FIAT partners with Driving School TV to launch the Parallel Parking Guide, featuring Jamie Laing, to help drivers master the skill. You can watch Jamie being expertly coached HERE.

Millions of motorists get so flustered at the prospect of parallel parking they’d rather park nearly a mile away from their chosen destination than attempt the manoeuvre.

Dubbed 'parallelophobia', almost half of drivers (44%) say they are fearful of parallel parking.

Those who tend to steer clear include TV star and learner driver Jamie Laing, who admits he will avoid attempting a parallel park ‘at all costs’.

A survey of 2,000 motorists, commissioned by FIAT, has lifted the lid on how Brits feel about the dreaded parking procedure and uncovered the financial impact of poor parking skills.

On average, drivers spend £158 on repairs over their lifetime thanks to parking gone wrong, equating to a staggering £1.5 billion*.

The leading reasons Brits fear parallel parking include blocking the road and keeping other drivers waiting (40%), worrying about getting too close to and damaging other cars (37%), fear of being embarrassed and pressured by people watching (36%), worrying about taking too long to park (30%) and not understanding the yellow lines (23%).

The research also found that on average, drivers are willing to park 0.8 miles away (a 20 minute walk) so they don’t have to parallel park.

Given the troubles motorists seem to face with parallel parking, FIAT has partnered with Driving School TV - a popular YouTube channel fronted by qualified driving instructor Francis Noakes to launch the Fiat Parallel Parking Guide.

As part of the guide, FIAT recruited celebrity Jamie Laing to face ‘parallelophobia’ head-on in an all-electric FIAT 500e, as he was taught how to parallel park. Jamie Laing also attempted the world record for the tightest parallel park, previously achieved in a FIAT 500e, at just 7.5cm longer than the length of the car.

"Learning to drive has been like navigating through a maze of frustration, and parallel parking? Don't even get me started. It’s my least favourite manoeuvre to do. It makes my palms sweat. I swear whenever I attempt one my car's magnetically drawn to the kerb. It's a skill I've just never quite mastered and I will avoid it at all costs.

“I stopped learning to drive a little while ago but after finally passing my theory test having booked around 70 tests, and having to renew my provisional licence as it had expired after 10 years, I’m back learning to drive in a Fiat 500 electric with Francis Noakes from Driving School TV. This guy has already shown me some secret magic trick that suddenly made parallel parking easier and, dare I say, fun to learn - perhaps it’s that the 500e is small and compact to park. He also unofficially helped me match a world record, sort of.

FIAT’s research also revealed drivers spend an average of four and a half hours a year attempting to parallel park** - equating to eight days of their life***.

Parallel parking makes 45% of Brits feel stressed, while 41% have relied on a stranger to help them do it. 67% have driven past a potential space rather than attempt the idea of a parallel park once or multiple times. On average, drivers will attempt a parallel park four times before parking successfully.

For those that do manage to parallel park successfully, 31% leave feeling smug, 30% admire their work, 18% brag about it on social media and 17% even do a happy dance.

The most competent parallel parkers were drivers from the North East. While drivers from London, Scotland and North West occupied the bottom three spots.

Most notably, Londoners were open to parking a staggering 1.2 miles away from their destination - the equivalent distance of walking between the London Eye and Buckingham Palace: around a 24-minute journey.

On the flip side, drivers from Yorkshire and the Humber weren’t willing to park any further than 0.4 miles (less than 10 minute walk) from their intended destination.

Meanwhile, Londoners have forked out £207 on parking prangs, while those in Yorkshire and the Humber have spent nearly £100 less (£129.50) on average.

Click HERE to download the Survey results.

Damien Dally, FIAT UK Managing Director, said: “It’s a well-known fact that cars have grown in size in recent years, which can only add to the additional stress of parallel parking caused by things like fear of holding up traffic, or bumping into and damaging another car.

"The all-electric Fiat 500e is the ultimate city car, having won countless industry awards. It's the perfect compact car to get around and park in crowded cities or busy urban environments, alleviating the fears of tricky manoeuvres for drivers."

“In addition, the 500e is packed full of technology that helps drivers park more easily, from park assist, to blind-spot monitoring and rear view camera. But not every driver is able to benefit from the size and capabilities of a 500e when it comes to parking, which is why we’re hoping our parking guide will help to reduce 'parallelophobia' impacting millions of Brits.”

FIAT recently launched a new E-Grant, where buyers can receive £3,000 towards an all-electric 500e model. For more information on the all-electric Fiat 500e, visit https://www.fiat.co.uk/models/fiat-500-electric

*Average amount spent on fixing cars after hitting other cars while parking is £158.10 £158.10*((34,292,000 (UK car drivers (source GWI))/100)*29 - percentage who have hit another car while parking)) = £1,572,253,908

**Average amount of times people park a week (3.3)*How much time spent per parallel park (1.5 minutes)*52= 257.4 minutes / 4.29 hours

***Based on driving from the age of 17 to 67

The All Electric FIAT 500e is available from £25,195 (inc £3,000 Fiat e-Grant). All Electric FIAT 500e Convertible from £31,195 (inc £3,000 Fiat e-Grant).