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Aberystwyth motorists most polite in UK
publication date: Dec 17, 2008
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author/source: Robin Roberts
 | | Parking protocol is its most polite in Aberystwyth.
Forget slanging matches over spaces and punch-ups over
parking places, it’s agreeable Aberystwyth where the queue gives way to
“after you” in a national survey by NCP.
Christmas season’s goodwill spirit is alive and well in the rural retreat on the west coast of Wales.
Data from NCP, the UK’s largest car parking company, today reveals
three quarters (75pc) agree that traditional festive spirit is replaced
with a fighting spirit as drivers become more aggressive and
competitive when finding a car parking space over Christmas.
In fact such is the competition for spaces around the country that more
than half of us (52pc) agree that Brits will stop at nothing to get the
perfect space and almost a third (29pc) can testify to having had
somebody steal their space as they were preparing to park in it.
Furthermore, a worryingly high 33pc of British parkers admit they
would never leave a note on someone’s car if they bumped or scratched
it.
It’s parkers in north east who should be most wary though: 91pc
of people in York - more than any other city in the country - agreed
that people are more aggressive and ruthless at Christmas. Conversely,
only 56pc of people in Aberystwyth believed the statement to be true,
making the west coast town in Wales the most polite place to park in
the UK.
But it seems decorum has not been completely forgotten in our car
parks – two thirds (65pc) will always say thanks with a wave of the
hand when someone lets them out or park ahead of them.
Furthermore,
nearly half (46pc) of parkers would always offer to lend a hand to
someone who has lost their car.
Jo Bryant, Etiquette Advisor for Debrett’s, the modern authority
on manners and behaviour, says: “Good parking manners can make a
crowded car park infinitely more civilised and it’s important to offer
patience and consideration to your fellow motorist, especially during
the busy Christmas shopping period.”
Commenting on the findings Andrew Potter, Chief Executive
Officer at NCP said, “As a nation we are stereotypically fixated by
etiquette yet it’s revealing that so many of us forget basic manners
when in a car park. Christmas can be a frantic time but a well timed
‘thank you’ can go a long way in making their parking experience more
pleasant.
“We always encourage drivers to think of the first rule
of car park etiquette: what goes around comes around and if you’re
polite to a fellow parker, there’s more chance the favour will be
returned in the future.”
Founded in 1931, NCP has over 75 years expertise within the
parking sector and now supplies drivers with over 200,000 spaces across
more than 700 locations.
The Company processes approximately 80 million customer transactions every year. |
Debrett’s top tips on how to park the ‘correct way’, as dictated
by etiquette:
• Never turn into a back-seat driver: you may be ashen-faced and
white-knuckled with fear, but dramatic gestures or raised voices won’t
help anybody
• Never be aggressive towards other parkers, and never steal somebody
else’s space
• Give other cars enough time to get in or out of a space
• A friendly wave or flash of the headlights is a gesture that will
cost you mere seconds and endear you to other drivers
• If you bump or scratch somebody else’s car, always leave a note
offering to pay for the damage
• Good manners dictate you should always give way to pedestrians
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NCP’s Top Ten Parking Peccadilloes
Almost half of us 44pc of us admit to being particular about where we will and won’t park our cars, and the study shows how:
| 1. Half of us always park nose first (47pc)
| | 2. But just over a third (35pc) would rather reverse into a space
| | 3. Half refuse to park next to a pillar (48pc) | | 4. A third (33pc) always try to park in a space that has two free spaces either side of it
| 5. Close to a fifth (18pc) get ‘stage fright’ and can’t park their
car if there is a queue forming behind them for fear of messing it up
| | 6. One in six (16pc) admit to driving the wrong way up a one way system to get into a space
| 7. Half (49pc) regularly ‘double lock’ our cars (press the ‘lock’
button on the key fob two, three or four more times after they
originally locked the car, just to double check)
| | 8. Three out of ten users (28pc) are creatures of habit and try and park in the same parking space every time
| 9. Three fifths (62pc) of drivers will try and park in the same space every time
| | 10. One in six (16pc) have put something on the roof, forgotten to take it off and driven away
| | ©Image Crown Copyright (2008) Visit Wales
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But watch out in Colwyn Bay! |
An 80-year-old man has been banned from driving for a
year after he twice drove into a woman following a row over a disabled
parking space.
William Picken, from Prestatyn, Denbighshire, lost his
temper when the woman pulled into a space before him at a shopping
centre in Colwyn Bay, Conwy.
Llandudno magistrates court was told he had
been travelling slowly and the victim suffered no serious injuries.
Picken was also fined £435 plus costs after admitting dangerous
driving. In addition, he must pay £100 compensation to his victim and
re-take his test if he wants to drive again.
It was said
Picken became
annoyed when the woman, Christine Davies, drove in first after they had both been waiting to park.
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