People who back into parking spots: Why?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨littlecolt@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

To me, it seems objectively easier to pull into a parking space forward and then back out of the space when you are ready to leave. You don’t have to line up with the lines while driving backwards, and it’s easier to keep from hitting other cars as well. So why back in? To me, the only advantage I can think of is that you can get out quicker, technically.

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ialvoi@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Because you know what the situation is when you park, but you din:t know what the situation will be when you leave.

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- littlecolt@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I like this answer, and had not considered it. Good insight. I knew people would have specific situations like certain parking areas or certain street parking, but I really wanted “general” answers, and this is a good one. Thanks.
  
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  - adespoton@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    My grandfather had two habits drilled into him in the Army: never put your hands in your pockets so they’re always ready for action, and always park your vehicle so it’s ready to go.
    
    This means he always backed in, and always parked as close to the exit as possible. And he did post-drive checks to ensure fluids, lights, brakes etc. were as they should be and the vehicle was ready for immediate use.
    
    And he wasn’t even a getaway driver after the war.
    
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- SnowGlobal@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Yep I’m all about setting myself up for success. And backing into parking spaces does that. Also it’s drilled into my head from the oilfield that you will always back in because it’s safer.
  
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- dub@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Also cause its cool as fuck
  
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  - RagingRobot@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It’s actually kind of inconvenient to be behind someone doing this. It takes longer than pulling in and sometimes it’s unexpected. Like I thought this one guy was turning but he was just lining up to back into a spot. He got mad when I pulled up behind him lol
    
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- friend_of_satan@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  [deleted]
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  - rImITywR@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Its more of a visibility thing. Backing out, your vehicle has to be three quarters of the way into traffic before you can really see.
    
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  - Nighed@sffa.community ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    You can just pull out of the spot and go, no need to change direction etc.
    
    In a tight car park I have almost got stuck once because there wasn’t enough room for me to back out and get my nose out from between the cars on either side to move forward
    
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  - Starfighter@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Apart from the visibility argument. With this kind of parking spot you have to leave the spot in the other direction than you came in. So you’ll only get the enhanced agility for one of the moves.
    
    Would you rather have more agility when getting into the tight parking spot or when leaving onto a larger street?
    
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Blastasaurus@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
This sentiment is why I fully believe at least 50% of you shouldn’t be allowed to operate a motor vehicle.

Which is more dangerous, backing into a parking spot, or backing into traffic?

For the love of God, if you drive a vehicle, figure it out.

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- cooopsspace@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I genuinely think the bar for a driver’s licence should be raised to take 50% or more off the road.
  
  Can’t reverse park? Don’t know where oil water and air goes on your car? Lack confidence in certain conditions? Here’s a free bus pass.
  
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  - notapantsday@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    A lot of people don’t even want to drive, but in a lot of places there’s just no viable alternative.
    
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  - o_oli@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Where are you from where those things are not part of a driving test?
    
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  - max@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Those are all things you need to pass to get your driver’s license here in The Netherlands. We still have idiots on the road. Granted, they don’t (or at least, very rarely) slam their vehicles through the fronts of stores and houses, but we still got idiots doing idiot things.
    
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- Juvyn00b@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Agreed. I’m the era before every car had a camera, I’d back into my driveway because foggy windows plus backing up sucks. I still back into my driveway even with all of the current day features on my vehicle - it’s just less stress in the morning to pull forward.
  
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- Zippy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  What if it is a parking lot that has zero traffic. Is it better to back into a confined space or back out into an open area?
  
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  - enbee@compuverse.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    what if a frog had wings?
    
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  - Buddahriffic@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Zero traffic would mean it’s an empty lot. If there’s a curb or cement blocks preventing pull through, I’d still back into a spot.
    
    But to answer the spirit of your question, it’s easier to back in to a confined spot due to the steering being on the “back” side and ability to use the side mirrors to line it up. Other than pull through spots, I can’t think of a single good reason to pull in to a parking spot forwards rather than back in.
    
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- ZombieTheZombieCat@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Generally not a lot of traffic in parking lots.
  
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CheshireSnake@lemdit.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s easier to park backwards compared to forward, specially if the space is narrow.

