© 2020 The Secure Dad, LLC 1

Disaster Preparedness Checklist

Legal Stuff
Copyright © 2021 Andy Murphy/The Secure Dad, LLC All rights
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© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 2
 Parking Lot Safety for Parents

If you go to work, there’s a parking garage. Go to the grocery

store, there’s a parking lot. At your apartment, there’s yet another
parking lot.

Unless you live in a commuter centered city, you’re going to be in

a parking lot at some point during the day. Places to park are a
frequent environment in our lives.

It’s important for us to understand that parking lots do pose their

own set of opportunities for crime. Not every parking lot is
dangerous, but every lot has common issues.

The Science

First, some science. We need to know two things about parking

lots:

1) Parking lots are habitual areas.

2) Parking lots are transitional areas.

Habitual Area

Public places where there isn’t any real control of access is a

habitual area. People can enter and exit this area freely and
without restriction. Doesn’t that sound like your grocery store
parking lot to you?

If there is unrestricted access to the lot then it’s important to note

that, the bad guys know that these areas are places of great

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 3
opportunity. They know they can get in and out quickly without
anyone stopping them.

The store does have ownership of the parking lot and are liable
for anything that happens on their property. But generally
speaking, they are not out patrolling the lot making sure its users
are safe.

Transitional Area

People come and go from parking lots making them great

examples of transitional areas. No one really goes to a parking lot
as their destination. People use parking lots to transition from
their car to their office. This means there’s a lot of movement
here.

The makeup of a parking lot will change greatly from hour to hour
at stores. Grocery stores have more cars in their lot at 6:00 pm
after work than they do at 6:00 am. Some days see more traffic
than others.

Because of the lack of control and frequency of people coming

and going parking lots are somewhat of a “no man’s land”. Don’t
be lured into the idea that since you are a customer of the store
that everyone else there is too. That means not everyone has the
same intention as you do.

What Type of Lot is it?

Also, to be considered is the business the parking lot is for. A

night club parking lot will have a different feel than a church
parking lot. Each type of lot will have its own set of behaviors that
are to be expected. Using what you know about the area can help

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 4
you pick the safer place to park your car. The environment is a
very important factor when it comes to a parking safety.

Parking Lot Safety Tips

We will move through these parking lot tips in the general order
we use the lot. First, we’ll decide where to park, what to do when
we get into our spot and how to move in the area.

Where to Park

When selecting a place to park, we have a few things that we

need to keep in mind. While not all parking lots are the same,
there are some commonalities we always need to consider.

The Closer, the Better

It may seem like common sense, but park as close the building as
you can. Yes, this is less steps you have to take but there are
people who try to maximize their daily steps and park at the back
of the lot to intentionally walk further. (Weird, right?)

The reasoning behind parking closer is simple, the closer you are
to your destination, the sooner you remove yourself from the
habitual and transitional area. This gives you less time to be
targeted by a criminal.

When you are out of your car moving to the building you are at
your most vulnerable. We must decrease this time the best we
can to limit the opportunity for a crime to happen to us.

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 5
Park Near Cart Returns

It may seem counter to everything dads stand for, but I encourage

you to park near a cart return. The conventional thinking for dads
has always been that the closer you park to a cart return the
greater chances your car will get dinged. I see that, after all I’m a
dad.

The benefit to being close to a return is that when you are done
loading up your car, you don’t have to go far. Most of the time
when we head to the return, we’re distracted about what we
bought, where you put our stuff in the car and what we’re going to
make for dinner.

The shorter the distance to the return, the less time we are
distracted and alone in the parking lot. Unless you shop at one of
those hippie grocery stores that require you to bring your cart to
the entrance to get your quarter back.

And not returning the cart is not an option. Be a good human.

Back That Thang Up

Do you ever pass by police cars in a parking lot? Chances are

they are backed into the spot. That means the front of the car is
facing the lane for a quick exit. Police do this so they can respond
to a call faster by putting their cars into drive and taking off.

The same can be said for us. Not only will having the front of the
car facing the lane help us get out easier, if we need to flee the
parking lot, we don’t have to worry about moving in reverse.

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Parking at Night

Parking at night changes things up a bit. Remember the time of

day plays a role in where we need to be in the parking lot. If you
work at night and will be away from your car for an extended
period of time, then park under a light.

The more your car can be seen, the less likely it will be chosen for
a crime. It’s important to know that generally criminals want easy
targets so they can get in and out without being seen. By putting
your car under a light, it will be a less desirable target.

If you can find a well-lit spot near the entrance of your office, then
you’re good to go. Also, when your workday is done and it’s dark
go as a group to the parking lot. That way people can be ready to
call for help if necessary. Plus, the more people you have the
greater a deterrent it is for criminals.

Call Boxes

Some parking areas have emergency call boxes located

throughout the area. These are usually noted by the blue lights on
top of them. If you can’t park in an area close to the entrance of
the building, park close to one of these.

These boxes usually have a direct connection to police dispatch.

By hitting the large call button on the box, you can actually
contact the police faster than if you dialed your smartphone. Plus,
an alarm will sound, and the blue light will flash bringing a lot of
attention to your situation.

