I just visited Austin, TX and found down on South Congress Street they have reverse angle parking where you first drive past the empty parking spot, then back into the spot, with cars behind waiting for all of this to unfold. While I admit leaving the parking spot is easier, I have a hard time thinking there aren’t more problems with the initial parking. For example, going 20+ mph it’s difficult to see the empty spot before you’re actually past it, and then most of the time the car behind is actually blocking the spot. Is this a new trend and is it actually safer to back into the spot in reverse angle rather than driving in head first?
Suuth Austin resident here…I think I’d say it’s more difficult, especially getting in (for the sorts of reasons you describe), but despite that safer, especially leaving (since you can actually see behind you).
Standard practice for our (required) annual defensive driving refresher is to always back into a parking spot for parking, unless you can pull through a double parking spot to the far side. I work for a federal agency and every motor pool in our agency I’ve ever used /observed /know about requires backing in to park. Safety of the driver, the vehicle, and anyone around the vehicle ia given as the primary reason for this requirement.
As a local custom for Austin, do as the locals do. They must have a reason for it.
And now, the inverse/converse/reverse/obverse/perverse (pick one) question:
On my planet, nearly all parking lots (and often, every individual space) has a sign saying “Do Not Back In”. This is especially seen in apartment building lots, where the parking spaces are perpendicular, not angled.
Why the rule against backing into spaces? (To be sure, I’ve heard the occasional supposed explanation, always lame.)
That’s interesting. Like Senegold, I’ve seen prohibitions against backing into parking lots at a lot of places, and I’ve generally been told not to pull through. (Reason being, I assume, that somebody may be coming from the other side trying to get to the space you’re trying to pull through into.)
ETA: I am not located in South Carolina (obviously, looking at my location), but this sort of instruction is typical, in my experience:
Historically, when RWD was the only thing in town, it was difficult to tow a vehicle that backed in.
Why reverse angle parking? Because you’ve already scoped out the empty space, and another object is unlikely to suddenly appear in it while you’re backing in. That’s not true of the street, which is the space you have to back into in traditional angle parking.
As for the prohibitions in private lots, another reason is that the rear overhang—particularly on older cars—was usually quite a bit more than the front. Someone backing in might hit the fence or the building before his wheels reached the wheelstop.
Sometimes the “do not back in” sign is because they don’t want the car exhaust aimed at the adjacent building or yard. And sometimes because they require parking permits to be placed on the rear of the car.
And (I presume) because plenty of folks aren’t able to back accurately and wind up straddling lines, backing too far, etc.
In most parking lots parking head-out forces you to go against traffic in a narrow lane when you pull out. Also, while backing out is a little riskier than pulling out forward, backing in is much riskier than backing out.
In country towns in Australia there is a lot of reverse in angle parking, this is due mainly to the heavy use of utes etc that can have poor visibility if they were forced to back out into traffic. This only applies to angle parking as opposed to parallel parking in which you must back in most of the time.
Judge Chamberlain Haller: What is a ute?
CMC fnord!
Australian for “pick-up truck”. (Short for “utility”.)
My former ride was a long-bed crew-cab pickup. At over 20 feet (including trailer hitch), it was best to back in so that less truck was hanging into the aisle. Unfortunately it meant I needed to occupy the edges of most parking lots to avoid blocking sidewalks or striking fences/walls. Also it is much easier to align into a tight space with the “trailing” wheels being steerable (the forklift effect).
One reason for prohibiting back-in parking is to ensure license plate visibility for the constabulary. Not all states require plates on both ends of the car. (As explained to my by an LEO)
Did you notice the large number of cyclists barreling down the hill? A lot of drivers backing out of their spots didn’t. That’s why it was changed.
Gah. I’d never be able to park there.
What? No it isn’t. When you’re backing in there’s a much less likely chance of something “suddenly appearing” in the space, whereas in backing out, there’s a greater chance that something (car, person, bike) will come around a corner, or be driving too fast down the lane and be in your way.
Couple that with it being harder to “see around” the cars parked alongside you (especially if you’re in a small car and the ones around you are SUVs and trucks (why yes, I do speak from experience,)) and backing out becomes much less safe.
It’s the same reason that the classic “3-point turn” is discouraged in some areas…it’s much safer backing out of traffic than it is backing in to traffic.
Oh, excuse me, your honor… YOUTHS.
They added a bunch of spaces and made it safer for cyclists at the same time. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Agreed. In the UK a sizeable minority of drivers reverse park (see this pic for example). This is doubly so with larger vehicles. Parking spaces are tight, and almost always 90 degree (as opposed to angled parking). Of course, other drivers know this and will wait while you back in, which makes it easier.
