ELG

Parking Lot Accidents

Parking Lot Accidents


Whenever you’re driving your vehicle, you should be exercising the caution and care that comes with being in control of a potentially dangerous tool. Sometimes, that caution and care are partially abandoned upon leaving the road and entering into a parking lot. Because of the reduced speeds and open area, many people become more relaxed and feel a greater sense of safety in these places, yet that greater sense of ultimately false safety ends up resulting in 20% of vehicle accidents occurring in parking lots. Even though most of these accidents aren’t life-threatening, some do prove fatal; most prove to be costly financially and may require the services of a lawyer to get your life and vehicle back in order. Make sure to follow these tips to reduce your chances of being involved in an accident of this nature.

Driving Slowly Prevents Accidents

This may be the most important tip to follow. Many parking lot accidents occur because of a driver going too fast and hitting something or someone. Other vehicles can suddenly start to move out of a space and in front of your path, or even a pedestrian might walk out from between two cars. If you’re going too fast, you may not have time to react to these situations and render you at fault for an accident.

Use Your Head, Mirrors, & Camera

When backing out of a parking spot, your view of your surroundings can be limited, especially if you’re parked next to other automobiles. If you’re fortunate enough to have a vehicle with a rear-mounted camera for backing up assistance, use it, as it can be a very helpful tool for getting a better look at what’s behind your vehicle. However, it should not be a replacement for your own head. You should always look around you, look behind you, and use your mirrors to get a sense of your surroundings before backing up. Depending on the time of day, too, the bright Phoenix sun glare can make visibility difficult, so use every tool at your disposal and when you do put your vehicle in motion, remember the first piece of advice and take it slow.

Don’t Drive Distracted

As mentioned earlier, people feel a greater sense of safety when driving in parking lots as opposed to on the road. This may explain why a majority of drivers have indicated their likelihood to text, call, or perform other tasks on their phone while driving in a parking lot. Nothing you can do on your phone is worth more than the safety of yourself or others. Given that you’re in a parking lot, you can easily take care of any personal calls or texts either before you drive off or after you find a safe place to park.

Involved In An Accident? Consult A Phoenix Area Lawyer

Following these tips will go a long way towards keeping you and others safe while navigating parking lots, but there are still many drivers out there with a false sense of safety and their reckless driving habits may get you entangled in an accident. If you get injured in a car accident of this nature, contact the ELG ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS, PLLC at 623-562-3838 for a free consultation. Our team of talented lawyers has over 55 years of combined experience to help assist you in your personal injury case.