Nitwits and their backup cameras

[scoot]

I think heaven everyday that I don't live in a metropolitan area where parking can be a stressful as suggested on here .

 

[GSCJR]

Although I think backup cameras can be a handy addition to a driver's toolkit, their virtual omnipresence seems to be causing unintended consequences in terms of driver courtesy. For example, why is it every Tom, ****, and Harry is suddenly compelled to back into parking spots at busy locations? Just came back from a very busy Home Depot, where I encountered three such occurrences. So let me get this straight. In order to save 15 seconds when leaving your parking spot, people will block both lanes as they attempt to carefully back into their spots upon arrival. And nobody seems to get it right on the first try. I just watched a guy (about 137 years old) take seven attempts to get his car backed in somewhat straight. Back & forth, back & forth, back & forth...while five or six of us are simply waiting to pass by. The electronic gadgets have not only eroded basic skills, but have also taken a huge bite out of basic courtesy as these people are either totally oblivious or simply don't care about inconveniencing others for the sake of their convenience. Although it can be somewhat comical, it seems to just be getting worse.

To be clear, I'm not taking about folks who must back in or position their vehicles in a particular way. This would include people with pickups who need easy access to their beds, handicapped-equipped vans, etc. I'm talking about Tom Smith in his Sonata and Sally Jones in her Acadia, who decide to back in just because they want to.

There's also a safety component at work, as many drivers seem to solely rely on their cameras instead of turning their heads. Many times I've watched drivers back out of their spots, eyes fixed on the camera feed. Unfortunately, most cameras' field of view does not include areas (or pedestrians) adjacent to the vehicle, so there's usually that "Oh, crap!" moment followed by a quick mashing of brakes. "Heck, I didn't see 'em!"

A recent Hyundai (or maybe Kia) commercial highlights this perfectly. A dude and his family are cruising in their SUV and are at an old-fashioned drive-in restaurant. As they are leaving, the dude almost squashes a car-hop walking behind the vehicle. Luckily, the Hyundai Safety Suite saved the day and everyone lets out a sigh of relief. Funny thing is, the driver in the commercial never even turned around to check his surroundings...it was reverse-gas-go-BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Brakes!! This is sadly becoming more and more of a frequent occurrence.

Just like TPMS has apparently relieved most people (not BITOG-ers) of regularly checking tire pressure, these silly cameras have inadvertently relieved a lot of people from the painful burden of turning their heads.

The news flash for these people is this: Electronic safety aids are supplemental. Basic driving skills still apply. Or do they?

I had two morons lose their crap on me in the last week or so. During both instances, they were racing through parking lots and selfishly making everyone else halt to a stop for them. The aggressive driving soon turns into an episode of rage littered with profanity, with as little as some eye contact or the shake of the head.

 

[4WD]

On the positive side - there have been several times I put my vehicle in R - check the camera to see someone walking inches behind me - so many take the shortest path and really lack situational awareness.

 

[mikeduf]

And let's not forget the seniors that like to walk around in parking lots looking for their cars and just stand there!
On a few occasions if it wasn't for my backup camera and my reverse sensor breaking one of these disoriented seniors would have been tagged.
My gripe is why do seniors walk around aimlessly in parking lots and not look both ways before they cross the streets either.
Are they entitled?
I now honk my horn a few times as I'm backing up just to let the other morons that like to speed and just shoot out of their parking spaces with Reckless abandonment and mostly to alert the walkers.
Don't get me wrong I'm not after seniors but I have seen more and more seniors that are oblivious to their location and their situation. Perhaps they're all over medicated.
Not trying to offend any seniors here because I'm 67, but I look both ways before I cross the streets and never do I hobble around in parking lots.
It's a Surefire way to get tagged that's why shopping cart assistance were those little orange jackets.
So yes some of these new car features are good. Things like Lane centering assistance I can for sure leave that function we need to stay focused on driving not our phones.

 

[supton]

I've grown to like my backup camera enough that I'd like to add it to the one vehicle we have that doesn't have it. Just one more view of what is going on.

