I f the previous scene had helped us appreciate Ballard's motivations and frustrations at being an invalid, then the next scene marks the point at which he decides he must move on.

Ballard finally leaves his apartment, visiting old haunts.  Following steps he must have taken many times, he descends to the basement of his apartment building, into the parking lot below.  Each driver has an assigned spot, and Ballard visits his own, known as "Ballard 435".  He looks into the empty space with a sense of yearning.

Beyond the parking space, through bars and fencing, is the highway beyond.  A constant hiss of traffic passes by, and we see Ballard's eyes darting back and forth as though trying to keep up with the fast moving vehicles.  It's almost overwhelming to his senses.  Boredom, frustration, and perhaps a desire to once again experience something, even the remotest possibility of a random act of vehicular violence, plays across Ballard's face.

The idea of revisiting old haunts, past memories that lead themselves to his accident, is continued in the next scene where Ballard visits his wrecked vehicle, as though visiting a crash victim in a hospital.  These are the final goodbyes.

It is worth noting that there are no consequences to Ballard's actions at any point in the film.  Even at the scene of his accident, the police never arrive.  He is never questioned by the police, and there seems to have been no consequences to the incident other than this change in his psyche.  This reinforces the idea that what occurred is a natural progression, not something to be discussed, but rather a perfectly expected event, like the sudden arrival of puberty, certainly not worthy of explicit retribution.

Like the echoing home of a dead relative, the parking lot, with its empty space, is as close to grief as Ballard is allowed to get.