cottonmather0 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 (edited) So I was at the "Bellaire" Sam's Club on Rice Ave the other day and came across a pretty serious accident in the parking lot that had just happened. One car had T-boned another out in the vast outer reaches of that massively large lot. This is something that I am always afraid of whenever I go to this store specifically, or any large parking lot for that matter, that some idiot will just pull into the lot and make a beeline for some random aisle in the lot and slam into me as I am driving along minding my own business. I ALWAYS follow the painted lanes in parking lots and stop at the stop signs if they're there, but I think I'm in the distinct minority here. And even if I drive as carefully as I can, that's not going to stop some other person from running into me accidentally. It was impossible to tell how either of the drivers in the accident I saw were driving, but I'm 99% sure that both flying at odd angle in straight lines towards (or from) the exits, as that seems to be the default mode for most people when they drive in that lot: ignore the stripes and drive fast. Why do people just lose their heads in parking lots and act like paved areas that are privately owned are in any way different than the road itself? The risk of an accident is still the same, even if the cops technically don't have enforcement power to ticket you for driving like a moron. Do people even think? Why can't people obey the painted guidelines in parking lots like they obey street markings? Edited April 10, 2008 by cottonmather0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 sometimes you never know what will happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Straight line of course! And fast if it is safe to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I hate that! It drives me crazy when people make a beeline for the exit. Wal-mart is bad about that too. Now, having said that, depending on the presence of other vehicles I may treat stop signs as advisory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I've yelled at people when they get out of their car after doing this. I just don't have patience for it anymore. I was in the parking lot near Reliant Stadium where Frenchy's Chicken is the other day and there were so many people doing this that I may never go back there again. I was literally scared to drive out of the drive-thru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sozavac Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 You haven't seen anything until you've seen the parking lot at the NW corner of Westheimer and Hilcroft. At any given time you will see five or more cars going in different directions trying to avoid each other. It's almost like an obstacle course. And everyone is going as fast as possible. The strangest thing I've seen was the aftermath of a head on collision in a Target parking lot. I thought how distracted do you have to be for that to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Why do people just lose their heads in parking lots and act like paved areas that are privately owned are in any way different than the road itself? The risk of an accident is still the same, even if the cops technically don't have enforcement power to ticket you for driving like a moron. Do people even think? Why can't people obey the painted guidelines in parking lots like they obey street markings? What are you talking about? The people who do this (myself included) obey the painted guidelines EXACTLY the way we obey street markings...which is to say NOT AT ALL! I only cut across parking lots when nobody else is...otherwise, I use the painted aisles. I'm a very courteous lawbreaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 What are you talking about? The people who do this (myself included) obey the painted guidelines EXACTLY the way we obey street markings...which is to say NOT AT ALL! I only cut across parking lots when nobody else is...otherwise, I use the painted aisles. I'm a very courteous lawbreaker. I will say that I do not really obey the stop signs if there are any. I mean, if there is no one in the parking lot, why bother. I will pause however ... what's it called...? A rolling stop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 I was in the parking lot near Reliant Stadium where Frenchy's Chicken is the other day and there were so many people doing this that I may never go back there again. I was literally scared to drive out of the drive-thru.That parking lot is notorious for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 That parking lot is notorious for that.Yep, it isn't really designed very well and if you aren't familiar with the striping, can see the store you want to get to, and the striping is leading on a tangent that doesn't go there, you improvise. I certainly do...and I'm rarely alone in doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Seriously, if someone were to hit my car while they are cutting across a parking lot they better be ready for and a** kicking because I'm going to be one very angry person when I get out of my car. Also, if I see people doing this and they park within earshot I tell them that they need to stay in the lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 Yep, it isn't really designed very well and if you aren't familiar with the striping, can see the store you want to get to, and the striping is leading on a tangent that doesn't go there, you improvise. I certainly do...and I'm rarely alone in doing so.Yeah, but I think this particular lot is being used to avoid the traffic light at the beastly OST/Kirby intersection and thus a lot of these people aren't even patrons of the businesses in the shopping center. I wouldn't say that the lot "isn't designed well" when people aren't using it as a parking and instead are driving through there as a thru-way. The only way to design that "well" would be to make it a public street.This is very similar to the Chevron station between Washington/Wescott & I-10. People coming out of the park ROUTINELY drive across the gas station parking lot to turn left onto Washington rather than turning right onto Wescott and then around the block and back left onto Washington. Why HPD doesn't just park there and write tickets, or why the gas station owners don't seem to care enough to do something about it I don't know, because it interferes with their own customers trying to get in and out of that station, for sure.Aerial pic is here if you're not familiar. Back to my OP, I was thinking last night another really bad large parking lot for crazy drivers is the Home Depot on I-10 @ the Beltway, particularly these days as people want to avoid the light and construction at the Beltway, so they exit I-10 and pull into the Great Indoors and then literally RACE in a diagonal line past the home depot to the exit onto Lumpkin/Westview in the back. You definitely need to keep your head on a swivel, there, too. Here is a link there, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 When faced with one of these parking lots I try to get to the edge and drive along the edge as much as possible. You have to drive farther but at least there are fewer directions to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 I think you answered your own question; if the police don't enforce moving violations on private property the only real consequence is what you witnessed, auto accidents. Just be mindful of your environment and remember that no man made law is above breaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxmulder Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I've yelled at people when they get out of their car after doing this. I just don't have patience for it anymore. I was in the parking lot near Reliant Stadium where Frenchy's Chicken is the other day and there were so many people doing this that I may never go back there again. I was literally scared to drive out of the drive-thru.Some of us work in that shopping center..You can't believe the number of near misses there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifuwong Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 The problem i see alot is speeding. Most cars drive too fast in the parking lots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I believe a simple way to solve a lot of this is to bring back the "car stop," or whatever those concrete humps are that keep cars from going too far into a parking space. I'm sure someone here will enlighten me as to why they aren't used much anymore (other than cost, I think they are sort of ugly and get all beat up over the years), but they do a good job of keeping cars within the designated driving lanes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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