It is a Saturday morning, and you jump out of bed looking forward to a couple days off from work. Good time to pick up a few things at the retail store, or hardware store. As you arrive at one of the aforementioned, it hits you, THE PARKING LOT. For openers, you need to be aware of other drivers. Everyone is looking for that exclusive, convenient parking spot in the front by the entrance. As you drive down each lane, you come across the driver that goes against the arrow; why, nobody knows ,and then you have the teen driver, or the distracted parent on the phone, backing out without looking because they are on the phone, or texting and not paying attention.
Then there is that driver that will cause a jam up because they think that a customer is loading up their car in what would be the perfect parking spot, and they will wait until who knows when to get it. This really is no joke, I have seen children jump out of a car and run into the traffic lane and almost get hit because a driver is looking for a parking spot, and not paying attention. Children also will jump from a vehicle playing with their siblings, again not paying attention to a vehicle that had been parked next to them and has now started to move.
Then we have the food carriages (buggies to the Southern folk). I love it when I see people empty their buggy and then push it into a parking space. Along comes Mr./Mrs. Shopper as they turn into a parking spot, and bang! They hit that buggy, or it goes into another car or a person. Shopping parking lots have corrals that people should use to bring their buggies to, (normally not more than 15 feet away from their vehicles,) but they leave them in some of the worst places. I have even seen Handicap areas loaded up with buggies. This is not fair to those people that need those spaces, and it forces them to move the buggies. In addition, I have witnessed buggies roll across a parking lot during a windy day and they can go pretty fast, hitting a vehicle or even worse, a person. So let take those few extra moments it takes to put the buggie in the proper place and be considerate of others.
Now let us talk about the new rage called “sliding.” This is a situation where people wait to see if a vehicle is left open or the window is down. They park next to that vehicle, if possible, or they walk by the vehicle and quickly remove any items of worth and slide away. So please lock up your car, even if you are just a minute in the store or you are returning a buggy. The holiday season is close, so please be more vigilant in your awareness of your safety and that of your family. Remember, not all people are kind or honest, so using a little common sense will go a long way toward having a happy holiday season. I have stressed in the past articles: do not flaunt cash while shopping. If possible, use a debit card, as this way you won’t have someone wanting your purse. As always, stay alert and stay safe.
By: Jim Doyle, Owner of Madison Security Group
