A new survey carried out by YourParkingSpace.co.uk reveals that over half want to fine motorists who use parent-and-child parking spaces when they don’t have a child in the car.
Of the 500 people who took part, over a quarter wanted a hefty fine of more than £25, while more than 1 in 3 were happy with a more modest fine of £25 or less.
However, some 1 in 10 actually wanted a temporary ban from the supermarket for the parking offenders!
Harrison Woods, managing director at online parking portal YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: “Parent-and-child parking at supermarkets is a hot topic and often creates strong opinion, as demonstrated by our survey results which show most people want some sort of punishment for motorists who use supermarket parent-and-child parking spaces when they shouldn’t be.â€
Other surprise results from the YourParkingSpace.co.uk survey reveal that a sizeable 38 per cent want an age cap of just 5 years’ old for the use of parent-and-child parking spaces and not the much higher 12 years’ old which is the generally considered accepted limit by many supermarkets.
In fact, an age cap of 12 years’ old only received scant support at 17 per cent. This is the same amount of support from those who favoured limiting parent-and-child parking spaces only for parents of those children who could not yet walk.
Survey participants were also asked if they thought that, where possible, supermarkets should be forced to provide parent-and-child parking spaces, with a vast majority at 69 per cent giving it the thumbs up.
Meanwhile the survey suggests that UK motorists are overall very respectful as almost 9 out of 10 said they had not parked in a parent-and-child parking space when they didn’t have a child in the car with them.
Yet among the excuses given for those who had infringed were simply that they were feeling lazy, were in a rush or just wanted a bigger parking space. Others said it was a genuine mistake or that it was the only space available.