I rarely back into spots, not that great at it as I avoid it. I will typically park in the back 40 and pull through. I could use the walk and I like to think I'm saving on the reverse band. I don't care for driving around looking for the closest parking spot, seems like a waste of time.

 

[Al]

To me they along with audible warnings and automatic backup breaking are a godsend

To me the title should just have been "Nitwits backing up/driving"

 

[Fattylocks]

I always back in. Must be a nitwit.

 

[mikeduf]

And let's not forget the ones that back into parking stalls cockeyed and Over The Line; And parking their 4x4 twin turbo Cummins diesel dually in the first parking lot that they can find in the front of the store.
These are empowered and privileged people.

 

[Fitter30]

I'm very rural dulles pickups with either a farm bed or 8' box is more normal than a small car. Pull thru than back up. My body doesn't twist very well.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Although I think backup cameras can be a handy addition to a driver's toolkit, their virtual omnipresence seems to be causing unintended consequences in terms of driver courtesy. For example, why is it every Tom, ****, and Harry is suddenly compelled to back into parking spots at busy locations? Just came back from a very busy Home Depot, where I encountered three such occurrences. So let me get this straight. In order to save 15 seconds when leaving your parking spot, people will block both lanes as they attempt to carefully back into their spots upon arrival. And nobody seems to get it right on the first try. I just watched a guy (about 137 years old) take seven attempts to get his car backed in somewhat straight. Back & forth, back & forth, back & forth...while five or six of us are simply waiting to pass by. The electronic gadgets have not only eroded basic skills, but have also taken a huge bite out of basic courtesy as these people are either totally oblivious or simply don't care about inconveniencing others for the sake of their convenience. Although it can be somewhat comical, it seems to just be getting worse.

To be clear, I'm not taking about folks who must back in or position their vehicles in a particular way. This would include people with pickups who need easy access to their beds, handicapped-equipped vans, etc. I'm talking about Tom Smith in his Sonata and Sally Jones in her Acadia, who decide to back in just because they want to.

There's also a safety component at work, as many drivers seem to solely rely on their cameras instead of turning their heads. Many times I've watched drivers back out of their spots, eyes fixed on the camera feed. Unfortunately, most cameras' field of view does not include areas (or pedestrians) adjacent to the vehicle, so there's usually that "Oh, crap!" moment followed by a quick mashing of brakes. "Heck, I didn't see 'em!"

A recent Hyundai (or maybe Kia) commercial highlights this perfectly. A dude and his family are cruising in their SUV and are at an old-fashioned drive-in restaurant. As they are leaving, the dude almost squashes a car-hop walking behind the vehicle. Luckily, the Hyundai Safety Suite saved the day and everyone lets out a sigh of relief. Funny thing is, the driver in the commercial never even turned around to check his surroundings...it was reverse-gas-go-BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Brakes!! This is sadly becoming more and more of a frequent occurrence.

Just like TPMS has apparently relieved most people (not BITOG-ers) of regularly checking tire pressure, these silly cameras have inadvertently relieved a lot of people from the painful burden of turning their heads.

The news flash for these people is this: Electronic safety aids are supplemental. Basic driving skills still apply. Or do they?

The other side that you seem to be missing is the pedestrian side. Backing into a spot isn’t intended for the safety of the driver so much as helping them to prevent running into people on foot who are just too stupid to watch where they’re going.

For some companies, it’s a requirement on their employees. Anheuser-Busch had it posted every 5 spots wide or so that all spots were back-in only.

If you’re that worried about how long people take, you can always park out in the boonies and walk in. On the way, you can yell at everyone to get off your lawn while they’re at it.

 

[alarmguy]

If you are constantly waiting for some one to park…you are parking too close to the store!

Go out 50 yards or so, park in twenty seconds and get some exercise walking in. I can’t believe the conga line of cars in the middle of the lane waiting for some dude to load his trunk and leave. Just so they can park near the store. I’m in and out sometimes before they park….and I’m 79 years old!

Agree, comical, the race to get near the front door of a business. We become more fat, lazy and stupid with each generation.
Just look around, many can use the extra walk.