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- MagneticFusion@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  [deleted]
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  - uwrislife@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Oh my god, exactly this. The US is the only place I know with lots big enough to pull into. Everywhere else, this is a terrible idea.
    
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  - CheshireSnake@lemdit.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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- thebestaquaman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Exactly, especially if you have a long car.
  
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Elektrotechnik@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
The steering axle is in the front. So if you back into a parking space, you turn around your back axle. This makes the alignment considerably easier, especially for tight parking spaces or crowded parking lots. If you wanted to park front first in that situation, you would have to correct several times because the turning radius is too big to get the car straight in front of the spot in one swoop.

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- daanzel@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  This is the primary reason for me too. Way easier and faster to get into tight parking lots back first!
  
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- galloog1@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  This is exacerbated the longer your vehicle is. It is impossible to turn wide enough with my pickup truck to park forward because the front end swings too much. The more efficient car I take on normal commuting doesn’t have this issue.
  
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lwuy9v5@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Listen. Some of us are looking forward. To the Future. The future of pulling out of that parking spot. Not my fault if you stuck in the review, my guy.

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- juliorapido@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  This website! It’s amazing! 🎩
  
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- RagingRobot@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I always tell my wife that anyone backing in is an idiot lol I find it funny these people think they are fancy. It’s just silly. Takes more time and doesn’t really make it easier to pull out especially not in a one way parking lot where I see people still do this 🤦
  
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  - PupBiru@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    if you think it takes more time, or that it doesn’t make it easier to pull out then you sir don’t know how to reverse park and are so wrong that i’m not sure you have ever reverse parked
    
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- IntentionallyAnon@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Drive through method makes me happy
  
  I know I’m weird
  
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- ewe@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  It’s…perfect. So beautiful.
  
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- tun@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Now there is something I do fancy
  
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- takeda@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I anyways park the crazy straw style.
  
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dustyData@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Here’s an intuitive reason, have you ever used a wheelbarrow? You’ll notice that picking up a wheel barrow to push it is extremely nimble to spin it up around the wheel and dumping the contents precisely. Turn around and try instead to pull on it, and suddenly you can’t make as sharp turns and maneuvers unless you uncomfortably shimmy your feet around. One fixed point of swivel with a long lever behaves differently being pushed than when being pulled. A car has a similar effect in place, driving backwards a car is more precise and maneuverable than going forward. Because the rear wheels act as pivot points and the front wheels have a long arm of leverage to more accurately direct the car, with tighter turn radius than when going forward. This is why experienced drivers agree that reversing into a parking spot is easier than pulling into it.

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- bouh@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  This is the correct answer
  
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- cogman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Visibility is way better and traffic rules play to your favor.
  
  When you back in, you already have right of way. Traffic has to wait for you to park and you aren’t reversing into cross traffic.
  
  If you park forward, when you go to leave you have to worry about cross traffic and your head/eyes are far removed from where you need to be looking. You don’t have right of way which means a lot of awkward mashing the brakes when a car or pedestrian pops out of your blind spot.
  
  In short, you can park faster and more accurately and you can leave faster and safer.
  
  The only reason to park forward is there’s a line of cars behind you that won’t let you reverse into a spot. Otherwise, it’s always the right choice.
  
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llama_spit@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Same reason forklift wheels are in the back. I drive a fairly long vehicle and a lot of times it’s just easier to maneuver backwards.

Also I have a much wider field of view to look around for people or children not paying attention when pulling out of a parking spot.

If you pull in forwards, you can only see directly behind you until basically your entire car is out of the spot, especially if you don’t have a backup cam. If you pull in backwards, you only have to drive forward a foot or two before you have full 180 degree field of view of everything coming from both directions.

All the sass is just coming from people who aren’t confident in their backup skills.

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pizzazz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I don’t think you should have your license if you don’t know that steering with the back wheels gives you much finer control in you maneuver…

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- Hazdaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Why is why forklifts have rear wheel steering.
  
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MeatsOfRage@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Visibility. When you back in you have full awareness of your surroundings.

When you back out there’s a gap of time between getting in your car and backing out (opening the door, starting the car, seatbelt, adjusting radio, etc…). If you have cars parked on either side of you, you won’t be able to see the cars driving past you.

