I notice how frequent the public transport is - a delay of over an hour on the tube is still quicker than public transport back home. This is the sort of area with parking problems and people should be educated, be it with Congestion Charge or some other means, about how great public transport is here. I do disagree with traffic wardens working methods. I saw one just over a week ago distract someone buying a ticket whilst another one booked the driver!
Chris L, UK
This situation is made worse by London councils deliberately removing car parking spaces. Utter PC madness.
Chris, UK,
| Either public transport must run to within walking distance of people's houses or allowances must be made to park cars at train/bus stations |
We live in a small town 50 miles from London. About once a week my husband commutes to London for a meeting. He'd love to take the train all the way, however the car parks for the local station (Fleet) is full by 10am and he has often had to drive passed two other stations before he can find somewhere to park. Either public transport must run to within walking distance of people's houses or allowances must be made to park cars at train/bus stations.
Carol, England It either has to be enough parking spaces for all cars or no cars.
Tony, Welling, Kent
Help the environment and reduce the use of cars - if 32m cars are competing for 2m spaces that's quite a clear indication that we should drive less.
Angela, UK
I have a bike with a child seat on the back. I also have a bike trailer designed for children to sit in whilst an adult does the pedalling. I no longer use either due to the downright dangerous driving of the car owners who have all but knocked me off my bike with their myopic, selfish attitudes. I don't even live in a city - just a small semi-rural town. My children are too precious - I now drive them around and will continue to do so in future.
Julie, UK
I have to work on site four days a week, generally leave before or after the rush hour. Get to site mid morning, do a few hours work and go home. Would love to use more public transport, but on a mileage claim scheme to pay for lease-hire car. No mileage and I get to pay for the car myself. So could do two jobs per day and often do one to keep up the mileage.
Steve, England
| Getting in "a rage" about this is NOT going to help! |
Getting in "a rage" about this is NOT going to help! However, the SENSIBLE use of "yellow paint" on the roads would be a big help. The authorities seem to use no judgment at all in its placement, which devalues its significance to the motorist. Or it this just another way of squeezing even more money from the over-taxed motorist?
Alan Hall, UK I feel very sorry for commuters, having worked as a volunteer today in Bristol for four hours it has taken me a total of three hours on top of that for the round trip of 12 miles from my home on the city's outskirts, two buses each journey, only portaloos in the bus station forecourt. I have a car but there is no point in taking it into Bristol as i couldn't afford the parking. Mind you the bus fare comes to �8 return!
Catherine Davies, England
Despite what people say, everyone eventually finds a parking space. You may get contract reserved parking to take the hassle away, but then you would have to pay for it. That is unacceptable to us isn't it?
SARAH, UK
Close the rail network and use the money saved to create a sensible working road network that provides a road based equivalent of the rail network. The road network is the equivalent of a wireless network whilst trains are still doing token ring!
Andrew, UK
More car parks won't make any difference. Yesterday I saw a guy park in a bus stop even though there was a legal space five metres away.
Malcolm, UK
| For many people it is not a case of being unable to manage without a car but of choosing to use a car |
For many people it is not a case of being unable to manage without a car but of choosing to use a car because it seems more convenient or saves time. Every day I walk my son to school and see many parents driving their children to school, even though most live around 10 minutes' walk away. They drop their children off as near to the school as they can, often stopping illegally outside the school to avoid the "inconvenience" of stopping a minute's walk away. Drivers need to stop being so selfish and start walking!
Jan, UK It is perfectly possible to live in any city or large town, getting around using public transport, bike, walking and taxis. It's cheaper and healthier too. It's just a bit more comfortable to do it by car, and the only way to avoid this is to simply price motorists off the road. I use my car to drive to the railway station and to go shopping. I'd stop both of those too if it became expensive.
Sarah, Reading, UK
Motorists will never be "priced off the road" (Sarah, Reading). Decent, everyday, hard working folk will continue to drive, but just pay up be increasingly poor for the privilege. And the Government knows this. And is it a privilege? You try using a dirty, unreliable bus in my city (Birmingham). Paying money for this excuse of a service might not be so bad, if it wasn't plain dangerous to use buses (or trains) any time after dark.
