This Secret Parking Trick Would Stop Many Car Accidents if Everyone Did It
Parking lots are one of the most common places for car accidents. Vehicles parked too close to each other result in collisions or banging of the doors, causing dings, scratches, dents, or worse. However, as demonstrated in a viral TikTok video, there’s a secret parking trick that would stop many car accidents — but only if everyone did it.
TikTok video shows hack to make parking easier and prevent car accidents
Even for skilled drivers, it can be a challenge to equally park between the lines in a parking lot. This is especially the case when other people haphazardly park their vehicles. For lots with narrow spaces and those that drive big trucks or SUVs, the task is all the more difficult.
However, a video on TikTok shows another way, as detailed by Mirror. The method makes perfect sense — and leaves one to wonder why we haven’t been parking this way all along. The video was posted by TikTok user bigbruva_77. He said that he discovered the trick after he picked up a truck from a GM lot, which he does for his job.
Park with the left tires lined up on the left line
All along, we’ve been parking between the lines (except for some people that notoriously double-park). Maneuvering a car between the lines is something that’s so ingrained in people. As children, we were taught to color between the lines. Now, as adults, we follow the rules of staying within the lines of a parking space.
However, in the TikTok video, all of the cars in the GM lot are parked with the left tires lined up on the left line. The vehicles are uniformly parked this way, leaving a considerable amount of room between each one.
With more space between the cars, there’s less of a likelihood of car accidents and dings, dents, and scratches. Also, it’s easier to park this way. Evenly parking between the lines can be a challenge. It’s sometimes difficult to maneuver your vehicle to ensure that there is enough space on both sides. However, simply lining up your tires on the left line is an easier task, for there’s a precise target to maneuver your car.
In the video, as a man walks in the GM lot, he says, “What if I told y’all we’ve been parking in parking spots wrong the whole time.” He continues, “This is where we pick up GM trucks. Look at how they park on the line and see how evenly spaced they are. Imagine if everyone at Walmart parked on the line.”
The man then details some of the benefits of the hack: “It would lessen the amount of dings and give you space to get in and out of your car.” He concludes with a reaffirming statement: “We’ve been doing it wrong the whole time, y’all.”
TikTok commentator reactions to the trick
The TikTok video has gone viral with over 7.3 million views and thousands of comments. Here are some of the interesting comments:
- “Bruh! Genius!”
- “How do we make this TikTok go to everyone in the world?”
- “DMV needs to regulate this.”
- “In California, you get fined if you park on the line.”
- “It only works if everyone did this, though, which would never happen.”
- “I guess I’ve been doing it right my whole life.”
The only way for this trick to work, and stop car accidents, is if all drivers uniformly follow it. However, that undoubtedly would prove to be nearly impossible — unless there is a regulation change. If the law would change to require drivers to park on the left line, then the hack could work. Also, it would be necessary to modify DMV driver education to teach drivers to follow the new technique. Public initiatives to raise awareness of the regulation change might be necessary as well.
Many people are resistant to change, though, as shown by resistance in America to switching to the metric system for roadways and other uses. However, a universal change to the new parking technique might be worth exploring. For example, on an experimental basis, select locations could try the new parking technique. Authorities can then see the impact of the change, including if it reduces car accidents.
