By Cass Steele
Every day around 60 drivers crash their cars into storefronts across the USA, causing thousands of dollars of damage while injuring (or even killing) innocent people. This statistic may shock you, but the crashes are more common than most people expect. A drunk driver can easily lose control of their car and crash into a building. A child left in an unattended car with the engine running can accidentally trip the transmission and send the car into a storefront. A disorientated person could easily hit the pedal instead of the brake.
This is a staggering amount of car crashes, and many of the accidents cause serious injuries and death… as well as millions of dollars’ worth of damage. But this is all completely preventable; safety experts say that stores can easily install barriers for less than $10,000, as Walmart has done. Here are three things that stores should consider if they want to encourage safe driving.
Use more than just wheel stops
Many retailers go for the cheap option of installing wheel stops at the end of parking spots, but in reality, this can cause more accidents than it prevents. This is because it is easy for people to trip over them, and cars can drive over them in less than a second. This means that the ramps could actually be causing more problems than they are preventing! For this reason, it is important to embrace more effective methods to prevent storefront crashes. There are lots of alternative options, and while they may cost slightly more than wheel ramps they can help to prevent tens of thousands of pounds of damage, so they are well worth the cost.
Stop using nose-in parking (or install barriers)
Nose-in parking means that cars are parked outside the front of the shop, which increases the chance of someone accidentally hitting the pedal and going through the window. If possible you can remove this parking to make your store safer, as this will vastly reduce the chance of someone accidentally hitting the accelerator and hitting the front of your store. If you can't remove your nose-in parking, you can install proper stone barriers to prevent cars from hitting the building. This may seem expensive initially, but it is much cheaper than replacing a damaged storefront! It also shows the public that you care about protecting them from storefront crashes.
Protect the customers
Keep track of your customers and how they are parking. If you notice any dangerous driving, consider putting up signs in your shop with useful driving safety tips (such as (always wear your seatbelt and don’t drive drunk) to reduce the chance of an accident. If you decide to do this, make sure that the signs stand out so that customers actually read them! You could also print off statistics about storefront crashes to help raise awareness of the issue. This will encourage your customers to drive safely, and it shows that your store is actively fighting against storefront crashes.
This is important for all stores across the US, but it is especially crucial for stores that have already had issues with storefront crashes. A pattern of accidents and injuries should always be addressed, especially if you think that another accident could happen in the future.
Cass Steele is a freelance writer and editor. A previous career in PR led her on many travels around the world but now she enjoys the comfort of working from home on a wide range of different projects. When not working she loves swimming, road trips with her kids and volunteering at the local animal shelter.
This is a staggering amount of car crashes, and many of the accidents cause serious injuries and death… as well as millions of dollars’ worth of damage. But this is all completely preventable; safety experts say that stores can easily install barriers for less than $10,000, as Walmart has done. Here are three things that stores should consider if they want to encourage safe driving.
Use more than just wheel stops
Many retailers go for the cheap option of installing wheel stops at the end of parking spots, but in reality, this can cause more accidents than it prevents. This is because it is easy for people to trip over them, and cars can drive over them in less than a second. This means that the ramps could actually be causing more problems than they are preventing! For this reason, it is important to embrace more effective methods to prevent storefront crashes. There are lots of alternative options, and while they may cost slightly more than wheel ramps they can help to prevent tens of thousands of pounds of damage, so they are well worth the cost.
Stop using nose-in parking (or install barriers)
Nose-in parking means that cars are parked outside the front of the shop, which increases the chance of someone accidentally hitting the pedal and going through the window. If possible you can remove this parking to make your store safer, as this will vastly reduce the chance of someone accidentally hitting the accelerator and hitting the front of your store. If you can't remove your nose-in parking, you can install proper stone barriers to prevent cars from hitting the building. This may seem expensive initially, but it is much cheaper than replacing a damaged storefront! It also shows the public that you care about protecting them from storefront crashes.
Protect the customers
Keep track of your customers and how they are parking. If you notice any dangerous driving, consider putting up signs in your shop with useful driving safety tips (such as (always wear your seatbelt and don’t drive drunk) to reduce the chance of an accident. If you decide to do this, make sure that the signs stand out so that customers actually read them! You could also print off statistics about storefront crashes to help raise awareness of the issue. This will encourage your customers to drive safely, and it shows that your store is actively fighting against storefront crashes.
This is important for all stores across the US, but it is especially crucial for stores that have already had issues with storefront crashes. A pattern of accidents and injuries should always be addressed, especially if you think that another accident could happen in the future.
Cass Steele is a freelance writer and editor. A previous career in PR led her on many travels around the world but now she enjoys the comfort of working from home on a wide range of different projects. When not working she loves swimming, road trips with her kids and volunteering at the local animal shelter.
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