# Florida can't back in parking law **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012 "2014-05-08T22:28:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/61 "2014-05-10T06:32:59Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Feel free to “Not move” all you want because you wont be in a position to take that spot from me. > > Have fun with your psychosis. I don’t care about taking the spot. I just do to prevent drivers blocking traffic so they can back into a space. I see this all the time at the lot for the commuter train during the morning rush to work. One person will want to back in for some reason so they can zoom off at the end of the day or some other reason. This isn’t for safety at all since I see this happening at the non full areas away from the front of the lot. Some people just want to back in and block a row of cars behind them. I have all day. I can just stay behind and they will not be backing in that day. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/62 "2014-05-10T08:48:21Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I don’t care about taking the spot. I just do to prevent drivers blocking traffic > [@](#): > > I have all day. I can just stay behind and they will not be backing in that day. Quoted to highlight the irony. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/63 "2014-05-10T10:45:07Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I have all day. I can just stay behind and they will not be backing in that day. And hundreds of years later, scientists will try to explain the odd finding of early human skeletal remains, comparing it to other mysteries like The Lost Colony in Roanoke. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/64 "2014-05-10T15:08:06Z")
It is ridiculous I know. We all have our pet peeves. Backing into spaces and drivers doing unexpected things are a couple of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/65 "2014-05-10T15:29:51Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I have all day. I can just stay behind and they will not be backing in that day. They way I do it, my back bumper never goes past the parking spot (That’s the whole point of my “swerve” method) so I’d be able to back in just fine. And besides, if it’s wasting peoples time that irks you so much, a two point maneuver is quicker than a three point maneuver which is what I’d have to do if I were to pull in front first. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/66 "2014-05-10T15:56:31Z")
I feel this is a gift from Wall\*Mart. And: The two states we seem to be talking about are CA. & FL. Nuff said… :::::::::::::::::: flee :::::::::::::::::: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FoundWaldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@FoundWaldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoundWaldo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/67 "2014-05-10T17:43:52Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > As I noted several posts above, there seems to be a universal rule, at least throughout California, forbidding backing into spaces. What part of California do you live in? I live in the southern part, and have lived in the northern part years ago (but not the SF Bay Area), and I can’t say I’ve noticed rules about this with any regularity. I’m sure I’ve seen it a few times, but I can’t remember the last one, and I’m pretty good about reading signs because I’m paranoid about getting towed or a ticket. I don’t doubt that you see it a lot, but I challenge the assertion that it’s anywhere near a universal rule in California. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/68 "2014-05-11T07:41:57Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > It is ridiculous I know. We all have our pet peeves. Backing into spaces and drivers doing unexpected things are a couple of mine. If you recognize it is ridiculous, that is a sign you should try to stop doing it. Doing something you know is ridiculous is just willful ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/69 "2014-05-11T10:18:43Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > So the rule doesn’t exist just so cops can see the plates on the rear of the car, and the rule doesn’t exist just so cops can take pictures of them all with their new-fangled scanners. Well I finally found the date that the ordinance was enacted. September, 2009! [http://www.sarasotagov.com/InsideCityGovernment/Content/CAC/PDF/City%20Code%20Ords/09-4877.pdf](http://www.sarasotagov.com/InsideCityGovernment/Content/CAC/PDF/City%20Code%20Ords/09-4877.pdf) Right around the time that the department was purchasing their Veriplate systems. According to the department’s Youtube video which announced their “new” technology on the summer of 2010. Just coincidence? Maybe. It may have just been a lucky guess on my part? More likely the city was considering the purchase of the scanners and someone brought up the very obvious fact that they would need to force all of the cars to park a certain way in order to make the system effective. So they passed the ordinance, and then purchased their scanners. I don’t think any logic is missing here. It seems, to me, to be exactly how the government works. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/70 "2014-05-11T10:43:29Z")
According to this article, Sarasota got their first Veriplate system at the end of 2008. In 2009, the system resulted in 267 tickets and 24 felony arrests. The city passes the no reverse-parking ordinance towards the end of 2009. In 2010 their plate scanners produce 1,012 tickets and 118 felony arrests. Oh, but the two are not related in any way, right? The article mentions how the officer in charge of Sarasota PD’s program let the effort to create a database for expired insurance and suspended licenses. I think it is probable he also led an effort to make the system more effective by enacting the parking ordinance. Makes sense to me, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/71 "2014-05-11T11:02:48Z")
