So if you’ve been backing in to parking spaces prior to the 2015 U.S.reverse camera mandate read no further, as I assume you’re a competent person whose head swivels on their neck and who can accomplish this feat in under 5 minutes.
But the rest of you… just stop it! Yes, this new and ubiquitous technology does make it possible for you to back in to a parking space, but your lack of skill makes the process take far, far too long and requires that other drivers of every skill level wait for you to awkwardly reverse the planet-sized SUV you can barely operate going forward into a narrow slot. And for what? To save you the trouble of backing out into an area that is literally the size of the entire planet minus the space you’re pulling out of, is what. And 9 times out of 10 you complete the maneuver only to be dissatisfied with the job you did, so you pull out and start over. Gah!! Get a goddam bus pass or learn to drive!
As someone who does not back in to parking spots, I can appreciate the advantage of doing so. Namely, that I often have some gigantic hulking pickup truck or van on one side or the other – on a good day, on both sides – so I can’t see a goddam thing when backing out. The advantage of moving forward instead of backing out is that things come into view much sooner.
But yes, I agree, backing out is very much easier than backing in, because no real accuracy is required.
If this person is as bad of a driver as you say they are (ie " you can barely operate going forward"), I’d rather wait for them to play bumper cars with the neighboring vehicles than trying to back out and playing bumper cars with my face.
A few times I’ve almost been hit by someone backing out of their spot. It’s always been the same, they’re backing out, I’m walking behind their car. Their eyes are glued to the screen so they’re not checking for pedestrians that are slightly off to the side of where the camera is pointed.
When my daughter started driving, I made sure she knew she could use the camera to get an idea as to if it’s safe to back out, but she really needs to be looking over her shoulder when she’s moving.
To be clear, I have zero issue with back up cameras, but when you’re backing out of a parking spot in a busy parking lot, you really need to have more situational awareness than the camera gives you.
I have a sneaking suspicion that they aren’t much safer driving straight out of a spot than they are backing out. They’re either paying proper attention or they aren’t.
My car is old enough not to have a backup camera but I do prefer to pull out of a parking spot, so whenever possible, I find a pair of facing parking spots so I can pull in and through to the rear spot facing forward. I will even park further back in the lot if I can find an appropriate spot.
Not sure I’ve ever been really held up by a back-in parker. And I AM the kinda guy to notice and be pissed by such things.
Gotta say, the back up warning thing - where it signals traffic coming from the side - is likely my favorite new car tech. Makes it so much easier to back out amidst the land yachts.
My father, on whom be peace, had some firm opinions about driving. One of them was that someone who couldn’t drive competently in reverse was no better than someone who only knew how to turn left,
And we had to pass his driving test before taking the gummint test. Which was a snap by comparison.
My car has no camera, and when I’m forced to get one, I’ll be sticking a post-it over it lest, catching sight of it while backing up, I vomit profusely upon the dash and myself.
If people back into a space, others might have to wait while that happens. If they park nose-in, others might have to wait while they carefully reverse out at the end of their parking session. Seems like a wash to me.
My last 4 vehicles have had 4 cameras each to allow for a 360° overhead view of parking. I am able to swing in and out of parking spots with ease, always having an equal amount of spacing on both sides. No delays at all. Screw the haters I say!
It’s not a wash because of the “degrees of freedom” rule – there are very narrow constraints on how to maneuver backwards into a narrow parking spot – but you can swerve all over the place backing out!
Sounds confusing. Maybe youi need 4 more screens to display reruns of I Love Lucy, Lassie, Leave It to Beaver, and a view of your vehicle from the International Space Station while you’re backing up!
Me, I just look out the windows when I back out.
No, they run over them while backing up into the driveway.
With a pickup truck tall enough your adult wife can’t be seen over the bow, it’s rather easy to run over adults, kids, pets, and toys while pulling forward out of a driveway or parking space. And yes, it does happen.
Not really. When driving in a parking lot, they stop (past the spot, much to my confusion) and everyone around them has to stop and wait while they try to back in.
When pulling out, if they parked in nose-first as God intended, they have to wait for traffic to clear. So, all the waiting is on the part of the parker, not on the other 8 billion of us.
My employer’s garage has a “Head in parking only” sign on the first level, because the attempts by folks to back into parking spaces was blocking entry into the garage and into the street during the 8 to 8:30 arrival rush, and we are on a major arterial road, so the police are not happy. People leave over a lot longer timeframe, so backing out is not really an issue.
But on the odd occasion when everyone or a big group leaves at once (power outage for example) this becomes a problem. Basically no one can back out once the driving lanes are full.
Now that we have cameras and cross traffic warning alarms on most cars, backing out is not as hazardous. But with many cars with auto-park capabilities backing into a parking space is not as big a challenge as it was a decade ago.
