Because I am hopeless at reverse parking and it will inconvenience everyone else while I do it. And I am a sociopath.
I previously worked driving a delivery truck. With only side mirrors to work with you cannot safely see to back out of a space.
In my personal vehicle I continue to back into spaces as much out of habit as anything.
In one of the camps I worked in that was required. The safety folks mandated this for anyone driving because they had “proof” that is was safer to pull out of a parking space rather than to back out of one. I did not really buy that argument but compliance was necessary unless I wanted a ticket.
I’m lousy at backing in. I can never see where the lines are demarcating the parking space & I end up having to open my door and look down or adjust my mirrors in some crazy way, and I cant see how much space I have to back up and end up either sticking out too much in front or nearly bumping into the car behind me. Way too much anxiety for me! :smack:
I was taught in Drivers Ed to *always * either back in to a parking spot for find a drive-through spot so that you never need to back out. The exception to this is obviously angle parking. The rationale is that it is much safer to pull out of a spot forwards because you can see everything - you don’t have to worry about not seeing a toddler run behind you, for instance.
I drive a Jeep Wrangler so it’s very easy to back up (no trunk and a large back window) but when I’ve driven a car I can see how difficult I would find it to back out of spaces. I back into my driveway at home as well. I will admit that I am stellar at backing into spots because it’s simply what I do all the time, and the extra few seconds that it takes is worth it to be safer when pulling out.
Pretty much this. Every company I’ve worked for has a back in policy. It’s essentially standard practice in oil and gas, because it’s safer. Backing out of a spot is one of the riskiest maneuvers we do while driving because of lack of line of sight and the fact that you’re backing in to an area where there are likely pedestrians and other cars. Backing in to the spot first, you are usually backing towards a wall, barricade, or another parked vehicle.
It’s so ingrained in me now that I do it in my personal life too. I’ll often try to find a pull through at the grocery store or train station, or at a parking garage.
In general, when faced with either pulling in or backing in, I prefer backing in for a few reasons. First, visibility is easier when you’re backing in from the road into the space rather than backing out of a space. As a result, it makes it both easier and safer in most cases. Second, it makes it faster to pull out; obviously, if I’m in a rush parking somewhere, you do whatever is faster then and worry about it later, but if not, might as well take the couple of seconds now and it usually saves me more time later. Third, it’s easier to get in and out. Since a lot of people pull in, if I back in, I can edge a little closer to the car that pulled in next to me in a small space and leave more space for me to open the door only hindering their passenger door rather than their driver door. Also, if I need access to the trunk, it puts it against the curb rather than into the street.
That said, there are cases where it doesn’t make sense. If it’s a normal parking lot, I’d rather just park toward the middle and pull through, giving me the benefits of both. If that’s not possible, I’ll pull in on the left or back in on the right. The reason for this is that, because we drive on the right, it’s much easier to pull in on the left than back in on the left, and ditto for backing in on the right. Otherwise, it would require swinging onto the other side or other obnoxious stuff that’s not only more difficult but impedes traffic.
Exactly. And it’s not about saving time, for me. Parking forward still means you have to reverse when leaving, only with the added obstacle of cars and/or pedestrians moving behind you, who have right of way, all while having a partial view of the direction you’re moving. No thanks.
It also gets you accustomed to piloting your car in reverse, so maneuvers like parallel parking aren’t foreign.
By all means, do what is safest for you. However, in terms of small spaces, you have the sharper turn radius when reversing, and so getting into tighter spaces is mechanically easier and more possible (hence why we reverse to parallel park).
There is a claim that backing out is more dangerous than pulling out forward. But I don’t think the statistics really support that claim.
According to this chart (pdf) at Kidsandcars.org, from 2006 to 2010 there were 448 backover fatalities and 358 frontover fatalities. This might make it seem like backing out was slightly more dangerous, but only if an equal number of people back out as pull out forward. But since far more people pull into parking spaces forward and back out, this seems to imply that going out forward is more dangerous.
The biggest flaw with the statistics is confirmation bias. No one counts how many times people back out safely. There’s also the the fact, reported here, that in over 70% of backover incidents a parent or relative is driving, which would imply that it mostly happens in home driveways rather than parking lots.
I back in when I go to a sporting event or concert, so that I can pull forward in to the line of exiting traffic. With all the foot traffic and tired/drunk/over-excited drivers on the way out, it’s just easier to give everyone eye contact and then forcefully take a spot in line.
At stores, I don’t back in. I don’t have that kind of time. Pulling backwards into a one-way lane from a diagonal spot is not that big of a deal.
