Pennsylvania Crime Victim Lawyers

Parking Lot Safety

Here are some common sense (and some counterintuitive!) tips for improving your personal safety in parking lots.

1. Choose your lots well - avoid parking lots which are poorly lit, located in secluded or dangerous neighborhoods, or which are generally regarded as hangouts for delinquents. If you must park in a suspect lot, park as close to the entrance of your destination as possible, remain on high alert while in the area, and let friends or relatives know where you are. If you notice suspicious conduct nearby, don't hesitate to call the police from your cell phone.
2. Get in and out of your vehicle safely. When you get out of the car, look around you make sure that nobody can sneak up from behind. Make sure to hide any valuables. For instance, if you don't want to bring your purse with you, lock it in your glove compartment (and just take cash and/or a credit card with you on your errand). Choose a brightly lighted path from your car to your destination. When you return to your car, look in your back seat and way back area to make sure no one's broken into your car. Once you get back inside, lock the doors.
3. If a suspicious or dangerous person appears to be approaching your vehicle or otherwise menacing you - you have a number of options. First, you can call the police. You can also turn on your lights and honk your horn to spook the potential aggressor away or call for help.
4. If you are parking during the day and you know you are going to be leaving a building at night, don't park too far away from the door - even if it means paying a valet or waiting around to find a parking space near a safe and lighted area, remember that an ounce of caution is worth a pound of cure.
5. Invest in safety gear -- carry mace or an assault whistle in your purse or on your keychain. You might also carry a flashlight with you. You can find relatively cheap ($30 to $50) flashlights, which have piercing bulbs and can last up to 100,000 hours. Make sure your cell phone is fully charged before you go out to potentially dangerous parts of town. Finally, when you are walking to and from your vehicle, hold your keys in the fist of one of your hands. In the event that you are surprised by an attacker the keys can act as a weapon to stun the attacker -- of course, ideally, you don't want to get into an altercation, and if you take these precautions, you will likely vastly reduce your risk.

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