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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NiftyBeaks@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Backing in with a backup camera is easier, and pulling out forward is much safer. Once in a parking lot I nearly started backing out when a child dashed in front of my camera/rear bumper and I was disturbed by the possibility of what could have happened in another timeline.

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- dandroid@dandroid.app ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I really hope that parent used that as a learning experience for the child. I remember my mom screaming at me for running in a parking lot, and for a good reason. It’s dangerous AF. I learned my lesson pretty fast.
  
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- guleblanc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  This is why I started. There is a conspiracy of children living in my condo complex, and they ride their bikes in the parking lot. (What’s the collective adjective for children?) I figure I’m more likely to flatten one backing than driving forward, and I’m less likely to have a child behind me when backing in than when backing out. I know it’s a mistake for children to ride in parking lots, but it’s not my choice. They are not my children. My children made their mistakes thirty years ago, and I’m no longer responsible for them.
  
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dan1101@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
If you have the time and space to back in when you’re parking it can make leaving easier. Invest a little time now to make things easier later.

I wouldn’t make people wait on me to back in though unless there was some important reason to back in.

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- PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I get incredible satisfaction when I back into a parking spot at my local Sam’s Club where cars are constantly coming in and going. Watching my neighbor in the parking lot struggle to back out is hilarious.
  
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djquadratic@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Much easier to back into a spot compared to pulling in, safer to pull out. And it doesn’t take much longer. Once you know how to do it it’s very very quick

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DrQuint@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
The longer the vehicle, the less sense this question makes.

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brainrein@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
You need less space when you can park backwards. Considering parking in a lane parallel to the traffic.

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mintiefresh@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
To assert dominance.

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- imnotneo@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  ( •_•)>⌐■-■
  
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  - ProfoundNinja@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪
    
    but seriously, its much easier to reverse into space your car is driving perpendicular to, op just hasn’t quite figured out how steering or mirrors work
    
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MrShankles@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I had trouble pulling into a parking spot when I first started driving, because I couldn’t judge how close the front of my car was to the car’s bumper next to me (as I turned in)

So I started backing-in because I could see everything with my mirrors and could maneuver more easily. I still prefer backing-in, depending on the situation

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pinwurm@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I have a private parking spot off street in a city. I don’t like backing up towards the main road; since it has pedestrians and stuff. It’s a little harder to see.

So I back into the spot. It’s way easier than backing out - and pulling out is even easier.

My work parking garage is already really tight. It’s another situation where backing in is easier than backing out - and driving forward our is even easier. So just some planning.

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csm10495@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
My backup cam makes it easy to know how far to go in. Much easier for me than figuring out the front distance.

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kite@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
My car isn’t the best and has refused more than once to start while in a parking lot. Parking so that I can always pull forward to leave means the tow truck also has much easier access to my car when I need it. :(

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- soullioness@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  It also allows easier jumpstarting if it needs it.
  
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  - kite@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Yep. Been there, done that too lol
    
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DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Everyone is saying it’s so backing out is safer, which is true… but for me that’s not the primary reason.

I drive an Isuzu D-Max. It’s a “ute” (truck?) - not one of the obscenely big ones, but it’s bigger than a hatch back or sedan.

In a narrow bay, or narrow approach, you can get lined up in the bay first go if you reverse in because you start with your ass in more or less the right place, and front of the car which is moving left and right to get lined up is not in the narrow bay until you’re more than half way in.

If you drive in front first you often don’t have enough lateral space to get your rear wheels lined up, so you end up parked akimbo first go, so you reverse out to straighten up and come in again.

Additionally, with a rear camera you can see exactly how much room you have so you can use every centimeter. Looking over the nose you can get to within 15cm or so, but you can always use all the space with the camera without any effort.

Reversing might not be easier than front first the first few times, but with a little bit of practice reversing in does take less effort than going front first.

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- fishcurry509@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  This is the technically correct answer. My good person, you have, very clearly, been thinking a lot about this! Well explained!!
  
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Afghaniscran@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
You can see people walking in the path if the car much easier If a small child ran behind the car while reversing I don’t think I’d see them even anywhere near as well as I would if they ran out in front of the car as i was pulling out of the space.

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Stinkywinks@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Getting out quicker, matching other cars that did it for no reason, or I plan on sitting in my car and I like the view better that direction.