Apologies for not linking to the article I was citing. It is here: [http://www.lawofficer.com/sites/default/files/2012\_Jun\_21%20Sarasota%20Uses%20Technology%20to%20Improve%20Officer%20Safety.pdf](http://www.lawofficer.com/sites/default/files/2012_Jun_21%20Sarasota%20Uses%20Technology%20to%20Improve%20Officer%20Safety.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/72 "2014-05-22T07:57:04Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Wait. It’s not OK to carefully back in because of pedestrians but it’s OK to back out _into_ pedestrians? Pedestrians tend to walk on the sidewalk, not the street. Or something like that. Backing in, drivers pull back until their tires hit the curb, especially if they drive oversized pickups with big tow hitches that stick out the back. So you’re walking by on the sidewalk and someone backs into you while you are on the sidewalk. Then there’s the tripping over the trailer hitch problem. > [@Isilder](#): > > But the front end, well vehicles that nose generally stop when their nose is right at the gutter leaving the footpath (“sidewalk”) clear for pedestrian. I try to do that, but most drivers I see pull up until their tires hit the curb/stop. But car front end overhangs tend to be shorter. > [@Mosier](#): > > Going past a spot and then reversing into it takes more time than just pulling into the spot. This can be important when a lot of people have to park in a short time. Yes, but big trucks usually need a three point turn to get into a slot anyway, and sometimes cars need to be realigned - you pull in, find you’re offcenter or the maneuvering room to get in for whatever reason left you cockeyed, so you pull back and realign. That’s not any faster than backing in, and not really much faster than backing and realigning. > [@](#): > > Backing into a small space is more difficult than backing out of a small space, because nearly all of our turns happen while moving forward, not backward. Also, we spend 100% of our driving time conscious of where the front of our car is, and we are very familiar and comfortable with it. Not so much for the back. This, like parallel parking, can be overcome by practice. > [@](#): > > Angled parking lot spaces are not going away. Angled spaces are more efficient, as they require less space for the driving lanes. Also, they encourage people to obey the directional markers in the lanes. One of the article links mentioned angled parking set for back in parking. I couldn’t follow the link - it was garbled somehow. > [@Bone](#): > > I hate people who back in when I am behind them. At the commuter train parking lot during the morning rush there will occasionally be the guy that stops in the middle of the parking lot to back in. Well guess what - they can’t because I’ve now blocked the space because the idiot in front decided to stop traffic to back in. So we wait there. I can’t back up because the person behind me has also had to stop and they can’t take the space because it’s blocked. How close are you following? Oh wait, you later said you do it deliberately. :rolleyes: > [@RTFirefly](#): > > 1. confuses the driver behind the backer because the backer _has driven past the vacant parking space_ and so appears to have decided to not park there, so as the car behind starts to aim towards the vacant space, he finds all of a sudden that the guy he’d assumed was moving on, is now backing right at him. If you’re paying attention, it isn’t difficult to tell someone is going to back in. They usually do the angle maneuver described below. Also, turn signals could be used to aid communication. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > If license plate visibility is the factor here, why not change the law to require front license plates? Is there some reason this hasn’t been done yet? Requires the state to spend more money for license plates. Sure, other states manage it, but still. The parking law is a city ordinance. Different jurisdiction. > [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Yes. This is the kind of thing that the statute you linked to was intended to prevent. If a decorative plate holder obscures any of the letters, numbers or decals, or the word Florida then it is a noncriminal, nonmoving infraction punishable by a $30 fine. That, and people intentionally obscuring their license plates to automatic readers, buying those “visual scrambler” plate covers for tollroads and the like. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/73 "2014-05-22T13:28:11Z")
I usually back in, mainly just to show off my parking skills, honestly. Cecil Adams himself endorsed this as a reason to do things, in his old article on the merits of downshifting (IIRC, he wrote something like, “…let’s face it, it’s just plain _fun_ to pretend you’re Mario Andretti…”). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/74 "2014-05-22T14:29:01Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Pedestrians tend to walk on the sidewalk, not the street. Or something like that. Backing in, drivers pull back until their tires hit the curb, especially if they drive oversized pickups with big tow hitches that stick out the back. So you’re walking by on the sidewalk and someone backs into you while you are on the sidewalk. We’re talking about parking lots and parking garages, not on the street parking. (My comment was made directly to a post about parking garages.) And even in parking lots, something that is recommended only in perpendicularly striped lots. There are pedestrians wherever cars are found. They are not confined to sidewalks. