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Across the United States, people have heard the phrase, "drive home safely." But it's harder to do that when people can't get out of a parking lot.
Unfortunately, I've seen drivers in multiple Pennsylvania counties going too fast in parking lots and it's to the point where some cars nearly hit one another.
According to a nationwide poll by the National Safety Council, 66% of people said they would make phone calls while driving through parking lots. Meanwhile, 56% of drivers are texting during their trip through a parking lot.
Whatever the reasons are for poor parking lot driving, I don't get why people speed to park. It's not like the parking spaces are going anywhere and there's normally plenty of room to position a car or truck in the right spot.
I guess my question to our local readers is, "how do we correct this problem?"
It's common sense to drive carefully in a lot where there are idle vehicles everywhere, not to mention when citizens are walking across the street to reach their destination.
Driving in general is a concern. Whether you're on the highway or in a parking lot.
According to PennDOT, there were 1,059 traffic fatalities in 2019. Then, in 2021, that number jumped to 1,230 fatalities.
Sure, in Mifflin and Juniata county the numbers weren't even close to that, but they had 649 combined car accidents that year.
I know from personal experience I've seen people fly on the highway, only to come to a quick and complete stop at a nearby intersection.
My thought was, "I hope it was necessary to travel an extra 30 mph to arrive at a red light."
Tailgating, not using turn signals, and driving under the speed limit have been highlighted issues, as well.
When it comes to crashes with roadside objects, 9,077 parked cars were hit during 2021. Next on that list were utility poles at 8,558 and trees or shrubs at 7,050.
Thankfully, more often than not, drivers don't suffer injuries after a car accident, and people are wearing seat belts frequently.
We could talk about the dangers of driving for a long time and there's certainly a lot I didn't touch on.
But, of all the topics to address in our everyday lives, I hope safe driving climbs up the ladder of importance.
If not now, then when?
Other notable stats:
• 3,580 motorcycle crashes took place in 2021. In 2018, there were 2,714 crashes of that kind.
• In that same year, there were 64,247 SUV/light truck/van crashes.
• There were 219 school bus crashes. That number dipped after being at 301 in 2019.
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Anthony Fiuza is the sports editor for The Sentinel.