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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

When Did Parking Lots Become So Dangerous

The modern parking lot can be likened to a maze. You'll find secret walk ways, multi directional traffic and free standing kiosks all attracting your attention. Planted in your line-of-sight you’re surrounded by well landscaped shrubs to make navigating out of the maze even more of a challenge. This is all very dramatic, but when you add in the risk of a fender bender and pedestrian traffic and you’ll understand why there is a need for a refresher on parking lot safety.

When we pull in a parking lot there is a pattern for parking. Some are straight in, others have parking spaces that are on a diagonal and some allow vehicles to move in both directions. No matter how it is set up it is important to pay attention and not be distracted while looking for a place to park.

Parking lot safety isn’t just about navigating in and out of the maze safely. As a driver, you must be aware of your surroundings and ask yourself a few questions:

Are you pulling into a reserved spot and handicapped space?
Are you in a well lit area in the parking lot?
Are you parked next to a large vehicle?

With that in mind ask yourself are you prepared?

Is your car locked? Are your windows rolled up?
Are all your valuables hidden such as the GPS, cell phones, laptops, purses, packages, radar detectors and DVD players.
Are you paying attention when walking, or are you talking on the cell phone / texting? Being distracted can cause a problem.
Are there strangers hanging around? Are they asking questions?

Upon returning to your vehicle take a few extra precautions to ensure your safety:

Remember where you parked the car.
Have your keys ready.
Take a look around your car before getting in to make sure no one is lurking around, or hiding in the back seat.