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You did come too close to hs bike, bro. You didn't have to come that far into his space. And I think the car that was leaving was a non factor. The guy probably thought for a sec you were gonna hit his bike. I probably would have too, had I been him and was watching you. And fwiw, I have had dozens of you backin guys cut me off or stop traffic flow or confuse other drivers in the past. Why is it always men who insist on backing in? It's a sort of assy move to me. No reason for it, other than to look cool. No easier than driving straight in either. Since as somebody already said, you have to back in once anyway.
Plus backin guys often cause door dings on other cars. At least most dings I have got were from trucks of SUVs backed in.
But you didn't ask my opinion on backing in. So....Yeah, your piece of driving there was a tad bizarre. And he overreacted too. Congrats on keeping your cool when he tripped you! How'd you do it? I would have slapped him silly while he was still in the booth, and probably would have gone to jail if it escalated and I put him through that window. I do not abide assault by anybody. Period.
Motorcyclist here, with over 30 years and 200,000 miles on bikes. And a former MSF instructor. I have some understanding of the cars vs bikes dynamic that can happen, from both sides.
IMHO the OP did nothing wrong [except perhaps pulling in a tad fast (but not overly so)], and the stare downs by the rider and his riding partner were most definitely jerkish things for them to do. The rider's trip move was certainly an A H move, and a guy like that is looking for an A whupping. He has anger issues. The gal does too. The rider probably overreacted during the OP's parking maneuver and thought his bike was going to be hit. I base this on the information provided. There may possibly be other relevant information to explain what happened.
Further, about pulling in or backing in to a parking space, I was a forklift operator. On forklifts, the rear wheels steer while the front wheels do not. This is the best geometry for maneuvering forks-first into a tight space. In my car I always seek to back in to parking spaces. Overall it is safer and faster to do, if (big if) the driver is skilled enough.
People who argue against backing in are usually either not a skilled driver in reverse, or refusing to accept the facts about geometry and visibility, or both. Again, of course, IMHO.
Further, about pulling in or backing in to a parking space, I was a forklift operator. On forklifts, the rear wheels steer while the front wheels do not. This is the best geometry for maneuvering forks-first into a tight space. In my car I always seek to back in to parking spaces. Overall it is safer and faster to do, if (big if) the driver is skilled enough.
People who argue against backing in are usually either not a skilled driver in reverse, or refusing to accept the facts about geometry and visibility, or both. Again, of course, IMHO.
I agree that backing in is a skill that most don't have and it is safer to pull out.
However most drivers that back in are usually driving a lifted truck or muscle car, and yes, they do look like a douche.
However most drivers that back in are usually driving a lifted truck or muscle car, and yes, they do look like a douche.
I do have a full size truck (Silverado 1500) and I will tell you this, especially when the parking spaces are not that big, backing in makes it much much easier to park. It is also much safer to pull out because you have a way better view of the area.
If some of you think it is a "douchy" or "assy" thing to do back up into a parking space, I say, so be it!
I do have a full size truck (Silverado 1500) and I will tell you this, especially when the parking spaces are not that big, backing in makes it much much easier to park. It is also much safer to pull out because you have a way better view of the area.
If some of you think it is a "douchy" or "assy" thing to do back up into a parking space, I say, so be it!
I'll back in every time with a pickup or my Jeep. With the blind spot mirrors, I can see straight down the side when I'm backing up, much easier to see the lines, or in the case at work, the pillar I park next to.
In my experience, everyone that has complained to me about backing in can't back into a space to save their life. Same goes with parallel parking though.
Not only that but before we back into a parking space it is easy to see if there is any obstruction or safety hazard in the parking space. When leaving, while pulling out of the parking space it is much easier to see if there is any obstruction or safety hazard on the way out.
That is much much safer overall than pulling in and backing out.
The ideal situation is to pull in and then pull out. In a parking lot when two empty spaces are "nose to nose" I am always baffled by the drivers who pull into the near space without driving all the way through that space to park in the far space, so that when it's time to leave they can just pull out.
I don't see what you did wrong. Maybe if I witnessed it live there might be something to be upset about. I hate when people whip in to parking lots too fast, but if they don't hit anything...they don't hit anything. Most time all I can think about is a person being hurt or killed though, not some property damage. It doesn't look like you were going too fast...maybe borderline. And it doesn't look to me like you were trying to be cute to see how close you could come to the bike without actually hitting it. I've seen people get upset because they think bikes don't belong in parking spots.
So no, no harm no foul. And tripping you is not passive anything. You should not have let that slide.
I usually get a few golf claps after executing my excellent backing.
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