CK, GB
I've seen people jump into their cars to go to the shops or get a newspaper which is only five minutes away. Walk for God's sake!
Roger, Cornwall
| The car park there is about the same size as my front garden |
I regularly drive the 12 miles into London. Of course I would love to take the tube but unfortunately the car park there is about the same size as my front garden. Needless to say the spaces are all gone by about six o'clock. Joined up thinking please!
James Tandy, UK To James Tandy - I regularly cycle 12 miles into a town and then the 12 miles back, with ease. I'm not superfit, I'm just an ordinary middle-aged woman on a bicycle. It's great fun and keeps me fitter than I would otherwise be. London has a great FREE range of maps available showing cycling routes. Try it some time if you can.
Helen S, UK
Parking rage? Judging by many of the comments in this forum "Commenting Rage" is a far more serious problem! I drive, and I occasionally get frustrated if I can't find a space, but I cope with it! The only thing that annoys me is people who park on yellow lines. I recently saw an ambulance struggling to get down the high street of my local town - progress was painfully slow because of all the illegally parked cars and delivery vans.
John, England
Just get yourself a Smart. Small on the outside and spacious on the inside. We even do our food shopping for 3 adults in it! Easy peasy for parking, and environmentally friendly (300 miles on a full tank).
Seema, UK
I have always been one of those people who never drove, nor had any desire to, but I have just applied for my provisional license. The reason? I am constantly discriminated against when I apply for a job for not having my own transport - my line of work has nothing to do with driving). The job I am in presently I have to rely on lifts from my colleagues otherwise I am stranded after the last bus which is at 4.30pm. When I do get a car, Lord knows where I am going to park it!
Helen C, UK
| I'm glad I live in the real world and drive |
"The answer is to walk". Have you ever tried walking 3 miles or getting a bus with 10 bags of shopping? (By which time your food has defrosted). I'm glad I live in the real world and drive, parking problems or not.
Les, England Les, England: "3 miles with 10 bags of shopping?" Yes, actually. Get yourself a rucksack (more environmentally friendly than carrier bags), put all the frozen stuff in together so it doesn't defrost, and away you go. I quite often come home four miles with several weeks' worth of shopping on my back (and no, I'm not superhuman). It might take an hour's walk, but then I'm keeping fit and that's less time spent elsewhere in the gym!
Liz G, UK
The public transport system is geared towards adults. Try using it with 3 children, a pushchair and shopping, then you'll understand why most mothers either walk (if it's nearby) or use the car.
Caron, England
| People have got to realise that space in cities is finite and they can't all park in it! |
My partner used to be a traffic warden. He's been punched, scratched, spat on, had his feet run over, had food and objects thrown at him and had to suffer the filthiest verbal abuse imaginable. He used to work around the Oxford Street area in Central London - an area where no-one in their right mind would try to park for any length of time. While he would be the first to admit that local authorities treat drivers as 'cash cows', people have got to realise that space in cities is finite and they can't all park in it! Tube stations and major bus interchanges need to have large car parks so that drivers can complete journeys by public transport.
Jane C, UK Bring in permits related to the size of the car. SUVs etc should pay more!
Graham, UK
Inflatable cars are the obvious answer. You could deflate it on arrival, or, if you're determined to park it, stick a pin in somebody else's.
C. Hunter, England
| I am going to have to fight with everybody else for the few legal parking spaces |
All the persons here who are smugly bragging "I have never had a car" and "Just use public transport" must be very lucky indeed. Obviously they all live in places where public transport is actually a viable alternative to a car! I would willingly sell my car tomorrow if I felt I could depend on the expensive, filthy, overcrowded, unreliable and downright dangerous infrastructure that is laughingly labelled a public transport "service". Until then I am going to have to fight with everybody else for the few legal parking spaces there are now left.
Chrissie, Scotland I live less than 6 miles from where I work yet it takes me an hour on 2 crowded buses to get there. "Well, get a car then" everyone tells me. I know there are too many cars, and it's selfish but I'm seriously considering it. Mind you it'd get broken into on my street.