Then there’s efficiency. If you get a call while you’re in wherever and have to go somewhere quickly, it’s faster to have your car pointed in the right direction.

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- Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Situational awareness is what I use to sum it up. You have it coming in, but not going out.
  
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frankPodmore@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
They actually teach reverse parking as part of driving instruction here in the UK because, as many people have pointed out, it’s safer, easier and more convenient.

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MoonshineDegreaser@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
When you back into a spot, you have way more visibility leaving than you would backing out

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- Fester@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  My current car is my first car that has a backup camera, and I actually find it much easier to see backing out of a space with the camera’s wide field of view.
  
  Driving forward, especially in a sensible normal-sized sedan, your view can easily be blocked by someone’s giant Suburban on your left and Billybob’s overcompensating pickup truck on your right, both of which always come with shit parking jobs. Your best chance is to very slowly inch forward and hope any oncoming drivers notice the front of your car moving into the lane before your windows clear the taller vehicles.
  
  But the backup camera sees 180 degrees from the bumper, so you can always see traffic in both directions well before any part of your car might get in anyone’s way.
  
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  - devious@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I can’t imagine a reverse camera being a better alternative to looking out the front windscreen - sure it being a bit further forward then your seating position and wide angle might give it a bit extra visibility around close objects, but it definitely does not offset the advantage of a natural ~200 degree field of view - and that is before you move your eyes or swivel your head. This is much much more valuable particularly for faster moving objects (which are a greater problems).
    
    That said I may be biased because my current vehicle has rear front and side cameras so I get the best of both worlds!
    
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  - key@lemmy.keychat.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I didn’t know they made cars with a 180 degree back camera. Usually like 120 so you can’t see pretty much anything that isn’t directly behind you.
    
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- Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  All sorts of crazy stuff happens in parking areas. When someone pulls kamikaze-style parking maneuvers, you a really don’t want that to happen behind you where it’s difficult to see what’s going on.
  
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- Zippy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  You certainly have more visibility when leaving but you have less visibility when backing into a confined space.
  
  I am on the fence on this. Our office had zero accidents in fifteen years diving in but three backing in dings in the three years since encouraged. Hit a Bobcat, hit a trailer and hit one of the employee trucks.
  
  On the fence because possibly it is more of our office. There is no thru traffic as a private location and there is a fair amount of room to back out where as the parking is relatively tight.
  
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  - MoonshineDegreaser@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    When backing into a spot, you can predict that there shouldn’t be anything behind you. But you should always check your blind spots. I kind of cheat though because I have a backup camera
    
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haych@lemmy.one ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I find it easier. It’s also safer, backing out of a space you’re more luckily to hit someone walking or driving past. If you find reversing in to a space hard then maybe you shouldn’t be driving a giant metal death machine.

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- ZombieTheZombieCat@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  If you find reversing in to a space hard then maybe you shouldn’t be driving a giant metal death machine.
  
  Or, if you find backing out of a parking space without hitting pedestrians to be hard, etc.
  
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- ZosoRocks3@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  crosses fingers Maybe I’ll get lucky this time 🤞🤞
  
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STUPIDVIPGUY@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
The difficulty is exactly the same and the visibility is much better when leaving the space. Reversing isn’t any harder than driving forwards, especially if you have a backup camera, many people are just unskilled or have low confidence

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- merc@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  Reversing isn’t any harder than driving forwards
  
  …
  
  many people are just unskilled
  
  Why would skill matter if it’s not any harder?
  
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  - Aosih@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Driving forwards and driving backwards are separate skills that both require practice, but one is not harder than the other (only applicable at slow speeds).
    
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  - STUPIDVIPGUY@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Reversing isn’t any harder if you are familiar with the skill of reversing. That’s what I am saying.
    
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devious@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Safety - pure and simple. Visibility is much poorer in reverse an you are more likely to hit someone or something you can’t see - and there a lots less potential hazards like cars zooming past or an errant pedestrian (especially children) in an empty parking spot than there will be in the pathway / roadway when it comes time to leave.

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Lemmynkainen@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Its easier to to reverse because you can see better with the camera and mirrors. Its also safer to leave the spot driving forward instead of backing into oncoming traffic.

