Parking Crashes and Parking Assistance System Design: Evidence from Crash Databases, the Literature, and Insurance Agent Interviews

This paper (1) summarizes previous human factors/safety research on parking (8 studies, mostly over 20 years old), (2) provides statistics for 10,400 parking-related crashes in Michigan from 2000-2002, and (3) summarizes interviews with 6 insurance agents concerning parking crashes.

These sources indicate:

1. 1
   About 1/2 to 3/4 of parking crashes involve backing, often into another moving vehicle while emerging from a parking stall.
2. 2
   Eight-and-a-half foot-wide stalls had higher crash rates than wider stalls.
3. 3
   Most parallel parking crashes occur on major streets, not minor streets.
4. 4
   Lighting and driver impairment were minor factors in parking crashes.