Why is it easier to reverse into a parallel parking spot to than drive forwards into it? Sometimes I wish I could just drive into the spot and avoid holding up traffic and making a jackass of myself! I can’t think of a good logical reason why one should be easier than the other.
When you drive in head first, the steerable wheels end up near the curb, with the nonsteerable rear wheels hanging out in traffic. No amount of turning the front wheels will make those rear wheels come in.
It’s to do with which end of the car can steer. Because the front steers it is physically more straighforward to pivot on the back of the car and swing the front round.
Well, if you have a very large space to pull into (2 car lengths or more), or if you’re driving a car with high clearance and don’t mind running up on the curb, you can probably manage it…
Otherwise, as Squink described, how are you ever going to be able to pull the rear of the car straight?
I think I saw a prototype once of a car that could turn both front and rear wheels 90 degrees to allow “slide-in” parallel parking. Though it may have been an April Fools issue of some auto magazine.