Protecting Your Vehicle from Parking Lot Accidents
Crisper weather means the holidays must be approaching! However, that does not mean the parking lot accidents need to approach as well. Unfortunately, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), tens of thousands of crashes happen in parking lots or garage structures each year. Hundreds are killed and thousands are injured in these generally low speed crashes.
What can you do to avoid becoming one of these statistics for this fall/winter?
Skip the Distractions.
We’ve all been told to pull over when using our phones or programming a GPS, and many of these devices require it. However, that does not mean we stop paying attention. Wherever we pull off at – the car needs to actually be in park.
The key to safety behind the wheel is focused driving and paying attention to our surroundings 100 percent of the time.
Just because you are in a parking lot and everyone is “supposed” to be moving slowly does not make your safety guaranteed. There are many more cars moving in different directions and pedestrians walking, so following rules is critical.
- Drive slowly.
- Follow the arrows, signs, and lines.
- Watch for drivers, especially reversing in and out of parking spaces.
- Triple check your surroundings when reversing.
- Pay attention to pedestrians, especially children and people in wheelchairs.
The most important thing to remember when driving in a parking lot is to be fully aware of your surroundings in every direction. If you are relying on things like backup cameras or blind spot notifications, remember theses systems are only accurate as they are well maintained.
