Are you at a higher risk for getting into a Florida parking lot accident?

Parking lot accidents are much more frequent than you may realize, especially in the Sunshine State!

Think about your parking lot experiences as a whole. If you’re a Floridian, most of them were probably at a Publix, and you probably didn’t find a spot immediately, on average. If we asked you to pick an emotion to describe how you most often felt at parking lots, you may say “annoyed” or “frustrated” – either based on the lack of available parking spaces, the terrible parking jobs of other drivers, people that backed out without looking, people that didn’t give you the right of way, or people texting and not seeing you walking/backing up.

Other than just being sources of frustration, though, parking lots can be dangerous places, as they offer ideal conditions for accidents to happen.

This may come as a surprise to you, because you may associate speed with risk. After all, aren’t you more likely to be injured after colliding with another fast-moving vehicle on a highway or in an intersection than in a parking lot? Research says no.

On average, the data shows that 50,000 car crashes occur in parking lots and parking garages every single year, which result in 60,000 injured victims and 500+ fatalities. 1 in 5 accidents happens in a parking lot.

Slower doesn’t always mean safer, especially in parking lots, as the National Safety Council has found, and while we’ll explain the many reasons why this is true in this blog post, the number one culprit of parking lot accidents is that everyone has the same thought process you may have. Because most people don’t think that parking lots are dangerous, they are more careless, and because traffic laws are not enforced the same way they are on normal streets, everyone in a parking lot has no choice but to rely on other people to follow the rules.

Here are some factors that could increase your risk of being injured in a parking lot collision:

• Your/others’ age

  According to data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, 22% of children ages 5-9 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians – these fatalities happened because drivers did not see them while backing up their vehicles, specifically in parking lots. If you have young children, they are at higher risk for being struck by a driver who does not see them while backing up. If you are a driver and there are other small children in the parking lot, you are at a higher risk for causing an accident. Be extremely careful when backing up and make sure that there are not children around!

  Teenage drivers also have less experience navigating parking lots and therefore may be more likely to get confused about right-of-way. Research from the National Safety Council shows that 59% of teens engaged in personal grooming (applying makeup, fixing hair, etc.) while driving in parking lots. If you are a teenager or have a teen, ensure that the rules of parking lots are understood, as well as the danger of distracted driving.

• Your/others’ level of distracted driving

  Adults aren’t immune to distracted driving, though it may be more common among teens. 66% of respondents in the NSC study admitted to making phone calls, programming GPS systems, texting, using social media, sending or receiving emails, and taking photos or watching videos while driving in parking lots.

  If you are prone to distracted driving, you are much more likely to be in a crash because you are unaware, even momentarily, of what’s happening around you. Glancing down for 5 seconds, the average length of time it takes to read or respond to a message, means that you travel 183 feet (the length of a super yacht) blindly if you are going 25 mph. Now, hopefully, you aren’t going that fast in a parking lot, but even cutting that speed in half means you travel roughly 50 feet blindly. This gives you plenty of space and time to collide with another vehicle, pedestrian crossing, or building, or for a child to dart out in front of you.

  The president of the NSC, Deborah Hersman, remarked, “It’s just as dangerous to be distracted in a parking lot going 5 mph as it is going 50 mph,”.

  Even if you know the parking lot well or it seems relatively empty, don’t take the chance of taking your eyes off the road or hands off the wheel – that’s when accidents happen and people get hurt.

• Your/others’ speed

  As we alluded to, speed matters in every accident, but in such a constricted space where there are many cars (particularly in Florida, one of the more populated states), speeding is even more of a factor when it comes to the likelihood and severity of the crash. Parking lot speeds in Florida range from 10-15 miles per hour. If you are going above the posted limit, even if it seems slow, you will not be able to react to others’ actions as quickly. For example, if you are barreling down a lane at 25 mph, and a car decides to back up without looking, you will likely hit them; even if they are found at fault, you could sustain serious injury or vehicle damage. But if you are going 10 mph, you have a much greater chance of successfully braking before impact.

• Your/others’ reliance on your vehicle

  Government data shows that 9% of pedestrian deaths in parking lots are because they were struck by a car that was backing up. Even though backup cameras are in more cars today, and are helpful safety features, those cameras do not control the care. The camera lens may become obstructed, or the vehicle may malfunction – you should use the backup camera, but not rely on the backup camera completely. Make sure to check your mirrors and back up slowly.

• Whether or not you’re wearing a seatbelt
  

  A false sense of security causes most parking lot accidents, and this is especially true of many people that take their seatbelts off as soon as they enter a parking lot, even when the car is still moving, or do not put them on immediately when getting back in their vehicle. It doesn’t take a forceful collision to give you whiplash or deep tissue bruises, so make sure you are wearing your seatbelt at all times when the vehicle is moving (and that everyone else in your vehicle is as well).

• Location

  It’s logical that the more congested the parking lot, the higher chance you have of getting into an accident, simply because there are more vehicles and less space to maneuver.

• Season

  During the holiday season (late October to mid January), parking lots become significantly more dangerous places to drive. Auto insurers report that accident claims rise sharply on Black Friday and then continue to be high until New Year’s is over. This is a no-brainer; during the holidays, stress is high, people are looking at their shopping lists, and more people are shopping than during other months. Be careful when you’re driving in parking lots always, but be extra vigilant during the holiday season.

If you were the victim of a parking lot car accident in Florida and were injured, contact The Florida Law Group. Our lead trial lawyer, Chris Limberopoulos, is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney, something only 1% of lawyers can claim. We have litigated hundreds of cases and won hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for our clients. Get in touch with us today for a free case evaluation!