Those of you that back your vehicle into parking spots, why do you do it?
Those of you that back your vehicle into parking spots, why do you do it?
I once heard “to keep your tailgate from being stolen” but that seems like it’d be a rare case.
There's a reason a number of large companies that self-insure mandate backing in for all their vehicles (Schlumberger, Cargill); it's demonstrably safer practice that results in less accidents when leaving the parking space. You can see everything when you back in that was there when you pulled up, and when you pull out, you're right up front looking forward into the lane as you pull out. You quickly learn how to back in, even without a backup camera, if you learn how to use your mirrors.
It is by far the statistically less accident prone method.
Because it's safer and easier to reverse into a space and drive straight out than it is to drive in and reverse out, potentially into oncoming traffic or pedestrians.
Unless you specifically need access to your boot (trunk) always reverse in.
Much easier to park AND drive away. I see very few disadvantages really
Not only makes it easier to leave when you need to, as you can see everything that you might hit or might hit you.
But going backwards means you can more easily line up in the space as you have more control over your angle.
Like parallel parking is essier when reversing as you dont need to correct once in the space. Just 45 degree to the kerb and straighten up and you are in. Going forward parallel parking takes loads of correction or needs a really big gap to fit in to.
I worked at a job site prone to flooding so it was mandated to speed evacuations. I liked it and kept the habit.
Then some misogynist asshat told me it's a masculine thing to do and I should be careful to come across more ladylike. So added on a layer of spite and anti-bigot defenses to why I keep doing it.
I have way more maneuverability backing into a space.
Think of it in terms of circles (well, arcs, really) . If you front park in a space perpendicular to the road, your front wheels make a large circle and your back wheels a smaller one. The parking space needs to be big enough to accommodate the larger circle. If you back into the same space, the larger circle happens on the road.
In my experience I've learned it seems safer to back in because then I can see better when exiting, which is a time of limited visibility, in many cases, already, and that problem is exacerbated when attempting it in reverse.
Rear visibility in my car is kind of trash so it's safer if I back into the spot so that I can better see what's going on when I'm leaving
Obviously so everyone knows I'm better than them
so i can exit my conveyance with style and grace and upon returning i can haul ass out of that place
Backing into a parking bay where the amount of traffic in the bay is close to zero and visibility is great allows you to drive out into the street facing forward where you can see what traffic is coming.
If you drive forward into a bay then you have to back out of it into the street where you cannot see anything except what's directly behind you and you have little to no visibility sideways, unless the bays next to you are empty, so essentially you're backing out with your fingers crossed, hoping that nothing will hit you.
Moreover, the traffic rules, at least where I live, specify that a reversing vehicle has to give way to everyone.
As a bonus, when you're loading things, you're not standing in the street with your back to traffic.
In other words, learn how to back into a bay.
I have a cargo van. It's impossible to see any traffic coming from the passenger's side when backing up, and there's a big blind spot even on the driver's side. It's a larger vehicle, and it's much easier to maneuver into tight spaces in reverse. (It's why we learn to parallel park in reverse. Try it in forward once, and see.) Also, backing into a parking spot can be accomplished with just a steady gaze at one of the wing mirrors. (Driver's or passenger's side depends on which way you're turning.)
That last point will also be important someday when I'm older and don't have as much flexibility to turn and look backwards. (I was appalled once at a city transportation committee discussion about back-in parking stalls when a city alderperson said that he doesn't look behind his car when backing out, because he can't twist his body. If you can't drive safely, you shouldn't be driving!)
- People/oncoming cars/kids are more likely to be in the road than in the spot I’m parking
- I have better visibility when I’m facing forward than when I’m in reverse
Therefore I would rather reverse into the spot where people/cars/kids are least likely to be and drive forward into the place people/cars/kids are most likely to be. I personally almost always back in to be safer towards pedestrians and avoid getting hit by other cars.
In Australia, you're considered at fault for reversing accidents. Backing out is riskier.
fwiw, I've parked trailers for a living for 10+years--I do it out of habit and a work ethic of 'put the work in on the front end so I can backslide on the tail end' Tho I can see a practicality/safer attempt to having a better view upon departing the parked position. Obviously if you'd like to get into the geometry of it, backing in gives you a much wider range of flexibility to work with in the positioning phases of the maneuver.