I do try to turn around when I exit my garage at home and pull forward out of my driveway. I don’t live on a busy street but I do live very near a blind corner. Several times I’ve backed out and when I straightened up to go, I found a very unexpected car right on my bumper. Unfortunately this turning-around maneuver involves driving in my grass so I can only do it when the ground is dry or frozen.
The links don’t say if the person was backing into a parking space or out of one. In reading the rest of the material, though, it implies that the driver has parked facing forward and is backing out, when exiting**.
**To “prevent backovers”, it states:
[ul]
[li]“Teach children that “parked” vehicles might move. Let them know that they can see the vehicle; but the driver might not be able to see them.”[/li]
[li]“Homeowners should trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway.”[/li][/ul]
We can also substitute “landscaping”, or objects blocking visibility, for “adjacent vehicles”, in the context of a parking lot. In other words, you want to increase visibility in the direction you’re moving. IMO, it’s that much more difficult when your mirrors can’t help you and you’re unable to immediately see cross-traffic, which also has right of way.
During the spring and summer I back into my favorite spot at work for a few different reasons. First, when I back in the car is oriented in such a way that I’m able to maximize the amount of shade in the car. Second, it is an end spot and backing in puts my door to the inside rather than in the bushes. It’s an extra wide spot so there is still plenty of space between me and the next car and while backing in I angle the passenger mirror down so I’m as close to the curb as possible. And finally, it’s a newer car and bigger than my old one so I like the extra practice for when I might actually need it. During the winter and fall I typically park in the open because the end spots get used for pilled snow and I don’t mind any extra warmth from the sun. In the fall I don’t like the leaf litter.
Other than at work I’ll almost always pull in forward unless there’s no one around. In a busy parking lot people backing into spots are annoying. People backing out, I don’t care because hey, there’s a spot opening up.
I never back in but I do try to pull through so that I am facing out when I can. I don’t see out of my right eye which makes driving in reverse a little difficult. I also try to park far away so if I can’t pull through, at least one spot next to will be empty to make backing out easier.
In most normal parking lots, I don’t. However, I do in two places;
1> The transit station surface lot. There’s lots of traffic when I get off the bus and it is far faster and easier to pull straight out of the spot and go, than be clusterfucking the parking lot by trying to back up as people race for the exit.
2> My heated underground parking spot. Needless to say, I’m pretty wide awake when I come back from someplace and back into my spot. The same can’t necessarily be said when I get up in the morning and am pulling out of there. Concrete pillars are not your friend.
I am all for driving forward through the space to make getting out easier and safer. I am not very skilled at backing in though. One issue I have is my car, a RAV 4 has a hatch that swings open like a door in the back. I cannot easily access this if I am too close to another vehicle. I almost did not choose this car because of this issue and my parking issues.
If you’re willing to walk a little farther, you shouldn’t normally have to choose. You can just pull into a space and through to the space on the other side. You might have to end up walking and extra hundred feet but that should be regarded as a benefit, not a curse.
In situations where that’s not an option, like say some small business parking lots, I generally prefer to back in for the reasons mentioned. I’d rather take my time slowly backing in than slowly backing out later. Plus it’s less likely that someone is trying to walk behind my car when the only thing there is an obstruction of some kind rather than a wide open parking lot. It also means I don’t have to swivel my head around as frequently looking for other cars backing out or for oncoming traffic from either direction.
Reverse in. Drive out. Pull through when it’s an option. Exception being the grocery store. I don’t want the cart rolling away while I’m shuttling the bags to the trunk.
*I predict Really Not All That Bright will be immediately convinced by my argument.
I’m sold, believe it or not. I may actually try backing in from now on (though usually I pull through if I can anyway).
Hmmm - I think I suck at parking. I have little doubt it is “safer” to back in and pull out - except to the cars on either side. I’m guessing (for me) that any safety gains I made would be offset by the dings on the vehicles I parked next to.
I learned two interesting tidbits as a result of accidents I was involved in:
This may only be applicable in my area (Montreal, QC)
1- It’s illegal to back out of a driveway and onto the street
2- It’s illegal to exit a car from the drivers side when parked on a city street with the passenger side against the sidewalk
Both regulations are not enforced, however, when an accident occurs these laws are referenced.
I can’t vouch for the first one with 100% accuracy, but I was “doored” on a city street in downtown Montreal by a driver swinging her door open as I was approaching on my 10 speed bike.
She protested loudly that she had looked before opening the door and had not seen me…yadda yadda. Didn’t matter said the cop, you’re not allowed to get out that side regardless of whether you looked or not.