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Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
I worked at a job site prone to flooding so it was mandated to speed evacuations. I liked it and kept the habit.
Then some misogynist asshat told me it's a masculine thing to do and I should be careful to come across more ladylike. So added on a layer of spite and anti-bigot defenses to why I keep doing it.
I worked for a company that provided a car (incidentally a ‘benefit’ I will refuse in any future scenario).
They explicitly told us we had to back in to our parking spots whenever possible. They implied that some data they had showed it reduced accidents.
Not only makes it easier to leave when you need to, as you can see everything that you might hit or might hit you.
But going backwards means you can more easily line up in the space as you have more control over your angle.
Like parallel parking is essier when reversing as you dont need to correct once in the space. Just 45 degree to the kerb and straighten up and you are in. Going forward parallel parking takes loads of correction or needs a really big gap to fit in to.
There's a reason a number of large companies that self-insure mandate backing in for all their vehicles (Schlumberger, Cargill); it's demonstrably safer practice that results in less accidents when leaving the parking space. You can see everything when you back in that was there when you pulled up, and when you pull out, you're right up front looking forward into the lane as you pull out. You quickly learn how to back in, even without a backup camera, if you learn how to use your mirrors.
It is by far the statistically less accident prone method.
This is why I do it.
You know how the surroundings are now and you don't know how they are going to be when you have to drive out again. Makes sense to prepare for the unknown
Is backing into parking spots not the norm in the US? Here in Germany we back into parking spots most of the time, mostly because the spots are too narrow or short to enter forward. We also learn this in driving school and it's pretty much an essential skill that's expected from drivers in Germany.
Americans avoid it like the plague for some reason. I always back in because I can look at the spot for objects or problems before I start backing in to ensure I dont hit anything. Backing out blind can be risky otherwise.
As everyone else has said, mostly convenience. Easier parking, quicker leaving, generally safer. If I'm early to work I'll "drive-through" an empty spot to park with the nose outwards. The rearview mirrors make it very easy to keep track of where your car is going.
Occasionally I've also managed to do some stupidly tight parking jobs where I literally had to climb out of the trunk :)
You can fit in more easily. Having the steering axle in the back relative to the direction of movement allows you to drive tighter curves (like a forklift).
My mom does this every time she parks, even in our driveway. She's always said it's so if her car stalls, it's easier to get it jumped or towed out of the spot.
Much easier to pull out after, and I can leave quicker despite taking slightly longer to pull in.
Exactly. I'm in no rush to park, but you never know when you might need to fuck the hell off in a hurry lol.
Because I drive a truck so backing in and pulling out is just easier
I back into my driveway. Way I see it, I either back in or back out. So what's the difference
It takes advantage of right-of-way to avoid collision while backing.
I'm following you. When you decide to back in to your parking space, you have the right-of-way over the lane until you have completely left it. I have to yield to you, even if you come to a complete stop in the lane of traffic. While your vision and attention is compromised due to backing, I am responsible for avoiding you.
When you are attempting to back out of the parking spot and into my lane, you do not have right-of-way until you are fully established in the lane. Despite your vision and attention being compromised due to backing, you are also responsible for avoiding me. I don't have to yield to you until you are completely within the lane.
I support this narrative.
Not because it is logical, BUT BECAUSE IT IS FUCKING RIGHT!
GET IT, CHARLOTTE?
I DON'T HAVE EYES ON MY CAR'S TAIL-LIGHT TO SEE YOU WERE COMING TOWARDS ME.
My backup camera has little lines that show where I am backing up and change as I turn. So that combined with the 360 camera I will know exactly how I will fit in a parking spot. Also makes getting out faster since im usually an early bird to places.
I'm going to guess that I'm in the minority here and say that I daily a long bed Ford F-250. It's big, it's long, and it's just generally unwieldy. Yes there are benefits to backing into a parking spot like better visibility and blah blah blah but for me it's actually more about just being able to get in and out of the parking spot. Especially in narrow parking lot aisles. Backing into a spot takes less room, because, idk, geometry. Similar to why a forklift steers with its rear wheels and that makes it more maneuverable (albeit less stable).
Though there is also the benefit of the tailgate and bed of the vehicle being less accessible and therefore less likely for someone to just walk off with something, if there's anything back there. My mom had the tailgate stolen off her Toyota once back in the 90s. I assume she pulled forward into the parking spot.
