Motorists hit by parking bay squeeze With the increasing emphasis on safety, many cars are now several inches wider than the five feet eleven inches minimum established by the Department for Transport. It is estimated that cars now are 16 per cent wider than they were 40 years ago. According to Norman Baker, the local transport minister, councils need to be given the right to limit the width of the bays. The rules on the size of parking bays are designed to allow councils flexibility when putting bays in place on their roads so that they can provide parking where possible while still ensuring that drivers, cyclists and pedestrians can navigate the road safely. If all parking bays had to be wide enough to accommodate larger cars and 4x4s driving would be made impossible on many narrow roads. Those who drive the largest cars may need to take in to account that not all parking bays will be suitable for these vehicles. It is not only width which is becoming an issue, but also length. An increasing number of authorities are marking out individual bays, rather than letting drivers squeeze in behind each other. As a result this is leading to a fall in the number of cars which can be parked legally on the street. The situation is being exacerbated by a number of councils - such as Hackney, West Dorset and Merton - who have shortened some of the bays. According to Barrie Segal, a veteran parking campaigner, drivers are also facing a lottery with councils enforcing the rules differently. Some will expect the entire car to fit into the bay, while others will allow some leeway, for example considering a car to be legally parked if its wheels are within the white lines. Paul Watters of the AA said councils should inform motorists if they are going to impose tighter restrictions. If there are going to fine people for straddling the lines, there should be warning signs, Dividing the road into separate bays can lead to more orderly parking. But there can be problems with a ripple affect if one car at the front is almost on the line, the car at the back of a line could be forced over and get the ticket.