4 2GM Thursday November 26 2020 | the times
News
Retailers selling electric scooters
should warn customers that they are
illegal on roads, pavements and in
public places, police said last night.
The Metropolitan Police warned in
an open letter to the industry before an
anticipated Christmas sales boost of an
increase in collisions involving private-
ly owned e-scooters, including one inci-
dent last year in which a rider was
Past master Adam Burton’s autumnal image of Restormel Castle, one of Cornwall’s four Norman castles, helped him to the title of historic photographer of the year
Killer officer’s appeal
A police officer jailed for
strangling his lover has applied to
appeal against his sentence.
Timothy Brehmer, 41, was jailed
for ten and a half years last
month at Salisbury crown court
after admitting the manslaughter
of Claire Parry. The 41-year-old
mother of two died during a
struggle in Brehmer’s car in West
Parley, Dorset, in May this year.New house, new start
A man who sought a fresh start
after losing his wife to breast
cancer five years ago has won a
£1 million house after donating
£10 in a charity draw. Ian Garrick,
a 56-year-old civil servant and
father of three from Lincolnshire,
won the house in Cheshire in a
competition that aims to raise
£1 million for the Teenage Cancer
Trust over the next three years.Dentist faces sex claim
A Harley Street dentist faces a
ban after he allegedly wined and
dined a female patient at the
Savoy hotel before having sex
with her in her room. Sahil Patel
met the woman twice at a pub, a
disciplinary panel of the General
Dental Council was told. He says
that she was no longer a patient
as he had finished her veneer
treatment. The hearing continues.Duke’s UFO library
The Duke of Edinburgh has a
library devoted to UFOs and
aliens, a royal source said. Prince
Philip, 99, became interested after
Lord Mountbatten of Burma
reported a sighting. Archie
Miller-Bakewell, the duke’s
secretary, wrote to the author of a
UFO encyclopaedia that Prince
Philip “will add this copy to his
collection”, The Sun reported.Council investment ban
Local authorities will be banned
from buying investment property
after spending left them
vulnerable to the coronavirus
downturn. Over the past three
years central government has
given councils £6.6 billion in low-
cost loans to invest in property,
used to generate income without
increasing council tax, but since
March the value of commercial
property has fallen and rents
have dried up. The Treasury said
yesterday that it would tighten
the lending criteria.A A A A B C C D
D E E F H I I J
K L L M N O O P
P P R R R S T USolve all five clues using each
letter underneath once only1 Loose, lax ( 5 )2 Distress rocket ( 5 )3 Fighting (6)4 Walled city in Rajasthan, India (7)5 Rainwater tube ( 9 )Quintagram® No 857
Solutions MindGames in Times
Cryptic clues Page 10 of TimesADAM BURTON/HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2020Motorists are being left with as little as
21cm to wriggle out of their vehicle in
car parks following a sharp increase in
the size of cars over the past 50 years,
according to research.
A study published yesterday found
that popular cars had grown by as much
as 55 per cent since the 1970s as they
offer greater comfort and more equip-
ment and meet new safety standards.
But parking spaces have failed to
keep pace. Some owners were having to
perform Houdini-style escape acts in
tight spots with 21cm on either side of a
typical parking bay.
Bigger vehicles are thought to have
contributed to a surge in dents and
scratches. One estimate this year sug-
gested that the annual bill for car park
prangs was £1.5 billion.
Some companies have already
widened parking spaces. Four
years ago National Car Parks
(NCP) said it planned to
widen bays “wherever
possible”, particularly to
accommodate popular 4x
vehicles.
However, CarGurus, the
Police warn stores over sale of private e-scooters
killed. The letter also carried a warning
to members of the public using the
scooters, stating that the force could
impose fines, prosecute, put points on
drivers’ licences or seize the scooters.
“As an e-scooter retailer, we are writ-
ing to remind you that all privately
owned e-scooters remain illegal in
public places and on the road in
London,” the letter, released jointly
with the London mayor’s office, said.
It said that Transport for London wasin the process of setting up an e-scooter
rental scheme to launch in the spring.
Controversial legislation was passed in
June to allow for the rented e-scooters
but it did not include provisions for pri-
vate owners. The rentals will be limited
to maximum speeds of 15.5mph, while
the fastest scooters on the market can
reach speeds of 50mph.
The government approved trials for
the rental schemes provided that riders
held a car, motorbike or moped licenceand were advised to wear helmets,
though these will not be mandatory.
A House of Commons briefing paper
published in August said that there was
some evidence the scooters presented a
higher risk of head injury in crashes,
especially among “novice” riders. The
Department for Transport has held a
public consultation on the new scooters
and there has been discussion of allow-
ing private owners to use the roads
below certain speed limits.John Simpson Crime Correspondent
Bigger cars in small parking bays
leave drivers in a 21cm tight spot
online marketplace that conducted the
research, said new national standards
were needed to drive change.
Chris Knapman, the website’s editor,
said: “It’s understandable why cars have
grown so much over the years, and the
dramatically improved safety stan-
dards of modern cars versus those of
years gone by is an obvious benefit.
“However, as many motorists will no
doubt confirm, it's disappointing that
parking space guidelines haven’t been
updated accordingly.”
Researchers analysed 23 top-selling
cars and compared them with equiva-
lent models in the 1970s. They were
measured against the typical 2.4m by
4.8m parking space, which has been
largely unchanged for decades.
The Mini had grown the most. The1970s model was 1.4m wide and 3m
long. By 2014 the three-door Mini
Hatch was more than 1.7m by 3.8m, a
total increase in area of 55 per cent. The
study added that the 1970s model took
up 37 per cent of a typical parking space
and the modern Mini 57 per cent.
The Fiat 500 grew by 47 per cent, the
Honda Civic by 44 per cent and the
Peugeot 208 by 42 per cent.
The Range Rover took up the most
parking space. The 1970s Classic model
was 1.8m wide by 4.4m long whereas the
L405 produced from 2012 grew to
almost 2m by 5m. A modern Range
Rover takes up 86 per cent of a typical
parking space and leaves 21cm either
side of the car. The calculation does not
take account of any additional space
that may be available in an adjoining
parking bay.
A recent AA study found that 43 per
cent of its members had reported dam-
age caused in a car park. Mr Knap-
man added: “No matter how
easy technology makes it
to park, if the space is too
small for your car none
of it will help you to
physically squeeze out of
the driver’s seat.”Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent How models have grown
Increase in car size, 1970s to 2020
Mini...................................................... 55%
Fiat 500..............................................47%
Honda Civic...................................... 44%
Peugeot 208.....................................42%
Renault Clio.......................................36%
Mazda 3...............................................31%
Audi A4 ............................................. 30%
VW Passat......................................... 30%
Vauxhall Corsa.................................29%
VW Golf.............................................. 28%
Source: CarGuru; compares latest model with
comparable car in the 1970sThe modern Mini is
55 per cent bigger
than its predecessor