Parking issues
The parking situation at my apartment complex is usually pretty horrible after five o’clock in the afternoon/evening. This is a time when most people are getting home from work and are looking to park their cars so that they can run inside to eat and relax. It seems as if everywhere you go, though, there is always an issue with parking.
When I was in the police department, they always trained us to back into a space first with the reason being that we would be able to pull out of the parking space right away in case a 9-1-1 call went out. However, most people pull into a parking space head first (because it is easier). Countless times, I have now witnessed numerous car accidents in parking lots. The most recent accident that I can recall involved someone who saw a pull-through parking space and drove through it fairly quickly. At the same time, another person was pulling into that space to park. The end result? Both cars were involved in a small head-on collision via parking space.
It can be frustrating to park your car in a parking lot because this is when you encounter some of the worst drivers out there! From those with kids who are too busy looking in their rearview mirrors or are turned around to see what their kids are doing to those who may be visiting from another country and are still unfamiliar with driving in the states to those who are simply distracted because they aren’t paying attention. This is when our defensive driving skills are really put to the test. What makes matters even more challenging is the fact that when you are in a parking lot, you are in an enclosed space- a space in which you have to really know how to navigate the area in order to avoid near-misses with runaway children, groceries and shopping carts.
One of the common misconceptions about using a parking lot is who has the right of way. As most of us are already aware, pedestrians always have the right of way no matter what. And when you are driving through a parking lot of a store or supermarket, if you see a pedestrian come out of a store and head for the street that you’re driving on, you have to stop. Granted, there are certainly those out there who could care less and who go on about their business, but stopping is the right thing to do. Additionally, whenever you are driving through the parking lot looking for a parking space and you happen to see another vehicle backing out of a parking space, look to see that the driver has made eye contact with you or is acknowledging your presence before continuing. Unbeknown to many drivers is the fact that those who are backing out of a parking space do not have the right of way ever. The only slight modification to this rule is when you are driving through a parking lot and you want to take the parking space that a person is backing out of.