C, UK
Give tax breaks to companies who provide the means and willingness for their office-bound employees to work from home. If half the workforce worked from home for one day a week, it would reduce commuter traffic and parking by 10%.
Ian, UK
Both myself and my wife have mobility problems and even a trip to the fish and chip shop has become an ordeal because of difficulty parking. It doesn't surprise me that people are getting angry - the freedom associated with owning a car is being lost. I remember when parking was free and plentiful - happy days.
Richard Stone, Lowestoft, England It really annoys me that the government can be so perverse in their methods of getting people out of cars and onto public transport. In any well run country we'd be tempted onto busses with reliable, regular and comfortable service. Instead we are punished for our preference by road charging, expensive parking, increasing taxes in a failing attempt to push us onto public transport. I own two cars and aim to use them both for as far into the future as I can see!
Ben, Pontefract, England.
I live in a rural area and I have to travel to the nearest town to shop, but I go when there are no parking problems. Supermarkets are open late at night or early in the morning and it's easy to find a parking space at 9am on a Saturday for other shops. As for work parking, I will no longer work for a company if I'm not sure of a parking place. I've done it twice before and every day was miserable and stressful, wondering if I had a ticket, had I been towed, what would it cost. Life's too short.
Kathy, UK
More car parking spaces. With the car being the most reliable form of transport one could expect a few more parking places. After all we motorist pay billions in taxes each year.
Volker, England (ex Germany)
House builders should fund and supply additional parking facilities in the town centres which they build their houses near. As to rage - it should be treated as unprovoked assault with menaces or worse. There is no excuse for physical abuse or threatening behaviour by some Wayne/Waynetta Slob. Shops might be 'refocused' in their thinking if they had a strict choice between providing free home delivery or having to fork out for plentiful parking! This would remove the 'bulky purchase' excuse for the majority of cases.
Tim, UK
| It's the people who don't have to drive but still do that are the problem |
We need to be sensible: folks living out in the country often have to drive into towns - fair enough. It's the people who don't have to drive but still do that are the problem - those that could walk but don't. Get them on their feet and I'm sure 20% of parking spaces will become available for those who need them.
Iain, UK Unfortunately, we are simply paying the price for years of under-investment in our roads. Just because we don't LIKE the idea of lots of roads and lots of parking spaces doesn't mean to say that we don't NEED more roads and parking spaces. I'll vote for the party that can best support the motorist.
Christos, UK
I would really love to join in the utopian existence many of your correspondents seem to be enjoying. It's easy for people to write phrases like "move closer to where you work.." or "If an area has a parking problem don't go there. If you live in an area that has parking problems, move." Unfortunately the real world isn't like that! These days people live where they can afford to live and rarely where they'd like to live as housing is so expensive and where all of these councils are happy to sell of land for new housing, the public transport infrastructure required to support these new homes is seen as a very minor consideration.
Lee, Gloucestershire, UK
If you don't like using public transport and have trouble finding a place to park in the centre of towns and cities then the answer is to walk. The majority of the population live in urban areas where local shops are never far away, however many people are now too lazy to contemplate walking. The increase in the use of cars can be directly linked to an increase in the average body weight of individuals in developed countries (combined with poor diet). Before you make a car journey think if it is really necessary and remember it will be directly contributing to increasing your health as well as saving you money if you walk instead.
Caroline, UK
Just another symptom of underinvestment in infrastructure and excessive population growth.
Brian, UK
| For those in rural areas the prospect of using anything other than a car is off the agend |
It is fatuous to say simply that we should not use cars and if we do it is our fault. For anybody living outside of large urbanised areas, using public transport takes on the guise of an expedition, on a daily basis. For those in rural areas the prospect of using anything other than a car is off the agenda. Provision of an integrated, reliable and flexible public transport system is a pre-requisite to solving the problems of car congestion.
Paul B, Oxfordshire, UK I travel to Germany frequently. Before they build a block of flats or new houses they dig a huge hole for the underground parking. No new building can be authorised unless sufficient underground parking has been catered for. On-street parking in residential areas is virtually unknown.