When parking i can get a good view of the immediate area, it's easy to spot pedestrians and oncoming cars. Pulling out is easy. If I have to back out I don't have such a good view. Yeah I get a look as I approach my car but by the time I sit down, click my seat belt, start the car, someone i didn't see could be coming along.
Because you have more control and visibility both when you get in and get out.
I don't drive, but the way I've always heard it is because people care more about leaving quickly than arriving quickly.
I thought it was pretty obvious to everyone that it’s because it’s easier to get out that way. You don’t have any blind spots. Easier for you to back into the spot than to back out of it (angles permitting).
Sometimes backing in seems easier than backing out
When I have to park in a particularly narrow spot, I find backing in easier due to the better vantage point of the camera.
The real answer, sometimes the geometry makes more sense to back in 🤷♂️
Geometry is a lot of it. It also makes seeing much easier when pulling out. When backing in, I can easily see the traffic lane around me, and they can see me pretty easy as well (I'm the asshole blocking up the whole place). When driving out, only a smaller portion of my vehicle needs to enter the traffic lane before I have a clear view of any opposing traffic. For the case of nosing it, I have a clear view while pulling in; but, when pulling out I need to get most of my vehicle out into the traffic lane, before I can see anything.
Especially if your car has a rear camera.
I've driving long enough that I can "feel" my way through parking normally, but sometimes I just want to play the minigame.
I think driving forward is easier, so on days that I’m feeling good I back in, that way in the morning I have a little something to be happy about.
Safer when pulling out of parking stall. Less blind spots.
Although I don’t back in. I drive through from one spot to the next in front of me. So I can drive out.
The old pull-through. Some places insist on putting those damn concrete Toblerone blocks in front of you to prevent that sort of thing.
Keep a watchful eye when doing so, because I have seen many an argument break out in a parking lot when someone was trying to pull through at the same time someone else who couldn't see them was trying to pull in to the same space from the outer side. Bonus points if they boop noses in the process. Somehow nobody ever seems to arrive at the simple conclusion, in such cases, of party A just reversing a couple of feet back into the first space to let party B take the second one.
I have way more maneuverability backing into a space.
Think of it in terms of circles (well, arcs, really) . If you front park in a space perpendicular to the road, your front wheels make a large circle and your back wheels a smaller one. The parking space needs to be big enough to accommodate the larger circle. If you back into the same space, the larger circle happens on the road.
fwiw, I've parked trailers for a living for 10+years--I do it out of habit and a work ethic of 'put the work in on the front end so I can backslide on the tail end' Tho I can see a practicality/safer attempt to having a better view upon departing the parked position. Obviously if you'd like to get into the geometry of it, backing in gives you a much wider range of flexibility to work with in the positioning phases of the maneuver.
Not sure if it's true. but I was also told that changing gears on a transmission that's been running for a bit is easier on the mechanical parts/bits involved (as opposed to swapping gears on a cold startup)
tldr because there's tons of good reasons to do so, and very nearly 0 good reasons not to do so. Leave the rest to the mathematicians and statisticians
Obviously so everyone knows I'm better than them
Unless I am going to be putting stuff into the trunk, backing in is better, it's more dangerous to back the car out of the space than into it.
Backing in is the correct way to parallel park too.
Backing in is the correct way to parallel park too.
That's because the rear axle is immovable.
Backing into a parking bay where the amount of traffic in the bay is close to zero and visibility is great allows you to drive out into the street facing forward where you can see what traffic is coming.
If you drive forward into a bay then you have to back out of it into the street where you cannot see anything except what's directly behind you and you have little to no visibility sideways, unless the bays next to you are empty, so essentially you're backing out with your fingers crossed, hoping that nothing will hit you.
Moreover, the traffic rules, at least where I live, specify that a reversing vehicle has to give way to everyone.
As a bonus, when you're loading things, you're not standing in the street with your back to traffic.
In other words, learn how to back into a bay.
Therefore I would rather reverse into the spot where people/cars/kids are least likely to be and drive forward into the place people/cars/kids are most likely to be. I personally almost always back in to be safer towards pedestrians and avoid getting hit by other cars.
In Australia, you're considered at fault for reversing accidents. Backing out is riskier.
It's just easier to get out, you even have to park like that when taking the exam.