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- Scrollone@feddit.it ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  The second reason is why all Amazon employees must park in reverse.
  
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rowinxavier@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
When I am entering a space I have 360° visibility. I see all, I know all. I can therefore make a calm and practiced motion while being fully aware of my surroundings as I park.

When I am leaving the space my view is inherently restricted. If I am pointing out I can see to both sides, see oncoming and same side traffic, see pedestrians, and see even more as I pull out of the spot.

If I am pulling out in reverse I can see far less. I have a very twisty neck so I can see behind me (180°) plus another maybe 40°, leaving me with an 80° view, but it is from the opposite end of the car space so it is narrowed. As I pull out I see more, but the whole time it is more narrow. I can’t see the rear of vehicle and I certainly can’t see far to either side of the vehicle at the road level.

So I think the key is thinking about your worst visibility. I think the overall visibility is better when I reverse in to the space and drive straight out when compared with driving directly in and reversing out. I think I can see small people and kids better over the bonnet of the car rather than out the rear window and I think I can react better to the situation when I am reversing in than when I am reversing out.

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Heavybell@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s far safer to take off forwards, you have much better visibility. And when backing in, you have good visibility and are also visible to other drivers.

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redders@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Because you’re wrong.

Considering the process of parking in full, including leaving the space, reversing in is far safer.

And yes, you do need driving instruction.

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- littlecolt@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  So many people are so angry about this question lol
  
  Safety had not even entered my mind. I mostly notice it at the big lot at my office, and also at a shopping center I go to that is notorious as “the worst parking lot ever” here in St. Louis. Backers are quite annoying in that cramped lot.
  
  My current vehicle has 132000 miles on it, and I am 43 so this is not the first. I have not been in an accident that was my fault since I was 20. I have NEVER bumped into another vehicle when parking, forward or backward or parallel. You can’t possibly know a thing about my driving skill from this question,and I don’t need your very worthless contrarion “yes you do” statement.
  
  You have contributed nothing to this thread and I decided I would let you know.
  
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- ZombieTheZombieCat@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  What a weird thing to be high and mighty about
  
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cooopsspace@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
To absolutely flex on people who can’t drive.

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Sethayy@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Tbh cause its objectively not, backing up your point of rotation is the part that gets parked first. Gibes a lot more time to manuvure the front into place once the back is done

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BingoBangoBongo@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Its not hard if you practice. It’s easier actually, and pulling out forward is both faster and safer.

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Thorny_Thicket@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s safer to back into a spot than back out of it and personally I find it easier especially if it’s a narrow spot. Also means that my car is then straight in the middle of the spot.

In all honesty it’s something I do mostly because it’s what I’ve always done. I also like to paraller park into tight spots because I like the challenge.

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ZooGuru@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
A long vehicle (truck, SUV, some crossovers) is MUCH easier to park with precision by backing up in my opinion.

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Doxin@yiffit.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
You can fit in way smaller spaces when backing in. Once you get the knack for it it’s not really harder than going in forwards either.

protip: look in your side mirrors and pretend it’s a video screen. if you want to go left steer left, if you want to go right steer right. Don’t even start thinking about “It’s on the left in the mirror so on the right in real life, but it’s backwards so…” or you’ll have a bad time.

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BristolRambler@lemmy.digitalutopia.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I learned to drive in the US and always pulled into spaces. Since moving to the UK I almost always back in. The difference is I find it much easier to back into a tight spot (as basically all spots outside of the US are) and then drive out rather than the other way around. For whatever reason backing out of a tight spot is much much harder than backing into it.

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CADmonkey@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It was a habit I picked up from a previous job, and it was something we did for safety at that job. Your visibility is better when backing in before parking, and much better when you go to leave.

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Jesus@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
To make you angry

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Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I always back into my home space. It’s a gift to Future Me who’s always in a hurry, and who may find herself blocked in by someone’s contractor’s extra-big pickup truck sticking out of their space. Anyway, my Odyssey drives like a boat but has a very good rear camera, much more precise than judging that front bumper.

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Virkkunen@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
People who park forwards into a parking spot: why are you making your life more complicated?

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