Local shopping center parking lots can be hazardous during peak Carrollton traffic hours. Sgt. Brad Easterwood, Carrollton Police Department Traffic Division, offers a few tips on how to stay safe and avoid accidents in and around local shopping centers.
Easterwood says a good way to get the word out about traffic hazards in local parking lots is to use social media to alert business owners.
According to the Carrollton Police Department, there is an average of 50 accidents per month in local parking lots. Easterwood says the most common cause of parking lot crashes is inattentive drivers. “People need to remember that parking lots are full of pedestrian traffic, including children, and caution needs to be used while operating a vehicle in a parking lot,” says Easterwood.
“Social media is a great tool to get a message out to a large crowd of people,” says Easterwood. “Encouraging business owners to place more signs in their parking lots or reporting street lights out are ways the community can help business owners and police fix safety issues.”
He encourages drivers to speak with business owners if they have concerns about signage or traffic markers inside parking lots.
“I’m sure every business owner would like to know if customers have concerns of safety at their place of business” says Easterwood. “These locations are private property, and only so many things can be enforced by police. The most common problems and complaints [police] receive are vehicle crashes, people not stopping at stop signs, and entering autos.
“Unfortunately the police department cannot enforcement stop sign violations on private property. We can enforce reckless driving but simply running a stop sign does not meet the necessary standards required in Georgia law for reckless driving.”
Easterwood also cautions shoppers to be careful not to leave themselves vulnerable to theft. “Although this does not occur a lot in shopping center parking lots, it does still happen,” says Easterwood. “We encourage every person to lock their car doors and make sure anything of value is not visible from the outside. We ask that if anyone sees a suspicious person or anything out of place to call 911 and report it.”
