testtest

Parking lots?

powerboatr said:
actually if i feel like a dick
which lately is more than not
i park my f250 in the handicapped VAN parking at walmart
its a big space and no body opens a door into my running boards :ROFLMAO: yes i have a blue placard, but i generally do not use it...but walmart is my exception
Click to expand...
Two years ago I didn't need to use my TX DV plates and placard. I just had it for the free disabled veteran's free vehicle registration. I never parked in the handicapped spaces. But in the last two years my body has fallen apart. I have to use handicapped parking now. Most of those spots are close to the main entrances of stores. I'm not really so worried in those spots, unless somebody is thinking it might be an easy target to attack a crippled or elderly person using those spots. If the handicapped spots are all taken, then I get picky about where I park, depending on what vehicle I'm driving. It could be the planet killer (diesel pickup truck), or it could be the hoopty (our old third car we kept for running errands).
 
OldGrunt said:
Two years ago I didn't need to use my TX DV plates and placard. I just had it for the free disabled veteran's free vehicle registration. I never parked in the handicapped spaces. But in the last two years my body has fallen apart. I have to use handicapped parking now. Most of those spots are close to the main entrances of stores. I'm not really so worried in those spots, unless somebody is thinking it might be an easy target to attack a crippled or elderly person using those spots. If the handicapped spots are all taken, then I get picky about where I park, depending on what vehicle I'm driving. It could be the planet killer (diesel pickup truck), or it could be the hoopty (our old third car we kept for running errands).
Click to expand...
“…….or it could be the hoopty (our old third car we kept for running errands)”

You can say Buick, its ok 😆😆🤪🤪🤪🫣🫣
 
Anchorite said:
All this talk about open carry, ammo shortages, FL guide rods, weirdos at your door in the middle of the night that you just have to investigate (@NMEDGE ), living on the edge of civilization (@The Night Rider ) got me thinking about a pet peeve.....

Parking lots.

I hate the darn things, but I can't not use 'em. Big or small, can't avoid them.

Drives my wife crazy, but I drive around them, as in all the way around them, to recon before I pick what I think is the best spot. Sometimes that spot is the best defensible spot, sometimes it is the furthest away (not just to avoid the shopping cart, mind you!), just depends on the AO and destination. Layout also plays a huge part in selecting.

I do always park so I am in line of sight to the door of where I plan to go. I also just about always back in, if possible, and with a solid backdrop like a building, not another car, but I drive an F150, so I always scan the truck bed (that I keep empty) to make sure I have no uninvited stowaways.

If I can park parallel, then I will usually do so, giving myself enough room to skedaddle, and that usually means the end space.

Anyone else treat parking lots as hostile environments?

I think I may need therapy.
Click to expand...


I don't necessarily recon the lot but there are some things that I do.

Never back in because a someone can hit your front end and disable the car. Guess how I know.

Park with the front end behind a barrier, see above.

Park away from the building. Preferably in an empty part of the lot. So I can see if anyone is around the car.

Last thing, get in the car, lock the doors and move. Get the car away the parking spot ASAP.
 
Brother, I totally agree Parking Lots can be dangerous. Shoppers are usually clueless and sharks are waiting

I try to park where I can pull out too
I have a 4 door Jeep and ready for off road maneuvers (over curbs or over scumbags)
 
Parking lots around here are next down the list of my "dangerous 'on the X' " places to be, right below gas stations. As I'm aging and getting a bit more gimpy in my gait, they might have to be ranked ABOVE gas stations. There's not much I can do about either the aging OR the gimpiness. In fact, I've been accosted by strangers (homeless folk) more in parking lots than at gas stations. I simply use verbal commands to warn them not to enter "my space" and to the present time haven't had an issue with them getting any closer. The trick is to spot them before they get too close. Parking lot rules are much like gas station rules but with additions. Keep your face out of your phone. Leave yourself space to clear vehicle door. Don't park in the opposite direction from the vehicle next to you (If they open their vehicle door after you've opened yours and dismounted, you are trapped in a very tight box with them). Check under your vehicle as you return. Check the back seat and/or pickup bed as you return before getting into your vehicle. Be choosy about when and where you park. Avoid late night runs to the store. etc. etc. All common sense, but easy to slip up if you're not paying attention.
 
