The Risks of Parking Lot Takeovers and How to Prevent Them

Parking lots are perfect candidates for illegal racing takeovers. However with risks of parking lot damage, financial loss, and serious injury or death, you do not want your parking lot to become the next victim of this.

What is a Parking Lot Takeover?

Similar to illegal street racing, parking lot takeovers involve individuals organising a car meetup at a specified location, often at night.

Organisers will establish a parking lot for this to take place and when selected, all those involved both drivers and citizens will meet up at that location where they will block the entry to the parking lot. 

Hundreds can turn up to events to either engage with the activity or watch on as they take place. 

Following this drivers will race, perform stunts, and engage in other dangerous activities to display their skills to those watching or win a prize.

Why Are Parking Lots Popular Locations for This Illegal Activity?

With Law Enforcement cracking down on street racing, those involved have been forced to find other locations and unfortunately, parking lots have been popular. 

There are a number of reasons for this:

• Provides a large space
• Flat surface to drive on
• Quiet in the evenings and late at night
• Easily fits big crowds

There are few locations in built-up areas where street takeovers can transition over to, and due to the number of parking lots available and suitable features to allow it to take place, these have become more popular over the last year. 

However, with this comes increased risks.

The Risks Related to Parking Lot Takeovers

There are multiple risks with parking lot takeovers that could impact you, some of which may be surprising.

Marking to Your Parking Lot Surface

During stunts such as donuts and burnouts, tire marks can be left behind on your parking lot. As much as this impacts the appearance of the parking lot, it can also be a safety hazard if they build up.

Other markings from oil and grease can leave marks on your parking lot as well, all of which can be expensive and time consuming to remove. 

Parking lot takeovers often cause many tire marks due to the number of cars involved and the type of stunts carried out meaning that costs can rack up quickly for you.

Serious Injury or Death to Drivers or Civilians

It is estimated that at least 50 people each year die due to a result of street racing within the US alone, showing the extreme dangers related to it.

In 2020, a 20-year-old man died after falling out of a truck window whilst it was spinning donuts in a Dallas parking lot overnight. 

Due to the number of spectators these events can create, the risks are not only posed to drivers and passengers but to those watching on. Cars can swerve into crowds or lose control leaving spectators at major risks.

Although laws have changed to become stricter around takeovers and spectators attending the event, this has not put a complete halt on them.

Damage to Nearby Stores, Public Space, and Other Vehicles

In addition to the risks attendees are faced with, nearby stores, public spaces, and vehicles close to or parked in the parking lot unrelated to the takeovers could be at risk of damage themselves.

Vehicles can easily lose control during stunts and racing, especially when they are moving at the speed they do. 

When this happens, drivers may not be able to control the direction of the vehicle and this could collide with anything in its path, even if it is unrelated to the event taking place. 

Risk of Retaliatory Offenses 

Where parking lot takeovers may be common or where a citizen may feel they need to intervene and act themselves creating retaliatory offenses. 

This furthers the already dangerous, illegal activity displayed and causes issues to worsen at times. Actions such as placing nails on the ground and vandalism could take place in response to this and this poses hazards to human safety.

By doing this, Law Enforcement will have additional crimes to manage and could delay from the overall issue being resolved.

Commercial Revenue Loss

For parking lots used on a commercial basis, there is a risk for revenue loss if parking lot takeovers occur, especially if it occurs on more regular occasions. 

Although parking lot takeovers will often take place at night, it can create reputational damage that leads to fewer customers utilising the parking lot.

Takeovers can occur during the day also which can be intimidating to potential customers due to the large crowds and dangerous driving.

Loud Noise and Increased Crime in Surrounding Location

For those in the surrounding areas, the parking lot takeovers can cause loud noise from both the drivers and spectators which can be damaging for the local area.

Additionally, with the large crowds and disturbance to the local area, this can cause increased crime rates from such events.

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How to Prevent Parking Lot Takeovers From Happening to You

With so many risks related to parking lot takeovers, the last thing you want is for your parking lot to fall victim to this and be subject to the expense of any repairs or maintenance. 