I agree the displays in cars can be a distraction and a theory on why Tesla has the highest accident rate.
With that said, as far as vision. Today's cars with multiple cameras make it hard to run over anyone. My wife's equinox will apply the brakes automatically if you try to back into something or try to back over someone. Out of curiosity. I had my wife try to back into me as I walked behind the car while she was backing up and I her. The car would not let us run over each other!!

 

[supton]

I am starting to wonder if I wouldn’t mind a forward camera just for parking, so as to avoid the curb. Rarely park where that would be needed, so it is not a skill I have—knowing exactly to the inch where the perimeter of my vehicle is.

 

[eljefino]

People are buying bigger vehicles than they can handle. A driving test every ten years would solve this problem-- you can only drive as big a rig as you qualify on.

Backup cameras are a symptom, not a cause. Rearward visibility has been on the decline for years thanks to the slab-sided styling.

Backing into a space is actually safer-- you control the space by scoping it out while you pass it to line up, then you have good visibility of things like other pedestrians whilst pulling out. The people who ruffle your feathers would be equally dangerous pulling out of a space, as well.

 

[Allaned]

I've grown to like my backup camera enough that I'd like to add it to the one vehicle we have that doesn't have it. Just one more view of what is going on.

I rarely back into spots, not that great at it as I avoid it. I will typically park in the back 40 and pull through. I could use the walk and I like to think I'm saving on the reverse band. I don't care for driving around looking for the closest parking spot, seems like a waste of time.

I added a back up camera to our 2007 Grand Cherokee. I used the AutoVox item listed in Amazon. Of course I spliced the camera into one of the back up lights.

 

[SaberOne]

I back into parking spots all the time—Home Depot, grocery stores, wherever. Fortunately, I’m **** good at it. Comes with the territory—I used to drive Class 8 rigs, ran engines as a firefighter/engineer, and even operated tanks in the Army. So yeah, backing into a spot is a one-shot deal for me. Quick, clean, and I’m out of the way before anyone even has time to get annoyed.

I do it because it’s way safer. You can actually see the empty space when you arrive, unlike when you’re trying to reverse out blind later. And by the time I’m ready to leave, there’s almost always some giant crew cab pickup with a long-ass bed parked across the lines, hugging my poor little sedan like it wants to take it home. At least when I back in, I can pull out forward without playing a game of blindfolded bumper cars. Works for me.

 

[tbm5690]

Reversing into a parking space with a rear view camera and dipping side mirror(s) is cake. If folks can't do it in modern vehicles with these features then I'm not sure what to say. I back in daily...at work, into the garage and occasionally when shopping.

 

[dogememe]

On 90 degree spots I’ll almost always back in. The company I work for has a huge fleet of delivery vehicles across 6000 stores and the company policy is to ALWAYS back in if it’s a 90 degree spot. That right there tells me it’s safer.

But, as I have years of practice with it, it takes maybe 5 seconds longer than pulling in forward and I’ll rarely have to correct. And overall as you can pull out faster and safer it’s actually more efficient. But if those 5 seconds in that moment matter to you, I apologize for inconveniencing your majesty as I am a mere peasant.

Oh, and backup cameras are a blessing. Modern vehicles are so chunky with thick pillars for crash safety that without them it would be difficult if not impossible to safely back up.

 

[nomas]

My employer required us to back in whenever possible . AND , if there was a passenger in the vehicle then that person was required to get out and direct you back . They took that rule seriously .

 

[VolvoZ]

…My wife's equinox will apply the brakes automatically if you try to back into something or try to back over someone. Out of curiosity. I had my wife try to back into me as I walked behind the car while she was backing up and I her. The car would not let us run over each other!!

You trusted Chevy/GM technology to save your life? Are you out of your mind?!!!! I did have an Equinox as a rental recently, and was pretty impressed with it overall. Not a bad vehicle at all. But are you out of your mind?!!!

 

[VolvoZ]

Really haven’t noticed a rash of “back into parking spots instances” here in New England. Probably the most dangerous thing i see on a regular basis is folks driving too fast in a parking lot, jerks parking right at grocery store entrances (where people are walking/rolling their grocery carriages in/out of store) so they can drop off and pick up their passenger.