The following letter is addressed: Dear Neighbors.
In an attempt to dislodge the myth, your safety is not an insurance company’s priority. Sadly, your "banged dinged, and bashed' car is what keeps the industry attuned daily, reaping vasts amounts of money from your premiums, and mine.
Take for example how no one (I mean, not one living soul) has ever taught you the easiest method in which to park in a parking lot. Most drivers blindly follow the herd, zip to a space, and pull in front first. Not only is this wrong, it's very treacherous, to say the least.
Again, you weren't taught, and not one government agency was going to “speak out against the tide.” nor lead the 325 million drivers on American roadways today, to embrace the proper method. Well, I'm talking the proper method to keep you and your vehicle out of harm’s way, and your wallet from further increasing the profits at insurance companies.
Allow me to 'splain. It's real simple, because all you have to do is follow the song, as in "Back It Up." That's right folks, back it up and in. Wheel your vehicle forward at a 45 degree angle toward the rear bumper of the vehicle parked in the next aisle, and back your car's rear end into the space between the white lines. To ease your apprehension, just use those magnificent side view mirrors on your vehicle to line it up, or our Back Up Camera if you got it like that. Just be sure to leave space to get in and out.
When you take leave, guess what. It'll be simple to pull straight out of your space without incident, instead of trying to back out into the parking lot. That's when those nasty incidents/accidents occur because you are backing out when you should be pulling out. Rather than inform the misled, the car industry finds it more profitable for them to have you fork over hundreds of dollars for a backup camera. A little practice, and your skill at whipping in and out of a parking space will amaze you. My secret is just pulling into a double space from the back, and moving to the front space, ready to split in no time.
The truth of the matter is that after you've been shopping, or working, or tired from a fitness workout, your mind is not on backing a vehicle out of its space just because you turned the car on. That new dress, that idiot at work, or all those reps you just completed, are the foremost thoughts on your mind. But, once your visibility is aimed straight ahead (left to right, too), moving your vehicle forward out of a parking space will occur with ease, and far fewer incidents.
But, then again, I didn't write the book. Oh snap, I did: “The Unwritten Rules of the Road,” 2004!
Michael Dantley
Alexandria