Safer Parking
Once I was at a party and a woman was complaining that her car insurance bills were enormous. Her expensive car was hit three times while it was parked. She was whining about how unfair it was for her to be paying increased insurance premiums when it hadn’t been her fault. I didn’t tell her my opinion then, but I’m going to write about it now.
Though such things can happen, it is possible to reduce the probability of your parked car being hit.
In my personal experience the most frequent parking accident happens when someone backs out of a driveway and there is a car parked in a space which is usually empty. People often back out of their driveways on autopilot. If you park on a narrow street with no other cars — a sign that people don’t usually park there, do not park across from a driveway or close to a driveway.
There are many other common sense ideas. Don’t park at a corner. Choose the better lit areas. Don’t park next to a truck or a van, because they might not see you very well and if they hit you, they’ll do more damage. Don’t park next to an old, battered car because they have less to lose than you do. New cars are the best neighbors. Not only are owners of new cars usually more careful, but new cars are also often leased. And people who lease a car are even more careful, because they have to return it in good order.
When you are choosing a perpendicular parking spot, here’s a cute idea. Pick cars with four doors as your neighbors. Cars with two doors have bigger doors and if you are too close, they might scratch you.
Here’s what I would have told that woman: If your car has been hit so many times while parked, you should rethink your parking strategy.
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Tim Reynolds:
Nice post. Thank you for the info. Keep it up.
7 December 2008, 12:04 pm