Parking lots are no safe zone for vehicle traffic. According to State Farm Insurance, about 20 percent of all motor vehicle accidents occur in parking lots. While these collisions might not be the deadly, brutal messes seen on highways, they can still cause significant damage to vehicles—not to mention the risks for passengers and pedestrians.
It might seem like basic common sense, but there are a lot of things to be mindful of when in driving in a parking lot. By understanding the risks and possibly unseen hazards present in a parking lot, you can save yourself the hassle, costs and annoyance related to this commonplace accident.
Common parking lot hazards
Parking lots can be hectic. Foot traffic goes in all directions, cars navigate around tight corners and down narrow corridors and plenty of barriers block your line of vision. In-car distractions are a rising risk factor, with conversations, personal electronic devices and other items drawing the driver’s attention away from the road. There are also far more blind spots in a parking lot, which make it tougher to see when traffic is coming.
Many accidents occur when cars are pulling into or out of stalls and are unaware of other vehicles passing them. In other cases, cars might realize they’re headed toward one another with too little time to react and prevent the collision. Drivers can increase the risk of an accident by failing to use turn signals and exhibiting unclear intentions in the parking lot.
Reducing your risk of an accident
Many of the ways to reduce accidents in parking lots are simple traffic safety principles that can be applied anywhere. First and foremost, drivers should move cautiously and look in all directions to make sure they’re aware of oncoming traffic and pedestrians. When it comes to pulling into or out of parking stalls, drivers should try to pull through to an adjacent parking spot whenever possible—allowing them to simply drive forward instead of backing out when they leave.
Drivers should also stay off their phones when driving. Use your turn signals to alert both drivers and pedestrians to your intentions, and always give pedestrians the right of way.
You can also avoid high-traffic situations by parking farther out in a parking lot, where the density of occupied stalls may be lower and foot traffic will also be much reduced. Parking farther out will also help you avoid the dents, dings and scratches that can happen to your car when neighboring car doors strike it or when pedestrians walk by and accidentally scrape your car. This is known as dent control, and it can protect you from other people’s carelessness—especially since many drivers won’t be kind enough to leave their insurance information on your windshield.
Unfortunately for drivers, it only takes a moment of inattention to lead to an accident. And because you’re operating in such tight quarters, defensive driving is key to staying out of trouble. Your best bet is to remain vigilant at all times, move slow and keep an eye out for pedestrians.