I always back in at sporting events & concerts where it is easier to merge into leaving traffic by pulling out head-first.
See, going backwards warps the space-time continuum and partly projects you into an alternate dimension where pi is exactly equal to 3.
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You haven’t spent much time backing up in a car I see. 
Although I won’t rule out my inability to describe it accurately.
When you are pulling into a space forward, you have to swing wide and make a gradual turn as the rear wheels follow the front wheels.
When backing into a space the inside rear wheel will pretty much pivot in place as the rest of the car swings around.
remember when you are backing up you have rear wheel steering which is way different than front wheel steering. If you doubt this, go find a big empty parking lot and try turning backing into a few spaces.
This is exactly the reason why I do it. And this is why backing into parking spaces is standard in Japan, where parking spaces are so narrow that most cars have folding side mirrors, and many have electric automatic folding mirrors. For a while after moving back to Japan I tried to park the American way, and quickly realized that it’s just not possible. You need the added maneuverability provided by having the pivoting wheel in the back.
Also, ever notice forklifts have rear-wheel steering? Same reason, I believe. I’ve also noticed that heavy-duty hand carts usually have the pivoting casters in the back, and fixed casters in front.
If you have to park in a spot that requires folding the mirrors, how do you get out of the car? Assuming you aren’t driving a Delorian?
On second thought, this has just as much to do with the amount of space available in front of the parking space.
If you drive head-first into the space, you have to be aligned with the space before you start entering the space. Because once the front of the car is in the parking space, turning the steering wheel will only swing the front of the car to the side. If the space is very narrow, and if there’s no room to straighten the car before entering the parking space, you’re stuck.
If you back into the parking space, you just have to wedge the back end of the car into the parking space at any angle. Nothing gets in your way as you swing the front of the car and straighten the car as it moves into the space.
Parallel parking is perhaps a more clear example. You wouldn’t dream of parallel-parking in a narrow space by moving into it head-first, would you?
Folding the mirror is not required; it just makes it less likely to be hit by a car entering the adjacent space.
Okay, Rick, now I see what you mean.
For the benefit of Bryan Ekers and others, here’s what’s happening: No, the turn radius doesn’t change. It is the same regardless of which direction you’re moving. BUT –
Let’s take the case of where the space you want is on your left side. If you go forward into it, and simply turn the steering wheel to the left, you won’t have enough room, because as you turn into the space, the driver’s side door will hit the corner of the car parked just before the space you’re trying to get into. What you need to do is this: Before getting that close to the spot, you should have already turned to the right to give more space between you and the other cars, and then you can turn the wheel all the way to the left and go straight in. This is what I think Rick meant when he said “you have to swing wide”.
However, if you drive past the space in preparation for backing into it, you can stay on the left side, because your back left wheel will (as Rick wrote) “pretty much pivot in place as the rest of the car swings around.” Please note, however, that when this happens, the front of your car will end up pretty far from the “left side” that we’ve been talking about. It is swinging wide, but by itself.
The “turn radius” is the same in both cases, but it is less noticeable when backing up, because you did not make a separate step of “swinging wide” - it just happened by itself.
Okay, now that I understand what you meant, let me say this: Yes, you’re right, but that style of driving is for people more daring than me. I prefer to see where I’m going, and the view in front is much better than the view in back.
It’s exactly the same where I work: backing in is required and failure do so is a serious, discipline-worthy offense.
Oh, I got it, I just can’t resist a “pi=3” opportunity.
Round here we have these funny little devices that let us signal our intentions to turn into a carpark. Nobody’s really very sure what they should be called. I think they’re uhmmm…turn signals? in the US. Here we call them indicators. I think antipodeans call them blinkers?
I was meeting friends for dinner a few years ago. Next to the restaurant was a municipal lot; maybe 30 spaces total, with meters. I was just finishing my first pass, and it looked full, but in my mirror I saw someone’s lights come on. They pulled out of the space, and since it was already behind me, I backed in. I checked the meter and it said “HEAD IN PARKING ONLY, 8 AM TO 6 PM”. It was after 6:00, so I went in and had dinner.
When I got back, I had a ticket. I’m still annoyed.
So when it’s time to leave, you give the local fraternity a pony keg and they lift your car like a Cleopatra’s litter and set you down on the road, pointing in the direction you want to go?
I have also gotten a ticket from the neighboring town’s police force for backing in. I always back in when possible. It is much easier, as noted above, to exactly position a car parallel to the lines if one is pivoting around the lead wheels with the trailing wheels. I see far fewer cars parked askew if they have been backed in as opposed to pulled in head first. It does take practice, but it’s a skill well worth acquiring. It is absolutely safer to back in blind to an empty spot then to back out blind into traffic and passersby, because the adjacent cars obscure your view if you are head in.
As to the complaint that backing in holds up others in line: not if it’s done by someone who can do it properly, and not if the next car in line doesn’t crowd the one backing in. It is a two-turn, very efficient, very accurate, very rapid move. And in any case, the reverse is true upon leaving: Those who barged in head-first now need extra time and extra room to depart. At worst it’s a wash.
Back to the ticket. As you can imagine, the Pedant was not happy. I went to court, photos in hand to show how inadequate the marking signs were. Beat the ticket. In court the officer could not give a single cogent reason municipalities proscribed backing in; among his reasons were “Well, if everyone backs in then when everyone leaves they will be able to race out and perhaps hurt someone because it’s so easy for them to leave.” Idiot.
The funny thing is the local police gave tickets for backing into parking lot spaces, because it damages the meter according to them. How about writing a ticket when they hit the meter instead. The meters are gone now so I have to wonder what excuse they’ll have for the ticket now. It’s the handicapped signs that always sit at a canter or are completely broke off.
Weird, I can’t believe this is even a discussion. Reversing into a parking space gives you more manoeuvrability and is safer when you pull out again. This is obvious, surely?
I always back into my driveway and garage. But in public places, I almost never back into the parking spaces, because I seldom park anyplace in public unless I’m forced to the there in order to make a purchase. In that case, it’s nice to have my trunk or liftgate accessible. Even when I’m in the big truck, I make the effort to park straight, even though I acknowledge that backing in would be easier. Judging by the basic competency of many minivan, truck, and SUV drivers, I wish more of them would back in rather parking askew and screwing up the parking lot!
As for electric folding mirrors, I don’t know how many people manufacture them for the US market, but there are a lot of Ford trucks and SUVs at work that are equipped with them.
It maybe easier and safer for you, but not for other people around. There’s a reason that cars have backup lights, it’s so the other people know what you’re planning on doing. I would say most people don’t just leave their car in reverse and sit there for a couple of minutes, while I do see people who will just sit in their cars and let them run. Our parking garage is very tight with lots of pillars, every two or three spots at most. You can not see around them at all so while I’m walking I watch to see what others are doing. The people backing out I can see, the people pulling straight out I can never tell, and a good amount of those people just pull out without looking so it’s not safer for me at all.
The other reason for backup lights is so that you can see where you are going at night. The are not there just as a warning.
This bears repeating.