Motorists blind to the dangers of pavement parking

Guide Dogs calls on councils to act to protect vulnerable pedestrians

Almost half of drivers admit they park on the pavement but don’t think about the danger they pose to people with sight loss, according to a survey.

Guide Dogs believes this thoughtless behaviour is making some of our town and city centres and suburbs no go areas for blind and partially sighted people and can undermine the life-changing freedom offered by a guide dog partnership. Guide Dogs wants to see local authorities use their powers to ban pavement parking and you can help us do this.

The YouGov poll commissioned by Guide Dogs shows that most drivers (54%) admit they park on the pavement. However, nearly five out of 10 drivers (48%) who said they park on a pavement haven’t thought about the possible problems it causes to blind or partially sighted people. Many pavement parkers also haven’t thought about the possible risk they pose to other vulnerable road users like the elderly (50%), and adults with prams (36%).

Campaigns Manager, James White said: “Cars parked on pavements are an everyday nightmare for blind and partially sighted people, as well as other vulnerable pedestrians. Imagine how terrifying it is to step into a road when you can’t see on-coming traffic. Too often people with sight loss are forced out into busy roads because an inconsiderate motorist has blocked the pavement.  Councils in England have the tools to penalise drivers who park on pavements and Guide Dogs want them to act now.

Guide dog owner Jo Speer from Dorchester has been forced out into the road many times. She said: “When I’m walking to work, people often park on the kerb right on a bend in a busy road.  This means either I have to walk out into the busy road, which is really dangerous, or my guide dog Bess has to try and take me a different way which involves stepping into people’s gardens. I don’t like doing that, but when people park so dangerously I don’t have a choice.” 

The survey also showed that almost a third of drivers (31%[1]) don’t think parking on the pavement constitutes dangerous driving and two thirds (67%) think parking on double yellow lines is worse than parking on the pavement.

Drivers in North West England are the worst pavement parkers

Drivers in the North West of England were the worst offenders, with 73%  admitting to parking on the pavement. Drivers in Scotland were the most considerate, with 60% saying they had never parked on the pavement.

Drivers in London and the North of England appear to be the most thoughtless parkers overall, with 23% of drivers in each region admitting they hadn’t thought about the possible negative impacts on any of the listed vulnerable road users when they parked on the pavement. Whereas only 6% of drivers in the Midlands said they hadn’t thought about these vulnerable groups when they parked on the pavement.

Older drivers are more likely to park considerately

Older drivers appear to be the most considerate according to the survey. More than half (54%) of drivers aged 55 and over said they never park on the pavement, compared with just 38% of 18-24-year-old drivers. Of those drivers who were pavement parkers, just 27% of 18-24-year-olds said they had thought about the possible risks for blind or partially sighted people, compared with 66% aged 55 and over.

Guide Dogs recommendations

Local authorities in England to use the powers granted to them in 2011 by the Department for Transport to ban parking on pavements.[2]

Local authorities in London to ensure the ban on pavement parking is being enforced.

In Scotland we urge MSPs to ensure that Sandra White MSP's Responsible Parking (Scotland) Bill results in legislation that enables local authorities to take action against inconsiderate parking.

Foot notes

[1] These results include people with a full driving licence who don’t currently drive

[2] Freeing pedestrians from pavement parking blight