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/75 "2014-05-22T16:50:23Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > Here is the best tip I can give about this in light of the lack of hard statistics, drive by any UPS/Fedex/Post office yard where they park the trucks. Every single one of them is backed in. They don’t do this because its fun, they do it because it leads to fewer backing related collisions. I can’t find the numbers online but in my work with Fred Mottola I have heard him quote the police statistics “in 40% of all collisions someone is in reverse” which when you look at it is simply insane. Less than 1% of all driving a factor in 40% of the crashes. The estimates are that by backing into the space (or pulling through when possible) you can cut this number down to 7% or so. There’s a big difference between panel trucks like these and most passenger vehicles - visibility. In a delivery truck, you have the front windows and your mirrors - if you pull forward into a spot, you’ll have an enormous blind spot when you try to back out. If you back into a spot, you can (as mentioned earlier) check the spot out as you pass and guide yourself in with your mirrors. Backing in eliminates a significant hazard _for vehicles with restricted visibility_. It’s also more efficient to park a vehicle with a long wheel base or a limited turning radius backwards - you can make sharper turns in reverse than you can going forward. Like **Shakes** , I drive a big truck and like **Shakes** , I usually back it into parking spots. I got into the habit when I was working in a construction yard, and it’s quicker and easier for me to get both in and out of a typical space this way. But I’ve been parking this way for 20 years, and I’m good at it. Commercial drivers are generally good at it too. Lots of other drivers, not so much. It takes practice to learn to use your mirrors and be able to line yourself up so that you’re parked straight and not on either line. All things being equal, I think it’s safer, but all things are seldom equal. I’d rather have people park whatever way they’re comfortable parking than try to change existing driving habits. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/76 "2014-05-22T17:01:55Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Sure, if nobody else is around, park however you please. > > But in a situation where other cars are coming and going, backing into a parking space: > > 1. confuses the driver behind the backer because the backer _has driven past the vacant parking space_ and so appears to have decided to not park there, so as the car behind starts to aim towards the vacant space, he finds all of a sudden that the guy he’d assumed was moving on, is now backing right at him. > > And of course the backer is mad at the guy behind him for having failed to read his mind properly. Which is yet another reason why turn signals are handy. Come to a stop before the empty space, turn on your turn signal to indicate your intention to park, then pull forward past the space, stop, and begin backing. Then if the clown behind you couldn’t tell what you were planning to do, at least you tried to tell him. I have some trouble with this as a safety issue. I mean, yes people back into people, objects, and other cars all the time when backing out of parking spaces, and the main culprits here are probably: 1. not paying enough attention while doing a dangerous thing, and 2. people not looking for cars with their backup lights on as they drive through parking lots, which is really the same thing. Backing up is harder. You have less visibility, and physics makes it more difficult to maneuver the car precisely. So when faced with a situation where you need to enter an area between two cars that is probably 10 to 12 feet wide, and it is important you get as close to exactly parallel to those cars as possible, and then a second situation where you need to enter an area more than 20 feet wide, where precise alignment is irrelevant because you will be moving away in just moments, and being told that you must move forward for one and in reverse for the other, … well, it seems obvious to me which order is safer. If you want to increase safety, the best way is to get drivers to drive more safely. Asking them to back in just changes which kind of repair shop the thing they hit with their car needs to be taken to. And while I totally see the argument that a auto body shop is a better destination than a hospital, I think that asking people to back in actually increases the chance they’ll hit something, for reasons mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/77 "2014-05-22T17:03:04Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > It’s a state law as well as a Sarasota law. To follow up on **Bear** ’s posts: no it isn’t. You may be thinking of the _improper backing_ statute, which prohibits reversing when it interferes with oncoming traffic (that is, the person going forwards always has right of way.) ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012/78 "2014-05-22T17:15:54Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Pedestrians tend to walk on the sidewalk, not the street. Or something like that. Backing in, drivers pull back until their tires hit the curb, especially if they drive oversized pickups with big tow hitches that stick out the back. So you’re walking by on the sidewalk and someone backs into you while you are on the sidewalk. The one time I habitually backed into a parking space, it was for exactly that reason, though backwards. First, I need to make clear there was no sidewalk. The curb marked the boundary between the paved parking area and a grass lawn. My car was HUGE. It was a 1975 Dodge Royal Monaco Brougham Station Wagon. It was easily four feet longer than the other cars that typically parked there, so if I pulled in forwards until my tires hit the curb, I’d be sticking out onto the traffic area of the parking lot much more than the other cars. By backing in, much more of my car hung over the curb, making the part of my car in the lot much shorter, and much more like the length of the other cars. I imagine if I had a pickup with a hitch or something, I might similarly decide that inconveniencing a few pedestrians by making the sidewalk a bit narrower by my truck was better than inconveniencing anybody who tried to drive by, if for no other reason than if a pedestrian collided with my parked vehicle and decided to move along without notifying me, I probably wouldn’t be looking at a costly repair, which would not be true of a passing car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-cant-back-in-parking-law/688012.md?page=3)