Counter-intuitive parking? Can the most obvious/dangerous places actually work?

[Guest]

Something to ponder. Thoughts? What sort of places might there be?

 

[Canine]

I'm surprised you haven't had any responses to this post. Another way to put this is hiding in plain sight. I read a post on another Blog by someone living in Europe. He slept in his car in areas of heavy traffic and said that was a great way to be stealthy.

I wouldn't park in a wealthy neighborhood no matter how new and nice my van was, but I maybe that would work. Some rich people who don't work have too much time on their hands and are quick to report anything that upsets their delicate world. I would consider parking in a well-lit parking lot with lots of traffic instead of in the shadows. I would maybe blatantly park in the parking lot of a restaurant across from a city police department. That is certainly counter-intuitive, but maybe that method would work. I don't have any real world experience, but I imagine if you park somewhere and make it obvious and with an air of purpose, you will be less likely to be "noticed".

While this is a bit off topic,another thing that comes to mind is a phenomenon called "Inattentional Blindness". You often hear of this regarding motorcyclists. Many times when a car has struck a motorcycle, the motorist will say he/she didn't see it despite the motorcycle obviously being right in his/her line of vision. If the brain is trained to see cars and not motorcycles, the brain will disregard motorcycles and not "see" them.

I had the same thing happen to me when I drove bus. Many, many times drivers of cars didn't "see" me despite looking directly at me. Then when they looked again, they got quite a shock watching a 30,000 pound, 10-foot tall bus coming right at them. They didn't see me because the bus wasn't a car.

I wonder how inattentional blindness could be applied toward vandwelling. If a vehicle is not in the right spot, would certain vehicles less likely be "seen" even though the vehicle is in plain sight? Would a garbage truck attract less attention despite its huge size and smell? Would pastels or certain combinations of colors work better? Or would a Day Glo Green color be so obvious that people would think, "Hmmm. No burglar/vagrant would drive such an obvious vehicle! I'm not going to say anything."

I know you were talking more about places, but many times how a van looks in context with a specific place makes a difference.

 

[ccbreder]

There are places I would not risk my life and limb to park. But I have had very good luck with down town parking lots. Some are inexpensive.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

If you have a choice between a spot by yourself or one next to others, pick blending into a crowd like a zebra

 

[bvanevery]

Obvious places work fine. I always park in places that people don't have a strong vested interest in defending as their turf. Not in front of a nice business after hours or during their daytime business hours. Not in front of a single family detached dwelling. Not in the empty undeveloped part of a business park - found out that since the recession, business parks have had lots of break-ins, so cops are patrolling even the undeveloped portions like mad. Auto traffic on a main street is often just white noise when one is sleeping. Whereas people talking when they come home from bars is extremely disruptive, I avoid the "party people's" routes homeward. Cops may prefer that you be in plain sight if you're not parked in front of something that someone cares about. They know what you're up to, which is sleeping, and nobody is complaining.

Dangerous places don't work. Period. The End. Extremely bad thread title. Huge difference between "obvious" and "dangerous," don't ever for a moment confuse the two. I'm not usually hiding from cops. I'm usually parking places where they patrol occasionally and aren't likely to care about my presence while asleep.

 

[Patrick46]

I'd think a Denny's parking lot (or similiar) would be great for parking. (except for people slamming their doors and talking loudly while coming and going.)

 

[bvanevery]

I'd think a Denny's parking lot (or similiar) would be great for parking. (except for people slamming their doors and talking loudly while coming and going.)

You can die in places like that. http://www.abcnews4.com/story/24024597/sentencing-under-way-in-marly-lion-murder-trial This was just some BBQ joint on a major highway through the West Ashley area of Charleston. You would not pick this road for especially dangerous, to look at it. However the surrounding context is West Ashley. The income and racial composition is mixed, but some parts of it are dangerous. Some malcontents came from one of the more dangerous bits, to the bit that had some targets of opportunity. Some unarmed 17 year old got killed because he thought it would be a good idea to get some refreshing sleep in his SUV.

Situational awareness means, not just deciding whether your specific parking spot "looks safe," but whether your entire surrounding geographic area is safe. Park in North Charleston, forget it! I think I did do the Walmart up there one time before I really understood much about the area. That Walmart was extremely busy and in a heavily used strip mall area, which are protecting factors. But I would not do it again, knowing what I know now. I reconnoitered N. Charleston during the daytime a year ago, checked out its parks, electrical outlets, etc. Fine during the day in some parts of it, but realized this wasn't the kind of place one should be sleeping.

 

[user 423]

Sure you have to be careful anywhere these days but homicide ranks only #15 in a list of the leading causes of death. You're 6 times more likely to die in some sort of accident, including vehicular.

 

[bvanevery]

But the general population isn't living out of cars. Recalibrate your statistics for the correct demographics. Then add choices based on your behavior, like parking somewhere dumb, and it's not about averages anymore.