I agree it’s probably ridiculous at a 7-11 and similar places, but there are sometimes legitimate reasons for backing in. I have a big pickup (crew-cab, long bed) that takes up a considerable amount of lengthwise space. If you look closely at pickups (and some SUVs), the amount of truck sticking out ahead of the front wheels is far less than that sticking out behind the rear wheels. In many parking lots, especially near the edges, I can leave less of me sticking out into the aisle if I back in. If I put the rear wheels against the curb thingie, the majority of extra vehicle length is hanging out over the grass, instead of into the lane. This also makes it easier for those on either side of me to back out.
I don’t know if I described this very well. Any other Dopers want to take a shot?
Even worse are the jerks who cross the street in the middle of the block and just sort of amble along, not looking left or right, knowing that “the pedestrian always has the right of way.” Right, so I’ll slam on my brakes and traffic will stop for about a minute so you don’t have to bother waiting for a traffic light.
This seems to be epidemic the last few years. Is it considered a mark of manhood to laugh at death by daring someone to run you over? Or is it more, “I know my rights – you have to stop”?
It drives me nuts when some yahoo parks their truck practically sideways, taking up several parking spots, in a somewhat empty lot. Yeah, I get that it’s empty. And you’re really not inconveniencing me. Plus, I hardly expect there to be a run on Target while I’m in the store for all of 20 minutes. But, jeez - what a douche thing to do. If your car or truck is so large you can’t figure out how to park is straight, downsize!
Also, I hate it when people speed through the empty spaces in parking lots, cutting across instead of actually driving down the marked aisles. It really doesn’t take that much extra time to go up or down the marked aisles. And it’s a hell of a lot safer.
I get peeved at people who go to a bookstore and treat it like a library, or their bedroom. I’m always seeing someone all splayed out in the aisle, reading a book and/or yakking on their cell phone, etc. Look, hippie, if you’re going to put your patchouli-reeking hands on a new book, fucking pay for it, and get your fucking dead lazy ass out of the aisle.
I managed to smoke for 22 years without tossing a cigarette. It’s always annoyed me that people can just toss a butt out a window or throw one on the ground as they go into a store. That shit is nasty, littering like that. Another I’ve hated, even as a smoker were the people who stood right outside a store puffing away, blowing it in people’s faces as they walk through the door. If it stinks to a smoker, I can’t imagine how disgusting it must be for a non-smoker.
Other than that, most of the behaviors that bother me involve other drivers. . . drivers who hate ME because I appreciate speed limits and yellow lights.
This is worth repeating. Driving is all about being predictable for the other drivers. That is, in my opinion, by far the most safe thing that you can do as a driver. The expected norm in parking lots is that you pull into a spot and back out of it. If you are pulling through you are being a danger for the next person that is following this normative pattern and is pulling into the space.
I get that it feels safer because you can see better, but you really have as much of a chance of causing a fender bender as you would backing out.
One crazy notion would be to glance down the isle behind you as you get into your car. In this way you can have a decent idea of what is going on around you as you back out. Also, most drivers in parking lots are expecting people to be backing out of spaces. Naturally you can have some douche that was not there a second ago suddenly roar down the isle (just as you can have some douche decide to pull through the space you are trying to park in) but it is not the norm. So you have pretty good chances.
I greet people I meet on the walking path with a “good morning” or “hello”…until I meet an Ipod zombie-these weird creatures don’t acknowledge you, and stare ahead.
I suspect their brains are slowly decaying, as their 100 decibel earbuds destroy their hearing.
Their numbers seem to be increasing.
And driving forwards is the expected norm. Going backwards is what’s… well, backwards. And pulling through is common enough that if someone doesn’t realize that the person facing out from a parking spot isn’t going to back up, then maybe they shouldn’t be driving.
I really was oblivious to backing-in or pulling thru bothered anyone. The company I used to work for had a strict “back-in or pull-through” policy for all the company’s vehicles, and required it for personal vehicles on company property. The only exception was for directional parking lots (where the stalls are slanted), there you were supposed to pull-in normally so as to not be driving down the aisle backwards.
They argued that when backing into a parking spot, you were backing into a stationary spot. When backing out of a parking spot, you were backing into a moving path. They claimed this policy was safer and resulted in fewer accidents.
Since working for them, I became accustomed to the procedure and do it all the time now. I can back into a spot as quickly and easily as backing out. I never knew I was pissing anyone off. Of course I generally park out in BFE because I don’t want anyone to ding my car with their carts and doors, so there’s usually no one else close.
Well, the space isn’t occupied yet. The problem arises when the two happen simultaneously. The guy looking for a parking space thinks he’s found one and starts to pull in just as the person on the other side decides to pull through.
This. For me, it really boils down to "people who think they are the only people in the universe and who think they and they alone are entitled use of public space. Like a corridor in the mall or an airport concourse. Hey man, we’re all trying to get some place and we all have to use the same walk way. If you’ve got to stop and chat, consult your map, tie your shoe, scratch your ass, fine. Move. the. fuck. out. of. the. way. so that the rest of us can keep moving.
Oh, and the stroller people. Make your kid walk more or at least try to be aware that your Land Rover of a stroller is blocking passage for anyone who would also like to use the public sidewalk.
The people who block passageways or the bottoms of escalators, who take their sweet time at the ATM, who routinely delay us all in the world - their line is, why don’t you take it easy, smell the roses, relax a bit? To that I say, you have no idea when I relax or how relaxed I am! I don’t ask you to rush for me. I just ask you to be efficient in shared space. It will not kill you after you are done with the ATM to pull forwards a bit and sort yourself out while I can use the ATM behind you, especially when there is a nice long line.
I have plenty of time to relax. I just don’t choose to do it when I am in shared space.
All of this, multiplied by seventeen quintillion, is even more exasperating when you encounter it whilst visiting a theme park such as Walt Disney World or Universal Studios. You know what might just work on such people? Chloroform, in obscenely liberal dosages.