Skillful parking is a part of an exemplary driving culture

According to the Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund, more than a third of road accidents registered in Estonia occur on parking lots. One would expect that a parking lot is a quiet and safe place. However, the statistics show that in 2015 there were 11,000 cases of claims for damages in connection with parking accidents for a total of 9.4 million euros.

Exemplary parking ABC

• park your car so that it only takes one parking space and is centered between the boundary lines;
• be careful when opening doors and maneuvering – watch out for other vehicles;
• give advantage to the driver of the car that is backing out and has a limited field of view;
• in the absence of traffic signs use the “right-hand rule” while parking;
• if an accident occurs, describe the situation and take photos of the scene;
• smile to other road users and offer assistance to those in need!

Here you can find instructions for a successful parking:

Parallel parking – text and pictures, video.

Backing out to the “garage” – text and pictures, video.

Forward driving to the “garage” – video.

Some facts:

• In 2015 every day there were 30 traffic accidents related to parking in Estonia (on average);
• 38% of the road insurance cases were associated with parking – 11,000 claims for damages for a total of 9.4 million euros
• Half of the road accidents on parking lots happen as a result of backing out or crashing into already parked car;
• The ratio of all parking lot accidents in 2015: 

  Description	The share of such accidents in Estonia (%)
  Crashing into a parked vehicle while backing out from or to a parking place	50
  Crashing into a parked vehicle while driving forward from or to a parking place	19
  A passing vehicle crashing into a parked one	12
  Crashing into a moving vehicle while backing out from or to a parking place	11
  Damaging another vehicle with a door	5
  Crashing into a moving vehicle while driving forward from or to a parking place	3

  Source: Road Insurance Accident Cases: Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund (LKF), 2016

Exemplary Driving Week

From 2 to 7 May 2016 the Exemplary Driving Week took place. Its goal is to draw attention to the importance of exemplary daily driving style. 

The event culminated on Saturday, May 7, on the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn where the exhibition of project cars took place and the summary of the discussions held during the week were made.

Among other things, at the Song Festival Grounds everybody were able to work on their parking skills. People were exercising parking and put their skills to the test.

Being attentive and courteous helps to reduce likelihood of accidents

Most parking-related accidents occur as a result of a collision while crashing a maneuvering vehicle into the one that is already parked (81% of all parking lot accidents). Reasonable care, monitoring position of other vehicles and slow driving make parking maneuvers safer. Of course, one should keep in mind the theory of parking and a few parking tips. It is also useful to practice on the parking lot of a shopping center, when not too many other vehicles are around.

On the parking lot one should also pay attention to road signs, and in their absence use the old-good “right-hand rule”, i.e. while moving between the parking rows you should give way to vehicles coming from the right. And, of course, one should be guided by common sense – a polite and respectful attitude to other road users is the basis for successful and trouble-free driving. Although the traffic rules require the driver of the vehicle backing out to give way to all other road users, it is reasonable to give advantage to the driver of the car that is backing out and has a limited field of view.

What to do in case of accident?

If an accident had occurred, participants should fix the circumstances of the accident and the damage caused to cars in writing. Fill in the form of a traffic accident notification. In a free-form describe the situation and indicate the responsible party. Then both parties should sign the drawn up document. Also it would be useful to take photos of the damage caused to a vehicle or vehicles and draw a chart of the accident.

If the driver of the damaged vehicle is not present on the site, one should notify the police, that will record the details of the accident and contact the injured party. The police should also be notified if in the course of the initial examination the vehicle does not show any damage. A polite driver will leave a note with his/her contact details on the windshield of the damaged car.

Police should also be called if parties cannot agree on who exactly is responsible for the accident or if the responsible person is unknown. A damaged person should contact his/her insurance company or the insurance company of the party that caused the damage.

Instructions on how to behave in case of an accident and while filling in the paperwork with regard to the accident can be found on the website of the Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund http://www.lkf.ee/images/files/Liiklus_noudekasitlemine_veebitekst7.pdf.

Many parking lots and parking buildings have surveillance cameras. Recording from such cameras can help, if a parked car was damaged or if there is a dispute in relation to the circumstances of the accident. Be sure to contact the parking operator for help.