How not to win the parking lot idiot of the day award

Beware that your parking lot behaviour does not earn you this award

If you are prone to bouts of self-inflicted idiocy like I sometimes am, you have probably made the huge mistake of walking up to a car that you think is yours, deactivating the alarm system with your remote control and only realising when trying to open your car door  that this car is not your car! This normally happens (dare I use the word "normally?") when the car is the same colour as yours and more confusingly when it is the same colour and model as your car.

Such an experience tends to be not only embarassing but also extremely scary. Embarassing to the extent that
you want to get out of there as quickly as you can, fearing that the whole world witnessed you being goofy. Scary? Yes because you risk having the daylights walloped out of you by the car owner or the general public. You also risk facing arrest for attempted vehicle theft and being thrown into a jail cell with creepy character going by the name of Don the dong.

Let us look at the worst case scenario were you own a white battered 1990 Toyota Cressida model that has seen better days. You then mistake a white 2010 Merecedes for your Cressida just because they are both white in colour. Who are you ever going to convince that you made a genuine mistake? No one! Not even the local resident nincompoop!
What then is the best was of ensuring that you do not make such a silly mistake?

Memorise your car registration number and check the number plate before you approach any car that you think is yours.
Should you be numerically challenged, keep the registration number saved on your phone or written somewhere in your wallet (You will be shocked how many scatterbrains out there forget their car registration numbers, ID numbers and dates of birth!)

Hang a stuffed animal or some other toy from the rear view mirror and use that as an identifying mark.
When pressing the deactivation button on your car's remote control, make sure that the lights of the car that you are approaching actually flash and you hear the click of the central locking. If you press and nothing happens, it is not you car! I do not have an alternative idea for those without alarms and remotely controlled central locking so don't ask me please.

The number one piece of advice that I can suggest and which I have personally tried and tested, is a simple motto: USE THAT THING IN BETWEEN YOUR EARS. IT IS CALLED A BRAIN, B-R-A-I-N, BRAIN!

Thats is all it takes to keep your face and dignity intact and not be mistakenly accused of wanting to break into and steal someone's Mecerdes, Lexus or Porsche!