#1 CAUSE OF PARKING LOT ACCIDENTS

You’d think they’d be safer than regular driving. Traffic is moving much slower and pedestrians know to expect vehicles. Still, the National Safety Council says one in five accidents happens in parking lots.

The number one cause of parking lot accidents is distracted driving. Think about it. When you’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic driving down Broadway in Tyler or racing around 281 in Longview, your eyes are (mostly) glued to the road. You’re focused on getting to your destination, and you expect other drivers to do unexpected things.

Then, you get wherever you’re going. At Wal-Mart, you start rummaging through your purse for your grocery list while you look for a space. You get to the mall and check that cell phone notification you heard go off while you were driving. If you’re arriving somewhere new, you exit navigation since you no longer need directions.

According to the National Safety Council, as many as two-thirds of drivers enter parking lots distracted. That’s why on an average year, 60,000 people are injured in lots and garages. Every year, an average of 500 people die from the injuries they receive.

WHY PEOPLE DRIVE DISTRACTED

What makes the problem so pervasive? Drivers think because they’re moving more slowly, it’s safe to mess with their cell phones. Check out these unsettling statistics:

• 66 percent of drivers surveyed said they place calls while they’re moving through parking lots.
• 63 percent admit to inputting information or shutting off their GPS.
• 56 percent, more than half of drivers text while driving in parking lots.
• 52 percent check or post on social media, again while their wheels are rolling.

Here’s the thing. If someone was on their cell phone and they hit you in a parking lot, they could have avoided causing the wreck. They made the decision to pick up their phone instead of waiting until the engine was off. You shouldn’t have to pay for their carelessness and impatience.

Even though, on average cars move more slowly through a parking lot than they do on the street, most drivers also don’t follow the speed limit. They also might use the time navigating to their space to get in personal grooming time or add one last item to their grocery list.

MOST COMMON PARKING LOT ACCIDENTS

Most parking lot accidents occur because of human error. These types happen most frequently.

• A forward moving vehicle hits a pedestrian.
• Someone backs out of a space and hits a pedestrian.
• A driver backs out into another vehicle.
• Two vehicles run into each other while traveling around the lot or cutting across diagonally.

If you’ve been in a car wreck and you were injured, you have expenses related to your time off work, vehicle repair, medical care and rehabilitation. You also may have experienced significant pain and suffering. It doesn’t cost anything to talk to one of our personal injury attorneys about your case. Why not schedule an appointment today?