So, what’s with this? You know, the people who decide that pulling into a parking space front-first is a chump’s game, those who decide that backing in is the way to show their alpha male dominance over the masses who actually use the parking spots in the manner they were designed.
The people who will spend five (count 'em) minutes taking their rolly blinged-Escalade EXT or Navigator or riced-out Civic and gingerly trying to back it in the spot, realize they don’t have enough room, pull forward three inches, back up one, pull forward, cut the wheel, lose all of the space you just gained, repeat as the line for cars that could have parked, shopped and been out of their spots already grows.
Woah, lost track of that sentence.
[Chris Tucker]Wat up wit dat?[/CT] Seriously, to pull into an ADA-designed parking spot takes (I’m guessing here) 10 seconds? Maybe 30 if the spot really isn’t ADA-designed or you get a bad angle, but I’ve never seen people pull backwards into a spot anywhere near that time. Plus, it’s the same deal on the way out. Pull forward, reverse, pull forward, reverse, bleagh.
Holy shit, I was just kidding when I said that was the lamest pitting ever. Previewing shows that I wasn’t far off. Feel free to have at me and the lame pitting if you can’t find anything to make fun of reverse-parkers for.
I personally have never seen anyone pull into a public parking lot backwards, so I would agree that it would be rediculous. I have seen many cars already parked that may have looked like they backed in, but really drove straight it from the empty space behind it.
Most of the people who do this, I find, fail to signal! So, I think they’ve past the spot as I prepare to pull head-in. But, watch out! They’re backing up! The best is a friend of mine worked for a large utility. They found that 60% of accidents with comapny vehicles are due to backing OUT of a spot, so they were encouraged to back in. He’s still in the habit today.
Well, even if true, that’s only because only 40% are backing in! If enough people start backing in, the accident stats will even out. Then, they’ll recommend you always pull head-in to a parking spot. :rolleyes:
I used to do it all the time, because I had a car which would only go into reverse if it had been driven for at least 15 minutes, so I’d back into a spot, to save myself the effort of having to push the car out when I wanted to leave.
In a previous thread on the subject, someone stated that they did it because their car had a low front end, and people in pick up trucks had the annoying habit of parking over the front end of their car, so to eliminate the risk of them having their car completely flattened, they backed into a spot.
When I was taking driver’s ed and was shown how to back into a space (a skill I have used about once since getting my license), they said it was so it would be easier to pull out. Maybe. But I always found it easier to back out of a spot than to back in, and I always pull into a spot going forwards.
Yes, it is a lame pitting. Some of us prefer to back into parking spaces. It affords better ability to see rice rockets screaming through a parking lot when we’d plan to exit a parking place.
As a general observation regarding humanity, I could not find a compelling argument to disprove this statement.
However, regarding backing into parking spaces (provided the slot is not an angle-in type): only a complete moron goes head-first into a spot, taking two tries to get into the slot, but then taking twelve or fifteen minutes to back out at the wrong angle, cut and trim, pull forward, pull back, blocking the entire parking lot travel lane for the entire period–and that only after they have backed over the two-year-old that they couldn’t see when they put their (currently favored) high-butt car into reverse without knowing who was walking alongside the cars that they cannot see because their driver’s seat is two thirds of the way into the parking spot and they can’t see anything on either side of their car.
When one backs in, one first passes the slot, giving a visual check to be sure that no pedestrians or lost shopping bags already occupy the place, then one puts the car into reverse where the steering wheels are at the outside radius of the turn where they will have the most efficacy. When one drives out forward, one checks the lane in both directions (having no obstructions from neighboring cars or the roof supports, headrests, speakers, or children’s toys within one’s own car), and pulls out smoothly into the lane–only to have to wait while some ignorant head-firster spends the rest of the afternoon endangering small children and the fenders and quarter panels of all neighboring vehicles.
I agree with the OP. Since backing into a spot takes longer, is more difficult and inconveniences more people than backing out, I can’t see that (excluding the sort of rare circumstances in Tuckerfan’s post) it serves any purpose at all except to make the driver feel like he’s showing off some sort of extraordinary parking ability. It’s a very George Castanza-like habit- a lame bit of bravado that really impresses no one.
