With the onset of the holiday season comes more trips to crowded stores and more trouble navigating busy parking lots. With Black Friday and the Christmas rush right around the corner, shopping centers all over Texas will soon see an increase in traffic – and all that congestion and all those distracted drivers increase the chances of an accident.
Although parking lot collisions usually occur at low speeds, they can still be serious. Pedestrians are especially vulnerable to injury. Taking a few precautions while you’re navigating the parking lot of your usual shopping center can help you avoid a devastating accident.
Tips for staying safe in crowded parking lots
Parking lots present unique hazards because vehicles and pedestrians are often moving around in several directions at once. Drivers can also be distracted while searching for parking spaces, programming their GPS, answering their phones and more. With that in mind:
- Slow down. Don’t try to get through the lot in a hurry, because you may need to stop quickly if a shopper or another vehicle suddenly moves into your path.
- Watch for pedestrians. Pay particular attention near store entrances, crosswalks and areas where overloaded shoppers are moving.
- Back out carefully. Check your mirrors, blind spots and backup cameras before your foot leaves the brake.
- Follow traffic patterns. Don’t cut diagonally through a busy lot or dart through spaces instead of driving up and down lanes.
- Eliminate your distractions. Put your GPS on before you start moving and put your phone away or leave it on silent.
Pedestrians, too, have to exercise more caution. As you move from your car to the store and back again, stay alert and focused. Make sure you use crosswalks, where they are provided. There’s no guarantee that a driver will see you and stop if you walk out in front of them.
Who is responsible for a parking lot accident?
A driver who backs into another vehicle without checking for traffic, fails to watch for pedestrians or drives recklessly through a crowded parking lot may be liable for resulting injuries.
However, determining fault is not always straightforward. Multiple parties may share responsibility for an accident. Under the modified comparative negligence law in Texas, an injured person’s percentage of responsibility can affect their ability to recover their losses, with those more than 50% responsible being barred from recovering any compensation at all.
If you are injured in a parking lot accident, speaking with a skilled personal injury attorney can help you understand your legal options.