{"id":5731,"date":"2013-11-30T11:55:04","date_gmt":"2013-11-30T16:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/?p=5731"},"modified":"2024-05-24T06:52:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T10:52:25","slug":"holiday-season-dangerous-time-parking-lots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/holiday-season-dangerous-time-parking-lots\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday season a dangerous time for parking lots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black Friday may be behind us, but that doesn\u2019t mean holiday shopping has ended. There\u2019s still more than three weeks left until December 25, leaving gift-buyers ample time to wrap presents, drivers to circle for open spots at the mall, and pedestrians to be struck by motorists at crowded, busy parking lots.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: Shopping can be dangerous, and not just for the wallet. According to Montgomery County police chief Thomas Manger in Maryland, the combination of increased pedestrians and just as many cars during the holiday season creates an annual \u201ctoxic mix\u201d that\u2019s highly potent for accidents.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>

Malls like this one are dangerous places during the holiday season. From LancerE<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Indeed, parking lots of the large, indoor malls that typify suburban shopping are as expansive as they are because they were designed<\/a> to accommodate consumers during peak times, exemplified by holiday shopping at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can get very, very bad,\u201d said one shopper at Rockville Town Center in Maryland. \u201cPeople are trying to get to the closest parking space with a hundred bags, and they\u2019re tramping through the parking lot not even looking at where they\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety<\/a> reporting that 20 percent of all claims for car damage involve parking lot collisions, staying safe in such environments is paramount during the holidays.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways a potential for conflict,\u201d said William Van Tassel, describing the necessary interactions between pedestrians and drivers at parking lots.<\/p>\n

Tassel, who manages driver-training programs at AAA<\/a> National, continued: \u201cThings are very tightly positioned there. Plus, your vision is limited, so you can\u2019t see the other cars. And of course there are always huge numbers of pedestrians, which you would not normally find in another situation out on the roadway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"parking<\/a>

Weather can be as much of a threat as other shoppers. From GWDexter<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

He recommends the following precautions:<\/p>\n