How much trouble can you get into within a confined space with vehicles generally traveling at low speeds? A lot (no pun intended).
Auto accidents routinely occur in parking lots. People are too concerned with tuning in their favorite radio station, dialing up their best friend on their cell phone, or lighting up a cigarette to pay attention to what is really important: what is going on around them in the parking lot. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), most backover fatalities and injuries involve passenger vehicles, and while most fatalities resulting from such incidents occur in residential driveways, most backover injuries occur in nonresidential parking lots.
In 2010, the Automobile Association of America, better known as AAA, published “Holiday Parking Lot Survival 101”, providing tips for staying safe in crowded parking lots. The tips address such problems as “fender-benders and collisions caused by drivers who are inattentive or who aggressively cut others off for better parking spaces.” Some of the AAA recommendations:
- Eliminate distractions:
- Turn off cell phones
- Set up navigation devices before starting to drive
- Watch for pedestrians
- Look for pedestrians on crosswalks and moving in between and behind cars
- Be especially alert for children
- Park away from store entrances, since most drivers try to find parking spots near entrances and thus there is more congestion there
- Be patient in parking lot traffic jams—road rage does occur in parking lots and can lead to auto accidents
- Turn on your headlights to make your vehicle more visible both during the day and in dimly-lit parking garages
- Use your seatbelt, because even low speed auto accidents can cause injuries
- If a collision in a parking lot does happen, stay calm and call 911
- If there are injuries request an emergency medical team
- Be sure to file an incident report with the police
- As with any traffic accident on the road, you should exchange names, telephone numbers, vehicle details and insurance information with the other drivers involved
- Take photos of vehicle damage
- Call the police and your insurance company to report the incident and provide your account of what happened
Once an accident has occurred, it is also a good idea to get in contact with a lawyer who specializes in handling cases involving auto accidents.
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