I actually find it easier to park the minivan in a typical mall parking space if I back it in. If I try to go in nose-first between two cars, I’ll often have to back out a little to readjust, because I’m too close to one side or very crooked. It takes me a tiny bit extra time to drive a bit past the space, and reverse her in carefully. When I know my shopping will result in dozens of bags, I’ll park face-first so I can have quick trunk access when I get to my car, but if it’s just for quick errands, backwards is easier.
Yeah, people who back in and take an hour to do so are morons and should be pitted. But there are tons of people who take forever to park forwards too! As long as the person can park within a reasonable amount of time, who gives a damn which end is facing out?
Besides, they taught me the backwards-park in driving school, and it was on my test when I went for my license. Why teach it if I’m not supposed to use it?
A guy I know can back into a spot faster than most people can drive in. It was his party trick of sorts - he spent maybe 5 seconds getting the angle right, and then he’d zoom in. I must have seen him do it 50 times and he never made a mistake.
People who back into parking spots annoy me if they take longer than a minute and especially if it’s a narrow parking lot with a long line of cars waiting for them to finish.
I musta had that same utility training video. We were told to back into the parking space. The primary reason was that backing into a space meant that you would exit that space head first and have a better view of any cross traffic coming by.
It makes some sense especially if you drive a low profile car. Any of you that drive a sportscar or sedan can recall trying to back out of a space whenyou are flanked by two SUVs or pickups. You gotta back your ass up pretty far out of the space before you can see any traffic.
I agree with Tom; it doesn’t take me significantly longer to back into a spot then it takes me to front it, and it can be quite safer.
There are people waiting for me to pull out of a spot (both backwards and forwards) just as often as there are people waiting for me to pull into a spot (both backwards and forwards), so I run the risk of inconviencing people either way. But it’s far more common for there to be other cars, small children, and other obstacles outside of my parking spot (i.e., in the parking lot at large) than inside my parking spot … and I’d rather be facing those obstacles, than having them behind me.
I take my F-150 out often, and a lot of times park on alert parking status. Yeah, I could nose it into the space, but that doesn’t allow me to fire up the engine and get back to work.
And, it’s easier to see moving traffic as I decide whether or not to taxi out to the street.
Tripler
And yes, I wear an olive drab Nomex flight gloves when I drive.
I find backing into a space as easy and quick as pulling in front first. I don’t generally do it in public spaces unless I passed the spot before I saw it. I back in to the spot in front of the house if the trunk is full of groceries that way I limit the amount of walking around.
Funny, I don’t usually, but today I backed into 2 (count, em 2!) parking spaces. Not in a bling-bling car, but a station wagon.
For the first one, I was the only moving car in the lot. I had passed the only space in the lot. Why should I drive in reverse and pull in forward, when I can back in just as fast (counting the reverse time)?
For the second one, I was in Toys R Us. The space was between two minivans. There is no way I’m going to put myself in the position of backing out where I can’t see in a lot where there are likely to be kids.
And I’m not trying to do any alpha-male thing. If I was, I wouldn’t be driving a station wagon with a car seat!
But what I don’t get is how these backing up people slow you down so much. I back into a space. If by some chance I’m not in right and I need to adjust, I’m already out of the lane (or at least mostly out of the lane) and you can drive by before I pull out and adjust.
The parking lot at work is dead when I get there, but busy as fuck when I leave. I back-in park (Batman-style, it was called in the Air Farce) because I feel safer seeing what’s going on w/out having to look over my shoulder. Is it safe to back out? Is some jackass blasting through the parking lot at warp 10? I don’t want to miss one of my esteemed cow-orkers and pull out in front of them because they’re in my blind spot.
I didn’t realize I was making a sociological statement by backing in…
Yes, this pitting is about the lamest ever. I often back in, especially if no one is driving behing me. Makes for a quick getaway, and it takes me no longer to back in than it does to back out. **Some of actually do know how to drive! ** This is especially a good plan at movie theaters and concerts when lots of people are leaving at the same time and it might be damn near impossible to back out.