John, UK
Of course there's a solution, we should be encouraging people to use their cars less, whilst improving public transport options. Anyone who thinks the problem can be solved by building more roads and parking spaces, simply has their head in the sand. A huge number of car journeys made are unnecessary. Car drivers need to understand that there is a hugely significant environmental cost attached to their activities and it is a cost they should have to pay. When car drivers complain about being cash-cows and exploited, they don't seem to realise the true cost of what they are doing. Who picks up the tab for the rocketing cases of asthma amongst children in urban areas, for example?
William Warbrick, UK
Two things can sure this: First build more car parks, out of town with good, free, clean bus/tram links to the main shopping areas. Secondly, build more jails, no-one has the right to attack anyone over a parking space. If they behave in this way, then they need to be taken off the streets for a few years.
John R Smith, UK
I live in a rural area, 2 miles from the nearest public transport and I have "no option but to drive to work". However I cycle to work on my push bike - 16 mile round trip takes 35 mins each way. I am not superhuman, I am normal, I even have a car. People tell me how much better I look without my beer/car belly - plus there's more parking space for everyone else. Take control. Stop blaming others.
Dom, UK
| I am forced to take my car whenever I want to make a journey into town |
Living in a rural area that has a very poor public transport link I am forced to take my car whenever I want to make a journey into town. It is not that people want to drive everywhere but purely because they do not have a choice. As many others have said the government need to provide a better public transport system or cater for the number of cars.
Caroline Webb, UK What about encouraging people to use smaller cars? When I was young there was no such thing as people carriers, my parents just had to get us and all of our gear into a Mini. Believe me there is no such thing as parking problems when you drive a Mini.
Sarah, UK
Hire a chauffeur, who can drop you off where required, cruise around to find a legal parking space, and you can then get picked up by them at a time and place of your choosing. It would also lower unemployment at the same time - two problems solved at same time!
Richard, Indonesia
I have just come back from Lyon in France. They have buses, trolley buses, trams, a metro and rail serving the population and the entire city centre is virtually all pedestrianised - fantastic!! But people still use their cars and still sit in jams. The difference is that they park anywhere, I mean ANYWHERE, but don't seem to get hassled. The main streets are traffic free, the public transport is excellent but those who wish to drive aren't treated like mobile cash cows for local authorities.
Jez, UK
The town centre of Lichfield is a pedestrianised shopping area which is becoming larger and attracting bigger named chain stores - M&S Food Hall being a recent example. The amount of parking areas provided are totally insufficient for the level of custom the council are trying to attract into the city. They are happy for us to go and spend our money but not to park our cars. I have been in the situation of trying to clamber on a bus or a train with carrier bags full of shopping, standing squashed up against other people doing the same.
Kiltie, Staffs
I get so mad about the parking on my street. I pay a fortune for a parking permit and I invariably can't get a spot near my flat. People regularly park illegally on my street and we are fined for it. Why can't the council organise themselves and sort the problem for local residents?
Soph, Aberdeen, UK
| Everyone left a note on the windscreen to state the obvious |
I get in a rage over parking wardens who disengage their brain as soon as they put on their uniform. I, and 30 others, were parked in a car park where both ticket machines were not working. Everyone left a note on the windscreen to state the obvious but a parking warden still booked all 31 of us. We all appealed and had it upheld but as usual more hassle.
Gerry, Scotland It's simple. If an area has a parking problem don't go there. If you live in an area that has parking problems, move.
Keith, UK
I would love nothing more than to be able to get on a train and relax for an hour or so. As it is I live in Lewes and work in Tunbridge Wells and a journey to work by public transport either entails a bus journey of nearly two hours or two changes of train and a journey of nearly two and a half hours. This government is hell bent on making car journeys as stressful as possible whilst at the same time ignoring the public transport infrastructure that is needed to entice people off the roads
Malcolm, UK
Unlike my girlfriend, who has spent over �200 on tickets this year, despite trying her best to always park legally, I have had none. How? I have never owned a car, simple!
