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People who back into parking spots: Why?

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.

Edit: I do not need driving instruction, just wondered why. The reasoning.

239 comments
  • Same reason forklift steering 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • My backup cam makes it easy to know how far to go in. Much easier for me than figuring out the front distance.

239 comments