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Professorozone@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Like most everyone here, I feel that I can see the parking space better when I arrive than the roadway when I’m leaving. Seems safer. But the best is pulling through. Win/win!

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- subspaceinterferents@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I live for the pull-through. Wanna see me lose my shit? Be there as someone pulls into a space (which offers a clean pull-through) AND DOESN’T PULL-THROUGH. It takes every kilo of self control for me not to walk up to the window, rap on the glass and yell “DA FUCKSAMATTA WIT U?” I have passions.
  
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  - Buddahriffic@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    As an agent of chaos, sometimes I’ll back in to a pull through spot (though really it’s because I’m already beside it intending to back in by the time I see the other spot is also empty and I might as well just keep pulling forward to back in to the spot instead of backing up to be able to turn my nose into the spot).
    
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PixelOfLife@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s easier. You need enough room for the nose to swing around because the front wheels follow a wider trajectory than the rear wheels. The access road is usually much wider than the parking spots, so backing into the spot gives you much more room to maneuver.

You also have much better visibility overall. If you go in nose first, you can’t see the front corners of your car, and you also have terrible visibility when backing out of the spot. If you back in, the mirrors show you exactly how close you are to the cars around you, and you have an unobstructed view when you leave.

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smegger@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I find it easier to backwards park, especially in tighter spaces. Mostly because it’s easier if you look properly and watch your mirrors and don’t rush. It’s also easier to leave because you’ve got better line of sight for oncoming traffic

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AmidFuror@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I already knew what the answer would be, and we have 20 people saying the same thing. But in my experience, the people who back into parking spots are among the worst parkers.

They save time pulling out, but they take ages to back in, generally speaking. Especially in a busy area where cars are lined up to find spots, you're waiting for every car in front of you to park before you can drive past them to the next spot.

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weew@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I think you just need more experience driving. Either one is pretty much equally easy, it just depends on how much space you have to work with and what angle you’re approaching from. For example there’s one parking spot at my workplace that’s basically impossible to get into without backing into it.

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- littlecolt@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Haha I’m 43 and have driven across the US 7+ times, so maybe there’s no hope! 🤣
  
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InternetUser2012@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
There are cities that still have laws on the books that state you cannot back out of your driveway. Obviously not enforced but the reasoning is there. At the grocery store, I don’t back in because it becomes a pain in the ass to get to your trunk, everywhere else, yeah I back in. It’s safer.

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- Sunforged@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Grocery parking annoys me because it’s also one of the more congested parking lots I have to deal with. Not being able to back in makes leaving a pain.
  
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FringeTheory999@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
my tags expired in 2021

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- atticus88th@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Police in my state stopped caring about tags since 21. You are in good company.
  
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Techphilia@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I didn’t see anyone else mention this, but to add to other comments, I don’t want to risk hitting the curb with my front splitter in my low-clearance sports car. Obviously SUVs don’t have this issue…

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- Rouxibeau@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  scraaaaape
  
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c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I can do it as fast after years of valet as a teenager, and its easier to make sure I’m centered since I can see the lines in my mirrors.

It’s easier and quicker to get out, you never know if reversing out of a spot is going to be feasible and the visibility might not be as good when trying to exit.
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- ToNIX@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  True, but if you see the lines in your mirror, you have them adjusted wrong! Try adjusting them to see your blind spot. It takes a while to get used to it but it’s a game changer.
  
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  - c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    My mirrors automatically adjust downward when I reverse, I don’t have them set that way normally.
    
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HnuWETqkp4YG@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I have never hit anything when backing in or driving out forward. I have hit 4 vehicles while backing out. It may be an attention thing, no idea. It is better for my wallet to back in

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Waggles@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
You’ve got all these answers that include “it’s easier” and “it’s safer”. Yet in the same posts they insult people who don’t have the same opinion as them. I hate people that back in because it wastes my time waiting for them to maneuver when it’s quicker to just pull forward.

When you’re leaving a parking spot and backing out all the same logic applies that these bozos use to justify backing in, but it’s more socially acceptable and doesn’t require accuracy, which speeds up the process. People that HAVE to back into parking spots are control freaks.

