• 62% say that it should be illegal to park on pavements everywhere in the UK, shows February’s Startline Used Car Tracker
• 28% say parking on pavements is “just lazy” and 23% that motorists should leave the way clear for pedestrians
• Follows demand from Local Government Association for councils to have more powers to stop pavement parking

The February Used Car Tracker from Startline Motor Finance has looked at the issue just as the Local Government Association has demanded new powers to make pavement parking illegal across England.

The research shows that 28% think that parking on pavements is “just lazy” while 23% believe that motorists should leave the way clear for pedestrians and 21% call it “annoying.”

However, 24% say that it’s often possible to park on pavements and still leave space for pedestrians and 14% defend themselves by insisting they only park on the pavement to drop someone off or pop into a shop.

The current legal situation is that it is illegal to park on the pavement in London and should not take place elsewhere in the UK unless explicitly allowed. However, this is widely ignored and in Scotland, a new law has just been introduced that makes it explicitly illegal everywhere, incurring a £100 fine.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance said: “We asked this question following the introduction of a more ‘zero tolerance’ approach to pavement parking in Scotland and our research shows it would be popular with the majority of people right across the UK.

“The research clearly shows quite a lot of annoyance around pavement parking and drivers not leaving enough space for pedestrians to get by, which is understandable, although there is some pushback from drivers who believe you can pavement park responsibly.

“Our suspicion is that many people don’t realise that parking on the pavement is illegal almost everywhere unless signage says it is allowed, and there is probably an argument for making the situation clearer, which is effectively what the Local Government Association is demanding.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This time, 301 consumers and 61 dealers were questioned.