Also, just because you activated one of these boxes does not
mean you have to stay at that box. Move if you need to.

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 7
Inside the Car

For us as busy parents being inside the car with your kids
strapped down in their car seats can feel like a mini vacation. We
may want to sit and enjoy the fact that our kids can’t go anywhere
while we listen to the Frozen 2 soundtrack. But that may not be
the safest option.

Keep it Locked

Once we are in the best parking spot we can get, we need to be

sure the doors remain locked, and the engine is running until we
are ready to get out of the car.

Do you have a vehicle that will unlock the doors once you shift
into park? That sound of the doors unlocking is universally
understood and can be heard from several feet away. I know
because I’ve heard it.

Some cars can disable the unlock in park feature or you can try to
move that command it to a “key out” event. This will unlock the
doors when the key is removed from the ignition cylinder or when
you push the button to stop the engine. Check our owner’s
manual for how to change that setting.

Keep it Running

When we park in our spot, the engine needs to be running until

we are ready to get out. At first this doesn’t sound
environmentally friendly, and it doesn’t help you on gas. But it’s a
great safety feature.

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By keeping the engine running we can get our car in gear and flee
if we have to. This is where backing into a parking spot can really
help you get out fast. You might need to get out fast if someone
tries to force their way into your vehicle or if you see trouble
starting nearby.

If you have to get out, I want you to do it quickly while under

pressure.

Waiting in a Parking Lot

If you ever do find yourself killing time in a parking lot, I want you
to be smart about it. While I don’t necessary want you to sit in a
parking lot, it happens.

If you are going to be sitting for a while, keep the keys in the
ignition if you’re going to turn off the engine. (This is different from
when you first pull into a spot to get out quickly.) That way if you
need to escape, you don’t have to fumble around for your keys,
they’re where they need to be.

If You are Approached

If someone comes up to the window of your car to talk to you,

don’t roll the window all the way down. (Yes, I said “roll down” the
window.) Don’t give a stranger access to your upper body.

Simply crack the window enough for sound to come out. Keep
that barrier that the window provides you. A car provides you
protection, don’t make it easy for someone to get in.

Don’t be afraid to say no to talking to someone. Just because

someone walks up to our window and demands our attention
doesn’t mean we have to give it to them.
© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 9
This is one of those cases where being polite might get you hurt.
Criminals know how to leverage social etiquette to lure you into a
better position for them to attack you.

Stash Your Valuables

Once you’ve left your car and locked the doors, make sure all of
your valuables are stored out of sight. Don’t leave your iPad in the
passenger seat and leave your car. (I’ve seen this.) Anyone can
smash the window and grab your tablet.

A great way to store items that won’t fit under the seats is to put
them in a trash bag. Place anything valuable into the bag and
drop it behind the passage seat. No one wants to break into a car
to see what’s in a plain trash bag.

Don’t Make Yourself a Target

Criminals don’t want to work hard for their money. They strike
quick and go. That means they’ll look for the easiest person they
can rob. So, don’t look like someone who could be robbed easily.

Remove Distractions

The easiest thing that we can do to make ourselves safer in a

parking lot, and anywhere really, is to remove distractions. That
means don’t be on your phone.

Keep your head up and looking around. You may spot someone
whose watching your or at least know when to cross the lanes.

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 10
If someone it going to try to take my wallet, I need to see them
coming first. I don’t want to be surprised when they’re right up on
me. By removing our eyes from our phones, we can keep our
heads up and see what’s around us. This gives us the opportunity
to take action to keep ourselves out of trouble.

Kids… I am I right?

Another distraction we have as parents is our children. Getting

their coats on, making sure they’re paying attention and still
getting your shopping list means you won’t have much brain
power left to look for threats – criminals and cars.

I suggest you level with your children and let them know that
parking lots can be dangerous places. Cars can hit people who
are not paying attention. So, stress to them to be on their best
behavior when in a parking lot. Hopefully this lesson will stay with
them the rest of their lives.

To help reinforce this, model this behavior for your children. Put
your phone away, look both ways before you cross traffic and
keep your talking to a minimum. Kids learn by observing you.

Quick Vehicle Attacks

I personally feel that there is an uptick in crimes involving

criminals getting close to their targets in a car, jumping out and
then speeding off with valuables. These attacks happen in
parking lots as well as the sidewalk.

To combat this issue, look for cars that are meandering around
the lot with no real purpose. Be aware of these cars and distance
yourself from them.

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 11
Also, this is a good time to look like a hard target. Keeping your
face out of your phone and your head up will signal that you are
paying attention and are more likely to take away their element of
surprise.

Conclusion
Parking areas of any kind bring about a certain element of risk.
Generally, we feel safe in our cars and safe in buildings, but when
we transition from one to another that’s when problems can
occur.

Knowing this, we can prepare ourselves and our family to practice

good awareness and safety habits to minimize the chance that
we’ll be targeted for a crime. Now you have to remember where
you parked.

© 2021 The Secure Dad, LLC Parking Lot Safety for Parents 12