Not sure if it's true. but I was also told that changing gears on a transmission that's been running for a bit is easier on the mechanical parts/bits involved (as opposed to swapping gears on a cold startup)
tldr because there's tons of good reasons to do so, and very nearly 0 good reasons not to do so. Leave the rest to the mathematicians and statisticians
It's just easier to get out, you even have to park like that when taking the exam.
If there's a line of cars and you want to pull out backwards thats a LOT more difficult. If you want to pull out front first it's easier
Because, unless you're driving a forklift, the point of a vehicle's rotation is in line with the rear wheels, meaning you can take turns at a much more acute angle when reversing than going forwards. Which makes backing into spaces much easier.
Notice that most of the half-assed parking jobs you see are generally people who have driven forward and left the car parked at a diagonal half out of the space, because getting the vehicle lined up in that situation is more difficult.
When you are approaching a parking spot you're already looking everywhere and can find obstacles as you back in. If you drive into a parking spot backing out may have issues because you may not have seen obstacles that would be in the way. We are not always as observant approaching our vehicle as we are when we have already been driving it. Plus, it's a whole lot easier to get back out of the parking spot if you can just drive away.
My mom does this every time she parks, even in our driveway. She's always said it's so if her car stalls, it's easier to get it jumped or towed out of the spot.
I only park backwards at work and it's because I sleep in my car on my breaks, I get more shade on the front side of my car from the tree I park under if I park backwards. Also it is nice saving the ~10 seconds backing out to leave when I really wanna start getting home even though that time saving in practice is miniscule.
I first learned how to drive on these old pickup trucks at a summer camp I worked for as a teenager.
The nice old fella who maintained the trucks (and who, not incidentally, taught me how to drive) said to do it that way and would get disappointed if you didn’t.
So, I guess it’s because I first learned it that way, but also because I don’t want to disappoint Alan (who may or may not be dead by now, I’m not sure.)
My charging port is in back.
I back into my driveway. Way I see it, I either back in or back out. So what's the difference
Depends on the car and the parking lot, for me. When I drive my mom someplace we use her van, it's easier for her to get in and out that way. This van has a shorter front end, and no backup camera to compensate, so I back in and pull out of spaces so I have better views as I'm moving.
When I drive my sedan with my wife and kids, I pull in to spaces and back out, because the sedan has a much longer front end and a great backup camera/radar alert system that makes backing out of spaces the safer option.
As everyone else has said, mostly convenience. Easier parking, quicker leaving, generally safer. If I'm early to work I'll "drive-through" an empty spot to park with the nose outwards. The rearview mirrors make it very easy to keep track of where your car is going.
Occasionally I've also managed to do some stupidly tight parking jobs where I literally had to climb out of the trunk :)
For years, I worked in a large building that required all employees and visitors to back in for a few safety reasons, with approximately 600 spaces and an almost full lot most weekdays. It was stated in our safety training that it was easier to see other people and vehicles when exiting facing forward and faster evacuation in times of extreme emergency. It had the benefit that it did seem to quicken flow of traffic when everyone left around the same time at the end of the day.
If a parking spot is straight, I tend to back in for those reasons, but if it is an angled spot, it typically denotes a singular directional flow, and it makes more sense to pull in and back out.
I'm blind in one eye so find it hard to judge distances and gaps. As a result I find it easier to back in, especially if I am doing it between two parked vehicles, because I can judge it more easily using my wing mirrors.
i don't drive, but reverse parking is the norm here in hk.
Because the front tires move when you turn the steering wheel and not the back tyres
When parking i can get a good view of the immediate area, it's easy to spot pedestrians and oncoming cars. Pulling out is easy. If I have to back out I don't have such a good view. Yeah I get a look as I approach my car but by the time I sit down, click my seat belt, start the car, someone i didn't see could be coming along.
Besides that it is safer, I don't hit my front splitter on the curb.
I love parking closer to the car on my right, where the passe doors face one another. If everyone did this, there would be so much more room to get in and out of vehicles.
And yes, I'm aware that not all cars are single occupant... but too many of them are.
My backup camera has little lines that show where I am backing up and change as I turn. So that combined with the 360 camera I will know exactly how I will fit in a parking spot. Also makes getting out faster since im usually an early bird to places.
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When I'm coming home, I'm usually in less of a rush than when I'm departing. I can reverse into my spot as quickly as backing out when leaving, so it's a tiny trade for time.
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My truck bed faces away from the street.
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Makes loading/unloading easier and more private from prying eyes.
