British motorists avoid parallel parking more than any other manoeuvre, according to a new survey by Kwik Fit.

The study found 30% of drivers would avoid parallel parking where possible, with one in three (32%) admitting that they try to avoid completing driving manoeuvres for fear of getting them wrong.

Most dreaded manoevres:

For most drivers the fear of performing manoeuvres peaks during their driving test, but often never entirely leaves them.

Two-thirds (65%) of drivers admit to having dreaded the prospect of demonstrating their car manoeuvring skills during their driving test, with parallel parking (28%) coming top - ahead of reverse parking (22%) and hill starts (15%).    

London-based motorists were the most likely to lose sleep over driving test manoeuvres, with three quarters (75%) admitting to fearing at least one manoeuvre ahead of their driving test. Motorists in Yorkshire and Humberside and the East of England (62%) were the least affected by the prospect.

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “Many motorists never lose their fear of having to drive alongside another car and parallel or reverse-park behind it and often try to avoid it outright. It’s particularly trialling during the driving test but even once a green licence has been swapped for the pink version, few drivers like the feeling of trying to squeeze into a gap between two cars with other drivers waiting impatiently behind you.”