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I had an incident with a car parked diagonally in the last two covered spots at the airport on a very rainy morning. I guess it would be prudent not to describe the whole thing even though the statute of limitations is long gone, except to say that it was pretty irritating.
I find it much easier to back in to spaces because if a large SUV/van/pick up truck parks next to you at least you have a better view pulling out of the space looking forward than looking over your shoulder backing out.
Not quite following this logic. If there's a big vehicle parked next to you that you can't see past, you still can't see past it if you are backed in until your nose is way out into the lane. So either you creep cautionsuly nose first until you can see, or you creep cautiously back first until you can see. Done both, and there's no real visibility difference when parked next to larger vehicles.
In 30 years of driving, I've never been hit, nor hit anyone when backing out of a parking spot.
Here are my other reasons, besides the one already mentioned by others in this thread.
- When I start off my trip, I can assess the traffic and surroundings in the parking lot from outside (the car) while walking towards my car. I usually do that.
- Usually the crowd/car traffic is less when I am leaving a Parking Lot than coming in. If I back in during arrival to the Parking lot, it may inconvenience other vehicles. My observation, it may be different for you.
- I believe as a driver, I am more attentive while starting off than while coming to the end of the trip. That's just me.
- If any vehicle hits you in the parking lot, i rather prefer that it happens on the rear end, than the nose of my car. Hopefully, it shouldn't.
Last edited by jeevcy; 10-25-2010 at 11:19 AM..
Reason: spelling
Off topic, one thing I find most irritating with people parking their cars (irrespective of whether they back in or out), some people are very picky that they have the car in the most perfect position.
They will go through the entire parking exercise 2-3 times even if they have got it right the first time (maybe not perfectly correct from an aesthetics point of view, but very acceptable for the other cars).
Whenever there is space, I back into a spot if I anticipate it would be easier to pull straight out without reversing when I intend to leave said spot. I use my mirrors and reverse isn't that scary of an idea.
At concerts or events where there will be a lot of parked cars, I tend to back-in to a spot and park near the exit where I can easily get out of heavy traffic.
Where I live it's frowned upon to back in, most lots post signs.
I think the idea is that if you don't see someone coming (or they don't see you) then they'll hit the rear of your car, much less dangerous than if they hit the front.
People who pull through spaces as they leave btw are my pet hate. They frequently come swinging out around the back of giant trucks they can't see around, all because they don't like backing out.
I back in almost every where I go. It is far easier to back between 2 or 3 stationary vehicles than trying to back out into "traffic" (busy parking lot). In most cases the front of the vehicle is far shorter than the rear so therefore makes it easier to see traffic when pulling straight out..
There are two different parking garages where I work. The main one is one way drive thru with diagonal parking for nose end first only parking for most spaces. The other garage is straight line parking spaces. When I park in diagonal spaces, I always park nose first in these spaces since it follows the clearly marked path of travel. When parking in the straight in spaces, I usually try to back into the space. You have better rear visibility of oncoming traffic with diagonal spaces than you do with straight in parking spaces,...especially if you're in a car surrounded by large trucks and SUVs. What I find odd is the number of people here who say it's easier to go in reverse to enter a parking space than going in reverse to exit the parking space.
I sometimes enjoy the longer walk by parking in the straight in parking because of the large number of women who aren't able to park. Even when pulling in nose first, they sometimes make three or more tries to get their vehicle straight. It's even more fun when they're in a large truck/SUV backing into the space or backing out of a space. When backing out of a space, they'll have a good 5 to 6 feet to go in reverse before kissing another vehicle's bumper when they put it in drive to inch forward a few inches.
This message goes out to both men and women,...mostly women,....don't buy a vehicle larger than you can handle. If it takes you 3 or more tries to park the vehicle properly then you bought a vehicle too large.
I back in almost every where I go. It is far easier to back between 2 or 3 stationary vehicles than trying to back out into "traffic" (busy parking lot). In most cases the front of the vehicle is far shorter than the rear so therefore makes it easier to see traffic when pulling straight out..
You might think so, but in most cases, with passenger cars, it's not true from the driver's seat:
Typical stubby nose compact car. Notice where the driver's head is at in relation to the front and rear of the vehicle? Dead center. Identical distance from your eyes to the front or the rear. And that's a "cab forward" sub-compact.
A little larger, we get to sedans like the Sentra:
Again, driver's head, dead nuts center front to rear.
A mid size crossover:
Head dead center between front and rear. Same seating position as the Accord or Camry sedan.
In each case, as much car leaves the space and is in jeapoardy before you can see clearly if you are next to a vehicle like a minivan, full size van, or large SUV, regardless of if you back out or come out forward.
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