The records of a glass company which serves one major chain were examined. They show the replacement of five windows per week caused by automobile damage. The glass company manager estimates that he sees six vehicles each year driven all of the way into the store. Because accidents are predictable in parking lots, convenience stores should include pedestrian protection in their original design. No published code requires pedestrian islands or barriers where large numbers of pedestrians and vehicles interact on private property.
Most building codes limit their regulation to the sidewalks that border the street.
They do not require barrier protection across the face of the building where the majority of accidents happen. City codes do not require builders to pain the curb yellow to aid depth perception. When no law or code describes the store owner's duty, common law is important. They have an obligation to protect their customers only from those hazards which are foreseeable. If so, they must take effective action to protect the customer.