Getting carjacked or mugged or panhandled at a gas station is a daily occurrence in America. I would bet that it happens hundreds of times a day in CONUS.

Gas Stations/Convenience Stores are what all the SMEs call "Watering Holes". If you ever watch National Geographic TV they always show the Lions hanging out at watering holes because they know that sooner or later the antelopes have to come and get a drink.

I guess that makes the crackheads alligators because they live in the watering holes.

But anyway a gas station or convenience store is very potentially a high-threat environment . So, even if your individual odds are low (but they get higher over time) it's probably a good idea to have a plan to mimize your exposure.
 
I'm sure glad our parking lots are a lot safer than most of yours are.

Sounds like you folks need to call in an air strike or artillery barrage on the parking lots you want to park in before you get there. :unsure:

1775095714308.png
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty much heightened awareness in most parking lots .... Had a issue years ago in South Phoenix at a Home Depot one. Two illegals tried to make my ex and I the 5th victims of the day.

Now due to mobility issues, I'm parking in the employee, I mean handicapped spaces at most places anymore. Between my EDC and my Bariatric Cane I'm well prepared for dealing with miscreants
 
I have problems walking long distances these days and have a handicapped placard. But finding a handicapped parking spot is a challenge in itself. Sometimes I have no choice but to walk a ways. 🤬
One of the things that really pisses me off is all the places that have no guns signs. Once you're inside the building, you're pretty much safe. Most likely won't need your gun.
Its the walk between the parking lot to and from the building where you're most vulnerable. That's where you need to be carrying. Business owners just can't seem to grasp that. :(
 
Im not a particular fan of Walmart in general but I absolutely do my best to avoid Walmarts near a bus stop. They tend to attract the nefarious types more so than the locations not near public transportation...Its doesnt seem like much of a head scratcher to me but when I say that to some people I get questioning looks and once was called a racing fan, at least thats what I thought she meant when she said racists
 
While parking lots can be interesting (guys with flat-bill hats leaned up against the wall at the entry/exit are a clue they are looking for folks with big screens and multiple $& items and start following and should be a clue to not go in OR turn around and go back inside)

That said I am more concerned with the inside of say Walmart while the typical Walmartians can make you laugh or cringe with the close proximity patrons
Are it’s ripe for crazy or terrorist or XYZ to do a knife attack and get several victims before anyone becomes aware (no gun fire to give you a clue and screaming can be delayed and it’s just screaming still have to assess what the screaming is about)

Just like the Michigan Walmartians stabbings last year that spilled to the parking lot you usually have more room to ma iver in parking lots bs ailed of a store woth several peolme that let’s face it Walmart, Costco and whatever a lot of shoppers are rude and hopefully they drive their car better than shopping carts…..
 
Talyn said:
I'm sure glad our parking lots are a lot safer than most of yours are.

Sounds like you folks need to call in an air strike or artillery barrage on the parking lots you want to park in before you get there. :unsure:

View attachment 107616
Click to expand...
I would say just step out of your car and yell “Immigracion”, but now it would invite 100 Karens with air horns. That would be much worse than the flat brimmed hat guy scoping the place out.
Maybe slap an ICE sticker on the dude hanging out. Let the Karens hassle him while I slip the TV into the truck 😁🤠
 
The Night Rider said:
I don't necessarily recon the lot but there are some things that I do.

Never back in because a someone can hit your front end and disable the car. Guess how I know.

Park with the front end behind a barrier, see above.

Park away from the building. Preferably in an empty part of the lot. So I can see if anyone is around the car.

Last thing, get in the car, lock the doors and move. Get the car away the parking spot ASAP.
Click to expand...

You point is well taken. Parking lots - in general - are not immune to crime.

Someone could just as easily slash my tires, no matter how/where I parked. That would introduce a mobility challenge tantamount to a disabled vehicle.
 
BruceMc said:
If you park out at the edge of a parking lot in Houston you'll drive off sans your catalytic converter.
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily park at the edge of the lot. Because, as you mentioned, that brings its own problems but I do try to park in an empty part of the lot.

The only place I really park at the end of the lot is when I go to the VA clinic in Colorado Springs.

They keep all the government bands out in one corner of the lot and I park kind of at the end of those because they Shield me putting my gun up from the building
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top