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I guess it depends on the kind of places where you are parking. Where I am, we usually have big open parking lots with lots of space. I rarely ever back into a space, because backing in is more difficult than backing out. However if you are in more of a congested city or something, and the spots are narrow and you have a lot of cars moving around, then the situation flips and it can be more difficult to back out of the space than to back in.
I work as a valet at a car dealership, and backing into spots makes it easier for people to just get in the vehicle and drive. The thing I find funny is that the sales team can't park worth a shit. They park crooked, can't back into spots, and they still have a sense of superiority when it comes to anything related to the operation of vehicles.
My boss apparently backs his truck into his parking space every morning out of a combination of overabundance of a caution and the reduced turning radius while in reverse. Well, he did he did up until I pointed out to him that mostly what this accomplishes for him is making it irritating to load anything into his truck... Which is, not to put too fine a point on it, what we do all day around here.
Our parking lot is very quiet, private only us and the other tenants in our building, has no random pedestrians, and cross-traffic isn't an issue.
Some people think, but for the wrong reasons.
Because I drive a truck so backing in and pulling out is just easier
Every excuse I have ever heard defending this, and reading them here, always just has this underlying "I'm a moron" sound to them. The logic is usually abject idiocy. Keep telling yourself it's "better/easier/safer" whatever. You're an idiot for doing it and a bigger idiot for trying to justify it.
I will continue thinking to myself how I wish you'd die in a car crash every time I'm sitting in a parking lot waiting forever for the moron inconveniencing everyone as they poorly attempt to back in and take fucking forever cause they can't handle their fucking vehicle or surroundings.
Bonus points for you asshats with giant vehicles you have no business driving.
Because I have worse visibility backing than going forward. There's a smaller chance that there's a kid suddenly walking into my parking spot than moving behind my car when exiting my parking space
I swear part of it is regional. In the mid-Atlantic region - low volume lot, perpendicular spaces, maybe 1/2 full at max - you can watch people spend minutes faffing around to back into a spot.
I drive a large pickup truck for work. With the backup camera, it is WAY WAY WAY easier to back into a tight spot than to pull head in. I pretty much always back the truck in.
I worked for a company that provided a car (incidentally a ‘benefit’ I will refuse in any future scenario).
They explicitly told us we had to back in to our parking spots whenever possible. They implied that some data they had showed it reduced accidents.
Our driveway is bizarre.
Yeah, it fits 2 cars, but not side-by-side. So one person backs into park, then gets parked in by the other car.
Generally not a big deal because I drive more than my wife does.
The shape of the driveway makes it easier for that car to back in than back out.
imo it doesn't matter if you have the kei car. they are very manueverable. also the introduction of backing cameras make things safer.
things change once you get into the bigger cars / pickups.
One of our vehicles is a full-size pickup truck and in certain parking lots I have to find a spot on the outer edge and back in so it doesn’t stick out too much. It keeps inattentive drivers from gouging their cars on the trailer hitch. And if there’s anything interesting loaded in the back, it keeps it out of sight of curious persons with hand-wavy concepts of personal property.
Our other car is a little hatchback, and its reverse camera gets a good 180 degree view, far better than any driver pulling forward out of the space. I never park it backwards because I’m not silly.
I'm going to guess that I'm in the minority here and say that I daily a long bed Ford F-250. It's big, it's long, and it's just generally unwieldy. Yes there are benefits to backing into a parking spot like better visibility and blah blah blah but for me it's actually more about just being able to get in and out of the parking spot. Especially in narrow parking lot aisles. Backing into a spot takes less room, because, idk, geometry. Similar to why a forklift steers with its rear wheels and that makes it more maneuverable (albeit less stable).
Though there is also the benefit of the tailgate and bed of the vehicle being less accessible and therefore less likely for someone to just walk off with something, if there's anything back there. My mom had the tailgate stolen off her Toyota once back in the 90s. I assume she pulled forward into the parking spot.
I feel like I can pull out of the parking space quicker and easier if the nose of my car is facing towards the street.
Also, and this sounds silly so please don't judge too hard lol...
I got a new car recently. My old car had front parking sensors that would beep in increasing frequency the closer you are to an item. My new car does not have front parking sensors. My new car has both a backup cam and rear parking sensors. So it is sometimes easier to back into a space.
However, I mostly only back in at my home parking space and in this one parking garage I go to with very narrow spaces. I get nervous in public when someone is waiting for me to back in so I don't do it super often in public.
Because they’re cops.