Back In Parking (best, sensor, difference, cars)

[echo7tango]

Also, I will not back-in park if there are sidewalk tables and people eating or drinking coffee, to avoid blowing my exhaust to them. But usually I will back-in park.

[Driver 47]

Backing in makes for a nice, quick, clean getaway.

[Buckeye77]

Back in parking has a Freudian explanation....

[rabbit33]

I think it's a Yankee thing; with a rear wheel drive car, heading out when snow's fallen gives you the length of the wheelbase to get moving before you hit that shelf of snow that's built up behind the rear wheels.

[BostonMike7]

I always default to back-in parking when convenient and legal.

I always find it gives me better visibility and situational awareness. When i'm driving down the mall parking aisle and see a spot, i'm at an advantage in the aisle as I can see down the aisle and behind me as well as into the space. I'd rather use that advantage to back in, vs pull straight in. Reason being that when it's time to leave, you have a greater field of view pulling out of the space vs trying to back out. As well all know, plenty of cars fly down the aisles and pedestrians often have their nose buried in in their phones.

In my daily travels, i back into spaces maybe 90-95% of the time. Only time i purposely don't back in is if i know I need to load items into the trunk/back of the vehicle I'm in.

Also, backing in allows me a quicker escape when the zombies attack.

[marlinfshr]

Originally Posted by Therblig

Okay.

Explain to me, in short words and clear sentences, why you back into parking places, even when it's at least twice as much effort as pull-in and there are no reasons backing out of the slot will present any special problem.

Parking or leaving, you still need to back up. It takes no more or less time either way!
I have always wondered why the hell this bothers some so much.

Did you have to wait for someone to back int a spot? Guess what, you'll need to wait for someone to back out as well.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by ddeemo

I know that backing in is an Army/military thing - back-in in case you need to pull out fast and not worry about IEDs - some do it to show former military service.

Personally - I tend to look for drive through spots and back in only if convenient.

Our corporate fleet safety training says that a statistically significant amount of accidents occur backing out of spots and that parking with the front of the vehicle facing out is preferable, but they stop short of instructing us to back in.

[KCZ]

Originally Posted by marlinfshr

Parking or leaving, you still need to back up. It takes no more or less time either way!
I have always wondered why the hell this bothers some so much.

Did you have to wait for someone to back int a spot? Guess what, you'll need to wait for someone to back out as well.

A lot of people can barely back up. It's harder and more time-consuming for them to back into a spot not much wider than their vehicle than it is to back out into a much larger aisle in a parking lot. When I come out of the store and go to my car, the adjacent cars that are parked over the line and encroaching in my space are invariably people that have backed in.

[irman]

It depends on the situation.

At home:
I back in on the left side of the garage, while my wife heads in on the right side of the garage.
This way both of us can exit our cars easier. Not all garages are wide enough to get in or out on either side of the car...
We do let passengers out before we enter our garage and we wait until all passengers have entered the house.
Our garage is long enough to empty the trunk of our cars, if needed.

Anywhere else:
I look at the situation and adapt accordingly.
If the wheel stops are high, I back in because those wheel stops are higher than my front bumper.
If they are low (Costco has changed their wheel stops to low profile wheel stops), I head in.
If there are people sitting at the end of the parking slot, I head in.
If there is a sign that says "Do not back in", I head in, duuuuhhh. I just have to be careful that I stop before those high wheel stops damage my front bumper.
If there are no wheel stops, I head in.

My questions...
Why is this so important for you to know the why?
Do you get huffed up when people do not use their directional indicators when they change lanes?
Do you get angry when people do not drive at a constant speed on the highway?
Do you get upset when the light changes to green and some people might take a long time to start going?

My personal reaction to the question I posed is that I talk to those buggers who do those strange things, while I bloody well know that they can not hear me...
Uhuh, like I am the only one who does that!

[RayinAK]

It is quite common for Korean drivers to reverse into the parking spot. In reality it is very easy and safer to back into the spot because the pivot point of the car is in front, and the pedestrians and traffic aren't going to be in the parking spot you are backing into. Korean multi-parking places have elevated parking that have two or more floors, and the drive lanes in the parking lots are very narrow, so exiting is much easier done as one drives forward because one only has to look left, right, and not to the rear of the car.

The OP should try this: park as you usually do (forward) at a crowded parking lot (Walmart, etc.). Do some shopping and then a few minuets later, back out of the parking spot. Notice how you have to back slowly to avoid running over pedestrians that may be right near the back bumper, or hitting the car behind yours that is also backing out, or the cars are the left and right that are moving on the 2-way drive lane you are backing into.