5 Ways To Increase Your Safety In A Parking Lot

Public parking lots can pose several threats to your safety, including injury, theft, and bodily harm. Here are some ways to increase the level of your well-being.

Keep Personal Information Out Of Sight

If you have to bring along papers with personal information, try to keep them with you. If you need to leave them in the car, keep details such as your name and address hidden from a criminal by storing them on the back floorboard or in your glove compartment.

If a criminal has access to your personal information, it is easy for that person to:

• Sell it to an identity thief
• Go to your house to burglarize it while you are away
• Call you by name to catch you off guard and get closer to you

Keep Doors Locked At All Times

A locked door is your best defense against the unexpected. It can prevent or slow down a robbery, carjacking, or theft. Take time when you’re leaving your car to make sure you’ve locked it.

Stow Valuable Items In The Trunk

When you place valuable items in your trunk, do it before you reach your final parking location. That way a would-be burglar watching the parking lot for new prospects won’t see what you have hidden away.

Be Aware Of Your Environment

Take note of your environment not only when you walk to and from your vehicle, but as you park it as well. Make sure your parking spot is in a well-lit area and has good sight lines to your destination. Avoid parking next to large profile vehicles that a criminal can hide behind.

Watch The Traffic

Another aspect of being aware of your surroundings is awareness of lot traffic. Make sure to use the crosswalks and keep an eye out for reckless or wrong way drivers. Even a slow car can inflict tremendous injury on a pedestrian.

Be careful in unsafe parking lot conditions that may cause you to slip, fall, or not see oncoming traffic. Although a parking lot owner is responsible for ensuring that their property is safely accessible to the public, don’t take safe conditions for granted.