Ever leave a store only to find yourself wandering around the parking lot trying to figure where you left your vehicle?  It’s happened to most at one time or another.

If you’re focused on finding your treasured four wheeled transport do you really think you have a keen sense of domain awareness at that time?  Would you even know if danger was lurking? No, probably not.

Criminal minds love to find easy prey who are wandering around aimlessly looking for their vehicles; snatching a victim has never been easier.  These wanderers are distracted and focused on only one thing at that moment, “Dangnabbit, where did I park?”

I talk much about the importance of not being time and place predictable.  Yet if you find yourself absent minded when it comes to where you park your car, parking lots are one exception to being place predictable.  Though I’d still encourage you not to have the same routine with regard to what day and time you go to certain locations.

I’ve been guilty of losing my car, too.  We simply have so much on our plates and so many things to get done in one day that if I have to take time out to go to the grocery store, rest assured I’m also thinking about the dozen other things that aren’t getting accomplished at that moment.

Weigh your options – is it better to park in a different location each time and risk doing the Wandering Waltz?  Or perhaps if you always park near a certain end of the building (near the pharmacy or garden center perhaps) will you have a better opportunity to then proceed quickly to your vehicle, load it up with your newly purchased treasures and promptly exit?  I choose the latter.

You can never be too busy to practice crime avoidance.  Stop whatever you’re doing at the moment you park your vehicle.  Hang up the phone; stop thinking about what else needs to be done before the sun sets; just stop and pause.  Take a look where you parked.  Where is it in relation to the nearest building?  What row is it in?  Is it near a light post?  Pull a Sarah Palin and write it down on your hand if you need to.  There is certainly no crime in that.

Here’s hoping the next time you exit a store you won’t find yourself doing the Wandering Waltz to the tune of “Dangnabbit, Where Did I Park?”

Be safe!