Dave, UK
| Have they decided to make money from fines rather than the fees? |
I haven't deliberately parked illegally - but having gone out of my way to pay the money, I have been fined by Oxford for not spotting minuscule signs restricting one small area to residents rather than paying customers and a similarly small- sized sign cost my partner when a free area in Milton Keynes was made pay-and-display without proper notification and signing. Have they decided to make money from fines rather than the fees? It doesn't get willing compliance from normally pedantically law-abiding citizens like me for them to play games like this; it undermines respect for the law.
Steve Hills, UK Car parking spaces should be reduced to an absolute minimum. Only then will people simply not bother and use public transport, thus reducing parking rage. If you have luggage to take, use a taxi. It is also usually possible to live near where you work, the exception being London which has a relatively good public transport network.
David, UK
I get into a rage when there are sufficient spaces, but bad parking prevents some spaces from being used.
David, England
This is another revenue earner for the powers that be. They won't give us plentiful, cheap parking because they need the cash cow motorist to fund their squandering ways. For me it's easy, if I can't find anywhere to park when shopping, I just leave and shop elsewhere. I have not shopped in London since the introduction of the congestion charge...I now go to Birmingham
Roger, England
| Provide an efficient public transport infrastructure |
In an ideal world, there would be an efficient public transport system, servicing all parts of the country. We'd all ride pushbikes and there would be car-free city centres. Yeah right! Local and national government departments need to wake up and realise this is never going to happen. People who do not live in large towns or cities and have either no access to public transport, or a very poor service, have no option but to use their cars to visit these places. So, politicians, put up or shut up, provide an efficient public transport infrastructure or provide the necessary facilities in your towns/cities, rather than sucking the blood of the motorist who has no choice.
Sandy, UK Discourage the use of huge cars for single user, short hop journeys by creating 'small' parking bays. You can fit more cars, and encourage people to be more environmentally friendly. Also - make cars that can swing their wheels to park straight into the kerb - no need to leave space in front or behind!
Phil, UK
Simple. Improve public transport. Phase out personal transport and the whole car culture that goes with it.
Tony Coleby, UK
Whether the liberals like it or not, car use is here to stay. We have to take a leaf out of the Europeans' book and build car parks under buildings for residents. This will free up the streets, relieve congestion, make road crossing easier for children etc, and stop the poor motorist from being the local authority's cash-cow.
GW, England
| Just another symptom of today's selfish society |
Too many lazy people and too many cars in this country, that's the problem. Every time I visit the supermarket the disabled parking bays are full up with people who parked there to save walking from the other side of the car park. Just another symptom of today's selfish society.
Steve, UK Hasn't any one noticed the connection between the increase in car numbers and the decrease in quality of life? If we don't do something about this we're all going to die young from stress related illnesses.
Ian, UK
Parking rage? There's a simple solution - use public transport. I haven't had a car for ten years and you couldn't pay me enough to have another.
Andrew Pawley, UK
I gave my parents (who live in Greece) my car last Christmas after my 5th parking ticket for "illegal" parking. Living in a city or town with a car is impossible.
Paul Weaver, UK
What really annoys me is the fact that many councils are establishing resident parking zones simply as a cash generation exercise. To illustrate, Islington council is trying to charge us several hundred pounds to have a parking permit as well as charging for visitors' permits in excess of what a standard parking meter would charge! If the measures are passed through, there will be no reduction in parking, simply more money earned!! Madness.
Daniel, UK
The problem isn't the lack of parking spaces, it's that there are too many cars. If people were more willing to do 'car-sharing' or use public transport then this problem would simply go away.
Hermione, UK
Part of the problem is the fact that people have little respect for notices/double yellow lines and are too lazy to walk farther than necessary. Horsham is a classic example. There are places to park and a park and ride facility, yet people stop anywhere and park wherever they fancy. When caught with a parking fine they moan about it. I have no sympathy with them on this one. The signs are clear, they know the risks. There's probably more rage caused by the fact that people's selfish and irresponsible parking causes unnecessary delays and traffic jams.
J R Masters
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