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- DanNZN@thelemmy.club ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  When you’re leaving a parking spot and backing out all the same logic applies that these bozos use to justify backing in
  
  I agree that attacking someone for their opinion is just silly but I honestly do not agree with this statement. People, and more importantly pedestrians, know what you are doing when you are backing into a spot and are therefore less likely to walk behind you. This is not the case when backing out of a spot. They might not even know someone is in the vehicle. Add in little kids running out of nowhere. You have a lot better situational awareness while backing in versus backing out since your field of view is not obstructed by up to three sides by cars. I do not think the difference is catastrophic by any means but, to me at least, there is a difference.
  
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  - littlecolt@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    The safety of pedestrians is the best explanation I’ve heard here so far, and it really does make me think, unlike all the people telling me I’m a bad driver and obviously they’re all so skilled and awesome which is why they back into spots. It’s seriously unreal how personally people can take a simple question, to the point they make huge assumptions about the person asking it. Definitely feels reddity in here lol
    
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- mlaga97@lemmy.mlaga97.space ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  Yet in the same posts they insult people who don’t have the same opinion as them.
  
  I’m betting it’s the use of the phrase “objectively easier” when that is incorrect by argument of geometry. The “objectively” riles people up.
  
  There is a reason why forklifts have rear-wheel steering (and therefore behave much like an automobile driving in reverse): having the point of rotation towards the direction of motion allows for much more precise maneuvering, much like you would need to do in a larger vehicle trying to fit into a tight parking space.
  
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Ziggurat@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Once you know the proper method, it’s easy and efficient. Knowing the proper method is requested to get a licence so many people don’t forget.

A big bonus is that you see where you go when leaving. So if a car comes on the street you see it.

Finally many companies have a back parking mandatory as it’s safer in case of emergency evacuation. Not an issue in a supermarket but definitely a thing on a chemical factory

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RootsInABottleNeck@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
In some country (in France in some place for exemple), regulation law force to be park back i, in case of emergency (fire, or disaster) you can make out quicker

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- synapse1278@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Yes, it is often the case for factories’ parking lots.
  
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Hogger85b@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
My van is much easier to reverse into a bay (although most of the time I go near back and find a drive through).

Backing out in the van is nightmare safety wise.

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BananaTrifleViolin@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
In addition to the ease with front wheel drives that other people have mentioned, it is also safer. When you back in to a space you have full awareness of what's around you in the car park, and are blocking the main driving route while backing into a place where no one is driving so are unlikely to have some speeding idiot hit your car. But when backing out of a space you lose vision on the driving route and are backing into it so you have a bigger chance of being hit by someone you can't see not stopping

While you can feel pressured by other drivers waiting while you backing into a space, it's far less pressure than when you back out of a space and don't know what's around you.

Similarly of you have a drive way at home, it's safer to back in to it as you have better awareness of pedestrians and other drivers versus if you are backing out of the space into a road.

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willya@lemmyf.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I can do both just as easily. I really depends on if I’m going to be using the trunk or not. Believe it or not it’s actually illegal to back in a lot of states. Cops are supposed to be able to see your license plate easily.

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- Alinor@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Do… Do cars not have license plates on both the front and back of the car in the US?
  
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  - frozen@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Depends on the state. For example, Texas does, but its neighbor Arkansas does not (last I checked).
    
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  - willya@lemmyf.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    They do but not every state requires them.
    
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  - Falmarri@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Neither of my cars have front plates even though the state requires them
    
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- squiblet@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Sounds like basically a way to harass people. If they really cared that much, they’d have plates on both ends.
  
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  - willya@lemmyf.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    lol you’re probably right.
    
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- littlecolt@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  In my state, you have to have plates on front and back, but that’s a good point for some areas I bet.
  
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gt24@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
For a certain area, I back in to a parking space so that the sun in the afternoon is coming through the back window. This means that my drivers seat and steering wheel are not the temperature of the sun when I have to drive away. Other people may park in different ways to avoid the sun in the morning should they prefer to drive out to get lunch.

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- littlecolt@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Excellent logic! Sometimes I do the same at work. When I was a smoker, I used to decide orientation so the sun is not shining on the front of the car or into the driver side directly so i could sit in my car and smoke without my arm sunburning on breaks. (Thankfully, I quit smoking and making my car stinky, tho I let passengers smoke if they want to, just occasionally.)
  
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