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The Storefront Safety Council, founded by experts in perimeter security and parking, reports that vehicles crash into restaurants, stores, and other types of businesses as many as 60 times per day in the United States. Over 4,000 customers, pedestrians and employees are injured in such crashes, and tragically, as many as 500 more are killed.  These accidents typically happen when drivers, of all ages, make mistakes, especially when they are pulling into or out of parking spaces that face storefronts.  

In a study of 3,600 storefront crashes last year, Storefront Safety Council founder, Rob Reiter, said that he found the most common cause in 46 percent of the crashes was pedal error — "almost always gas instead of the brake."

The Risk Management Society (RIMS) in September 2014 also said that many of these crashes are a result of driver error and often occur because businesses tend to orient themselves toward the street or parking lot, with their entrances facing forward for maximum visibility. Unfortunately, this design strategy creates vulnerabilities and, even though there are simple solutions, the problem persists because of lack of awareness, applicable building codes and the will to correct the situation.

On their website RIMS gave the following examples of accidents that happened in an 8-week period in 2014:

• On March 1, 2014, a woman drove her Ford F-150 pickup truck through the front doors of a Food 4 Less grocery store in Las Vegas. Twenty-six people were hurt and nine hospitalized. Reports said that the driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake and accelerated into the store as she was driving toward the entrance. The driver was not cited.
• Less than two weeks later, hundreds of attendees were enjoying late night music events on a closed street at the popular South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. A 21-year-old driver, evading a DUI traffic stop, turned a corner and drove through the temporary barricades at the end of the “closed” street, killing four and injuring two dozen. The driver is now facing capital murder charges and more than 20 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. This accident shows the need for better "temporary" barricades in high traffic pedestrian areas.
• On April 9, there was a minor collision on a street in Orlando, Florida. The car that was rear-ended somehow accelerated and travelled more than 100 feet, over a curb and through a parking area, before striking a KinderCare day care center filled with children and teachers. The car went through the wall of the facility, finally stopping because of the pile of furniture, debris and injured children in front of it. One young child was killed, and another 15 were injured. The investigation is ongoing.
• On April 25, a driver got into his car to leave Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in Buena Park, California. Instead of backing out of his parking space, he accelerated forward, jumping the concrete wheel stop and striking six people waiting to enter the busy restaurant.  One woman was killed and several more hospitalized. The driver was not cited.

The Commercial Real Estate Development Association reports that parking space configuration and driver demographics are the two factors that particularly influence the incidence of vehicle-into-building crashes. The fact that positioning spaces perpendicular (i.e. nose-in) aims vehicles directly at the building and at people. Nose-in parking maximizes the potential for tragedy.

Many of the accidents reported by authorities involve teen drivers, older drivers, medically impaired drivers, inexperienced drivers, and distracted and/or drunk drivers.  

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that the average cost per crash is $9,100. With an average of 20,000 incidents a year, the NSC says the associated costs reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

Large chain stores are starting to look at the problem as part of risk management. Retailers and developers have begun taking measures to reduce the toll from these types of crashes. The two most common solutions according to the National Parking Association include:

• Eliminate head-in parking spaces from store fronts or pedestrian areas.
• Install a protective device such as a tested barrier or bollard, posts made of steel and often filled with concrete, that will prevent an out-of-control vehicle from jumping the curb.

Vehicle-into-building crashes have drawn attention at the municipal level as well as at standards-setting organization, ASTM International. In Florida, Miami-Dade County passed Ordinance No. 12-47 in 2012, amending its zoning code to require the placement of “anti-ram fixtures” in shopping centers.

In November 2014, ASTM International approved a test standard for Low Speed Barriers for Errant Vehicles which sets parameters for bollards, barriers and other devices most often seen protecting storefronts and high-traffic pedestrian areas. The standards are expected to help save hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in property damage each year.

"Storefront crashes continue to injure people and take lives. It is the responsibility of business owners to provide for the safety of their customers by taking every precaution necessary. If you or a loved one has been injured in a storefront crash, contact us," said Southwest Florida Accident Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Southwest Florida Accident Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839,or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.