LotGuard has worked with multiple parking lots to boost security and reduce crime, and through utilizing this knowledge we have formed 6 preventative steps you can take to protect from parking lot takeovers.

Install a Surveillance System in Your Parking Lot

One of the main methods, and also one of the most effective methods of parking lot prevention is through installing a surveillance system in your parking lot. 

However, with parking lots often being so vast in size and hardwired surveillance cameras providing a lack of flexibility, following the traditional security procedures may not be as successful in these instances.

Therefore, utilising surveillance solutions like our LotGuard PRO Surveillance Trailers allows for both flexibility and high-quality security monitoring all in one. With deployment being as quick as 20-minutes and by providing you with the ability to securely move it, it can be placed wherever you decide.

There are many ways to improve the safety of your parking lot, however, with the additional benefits of wireless connectivity, free and unlicensed viewing software, and power autonomy, our Surveillance Trailers aim to support various parking lot needs.

Standing at 20 ft tall, they are specifically designed to deter crime like parking lot takeovers at a fraction of the cost of security guards.

Add Features that Prevent Racing within Your Parking Lot

Parking lots often provide large, flat surfaces for individuals to utilize for takeovers, so implementing blocking features within your parking lot can help deter this.

Features such as parking blocks and speed bumps are acceptable elements to add within your parking lot for overall traffic safety. It also helps make it less likely to be desirable for parking lot takeovers due to the uneven surface it can create. 

Implement a Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) Solution

Parking lot takeovers tend to involve a high-volume of vehicles, especially due to the increase in spectators over recent years. 

Relying on traditional surveillance monitoring to easily establish the various vehicles and their registrations is not enough. This is where an LPR solution can support you as it is specially designed to capture accurate license plates.

With our Surveillance Trailer, you can utilize our MINI Cameras and attach the LPR solution we offer which can scan their license plates in any weather or lighting conditions up to 130 mph.

As vehicles can drive fast and be spinning around in parking lot takeovers, it is important to have an LPR solution that can keep up and support the tracking down of anyone involved, especially where injuries and deaths are involved.

Cars and any other vehicles can be seized from the scene, so if this takes place at a takeover on your location, those involved will be aware of the technology and this helps prevent them from taking place at any point in future. 

Learn more about the LotGuard MINI Camera

Engage with the Local Community 

Community engagement is key in managing widespread issues such as this, therefore where possible, speak to those in the surrounding area to your parking lot. This could be local Law Enforcement, residents, and shop owners.

Gather suggestions and understand the approach being taken elsewhere, especially from Law Enforcement. This will support you in the methods and approaches others have taken and the process to follow if a parking lot takeover occurs at yours.

Utilize Remote Monitoring 

Having a surveillance system is one part of tackling parking lot takeovers. By including remote monitoring within this, it will help capture criminals in the act and respond quickly to threats posed by such a large event. 

There are various benefits provided through remote video monitoring, however for parking lot takeovers the main benefits are the immediate crime prevention support, real-time response, and identifying false alarms.

With traditional Surveillance Cameras, video will often be recorded and stored for a period of time where you can send it to Law Enforcement following the incident, however, this does not guarantee the criminals will be captured.

Whereas surveillance systems where remote video monitoring is included like our Surveillance Trailers work proactively to prevent and stop incidents whilst they are active, meaning there is a higher chance of those involved being held responsible.

Place Signage in Your Parking Lot

If you have a surveillance system fitted within your parking lot, you could boost the impact of this through signage and help with prevention further. 

However, even without a surveillance system, signage can be utilized to emphasise the criminal convictions and consequences that can be caused from involving themselves in parking lot takeovers. 

Law Enforcement can implement vehicle seizures from these types of events and at worst individuals can be arrested for inciting riots, reckless driving, and manslaughter, all of which you can be imprisoned for.

Take the Next Steps to Securing Your Parking Lot

The importance of parking lot safety goes beyond the financial implications caused from criminal activities such as parking lot takeovers. It protects you, the surrounding businesses, residents, and the local community from risks created through large events like this.

Protecting your parking lot helps support both you and the safety of others. Take the first steps to securing your parking lot by getting in touch with a Surveillance specialist today and discussing your requirements.

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