The Official Highway Code: signals

The Official Highway Code: signals

Why should you pay to use a basket?

The Safe Driver

Putting the cart before the horse – power

Busy. That word describes many people within our society these days. We often have so many things to do that we’re often running late. Sometimes, we may not be as late as we think we are or the things we do may not take as long as we think they do. If that’s the case, we really need to change how we do things that may affect us or other drivers.
While I was recently at a shopping area, I noticed many shopping carts left sitting throughout the entire parking lot. Those that used those carts decided to leave them behind where their vehicles were parked after they were finished with them. Why wouldn’t hey put them away in the cart area? Was it too much trouble for them? Were they lazy? Were they running late? I even saw a shopping cart left beside the sectioned off cart area. Why couldn’t they place the cart into the cart area? Was it really going to take that much extra time?
Here’s the problem with leaving the carts throughout the parking lot; they can roll and hit into the sides of parked vehicles. We all know how annoyed we get when we find any type of dents and dings on our vehicle. By placing the carts where they belong, you’re actually helping your fellow drivers to help avoid those annoying dings.
The added problem happens if the shopping cart ends up behind a vehicle, below the window line of the minivan or SUV. If the driver in that vehicle looks out of the rear window they may not see the shopping cart. Walking around your vehicle prior to entering it is always a good idea regardless of where you are as it allows you to spot any problems before entering your vehicle. However, most drivers won’t do that so if you leave a shopping cart in the parking area, it adds to the risk of someone hitting it.
I was retraining a licensed driver who was under the belief that he could see most things around his vehicle because he was very tall and sat high in his minivan. To show him this isn’t the case, I walked away from the vehicle on all four sides with him in the driver’s seat and dropped pylons when he saw my feet. When he got out of the vehicle to see the space he was shocked to see it so large. I then asked him to get back into the driver’s seat and look out the rear window again. This time, I bent over at the rear hatch as if I was tying my shoe and he couldn’t see me. This became a real eye opener for this driver.
So there’s really two issues about those wandering shopping carts; leaving them behind other vehicles may cause those drivers to hit them and damage their vehicle and if someone leaves them behind your parked vehicle, you could hit them. Oh, and shopping carts are far less important than noticing people so maybe doing a walk around is a good idea for all drivers. Maybe some of those drivers never thought about the consequences of their laziness or being in a hurry. Or perhaps they were putting the cart before the horse-power.