Okay, sometimes they actually pull through rather tha backing in, but why?
Why do some people back into diagonal parking spaces?
- Thread starter MarkC
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I back into every parking space by habit because working in law enforcement for years will do that to ya...faster exit than having to back out of a space...
Maybe beacuse its easier to pull straight out when they leave, opposed to having to blindly back into traffic?
Or maybe they pull forward too much, and ends up looking like they "back in" to the other side.
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My mother developed this technique as she got older ..on second thought ..maybe she always did it ..but she favored it more (searching out situations where she could do this) as she got older. For grocery shopping (family size)..it's actually an inconvenience, since you have to go to the rear of the vehicle to unload. Even if you can put the stuff in the back seats, unless it's a minivan with sliding doors, it's a pain. You're trapped into dealing with how everyone else parked to manage the cart ..etc..
So, I vote for stiffer necks ...eye sight that is advanced in age ..and the desire to avoid moving things. At some point, you don't need to cope with surprises.
So, I vote for stiffer necks ...eye sight that is advanced in age ..and the desire to avoid moving things. At some point, you don't need to cope with surprises.
That's what happens when moth and human DNA gets crossed.
Years ago when I was in safety management for a transportation company we always trained our drivers to "back in, pull out". Statistics showed there was less of a chance of an accident by using this method.
Your chances of an accident rise dramatically when you back out (Liberty Mutual Insurance worked with us on this and helped bring our accident rates down significantly). When you pull by a spot and back into it you've already looked into it and know what's there. When you're backing out of a spot the surroundings can change much too quickly, especially if you're surrounded by large vans, trucks or SUV's that you can't see around.
I still always try to park in a position where I can pull out instead of back out. The ideal situation is a parking lot where I can both pull forward into the space and pull forward out of it.
Your chances of an accident rise dramatically when you back out (Liberty Mutual Insurance worked with us on this and helped bring our accident rates down significantly). When you pull by a spot and back into it you've already looked into it and know what's there. When you're backing out of a spot the surroundings can change much too quickly, especially if you're surrounded by large vans, trucks or SUV's that you can't see around.
I still always try to park in a position where I can pull out instead of back out. The ideal situation is a parking lot where I can both pull forward into the space and pull forward out of it.
I don't mind if they back in, most people can't park within the lines no matter how they park, but sometimes the rear bumper to the rear wheels is longer than say the front bumper to the front wheels. It causes the car or truck to take up the entire sidewalk. And if the truck has a trailer hitch that can hurt. I'm more aware of it now since I happened to run into one of those hitches, I think it was my own.
But what about when the diagonal spaces are in rows that are one-way traffic? When you pull through so your front end is facing out, you have a more difficult time making that turn ,clearing the end of the car beside you...unless, of course, you're not concerned about which direction you're supposed to go.
The parking spaces where I live are straight, and the lady who parks besdie mine always backs in. She seems to have a problem doing it in a straight manner, and she always parks way too close to my vehicle.
The parking spaces where I live are straight, and the lady who parks besdie mine always backs in. She seems to have a problem doing it in a straight manner, and she always parks way too close to my vehicle.
To give another reason for the habitual reverse-in parker, it was pointed out in the book 'Drive It Forever' that one should situate the car for an easy cold morning getaway. In a tight parking lot with assigned spaces, I can imagine advantages of both.
Actually it is illegal here to back-up into the traffic, or to the main street (from a house, foundition or from a smaller street). But I never heard it being enforced or saw anayone cares.
I have a legitimate theory.
Vans, tall pick-ups and SUVs that park next to you totally block your ability to see oncoming traffic and pedestrians when you try to back out of the space. It is a little less intimidating to pull out of a space in that situation when you can look forward, instead of craning your neck looking for traffic, pedestrians, etc. behind you.
Vans, tall pick-ups and SUVs that park next to you totally block your ability to see oncoming traffic and pedestrians when you try to back out of the space. It is a little less intimidating to pull out of a space in that situation when you can look forward, instead of craning your neck looking for traffic, pedestrians, etc. behind you.
I like to because my friends are always awed by my ability to back into a spot in one shot. Also it is easier to see if there are obstructions when backing into a spot as opposed to backing out of one as others mentioned. I think I also read here it is easier on the transmission when cold to just put it into D and drive away.
We are talking diagonal spots. The degree of difficulty increases exponentially.
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On diagonals I don't bother.
On others, especially when a decently-sized space isn't available (like cars, they're smaller than 30-years ago), backing in takes care of any problems in departure as mentioned in above post (re insurance company). The sightlines are far better when heading out in Drive versus Reverse.
A safety tip I carried over from big trucks was to nearly always use 4-way flashers when backing up. They're an attention-getter, handy when starting to maneuver back into a space.
On the other hand, I've heard that the practice (speaking of insurance companies) is viewed with justified suspicion at convenience stores due to the "get-away" factor.
(Forget to add that it I drive a pickup. In my wife's little car the exercise is pointless).
On others, especially when a decently-sized space isn't available (like cars, they're smaller than 30-years ago), backing in takes care of any problems in departure as mentioned in above post (re insurance company). The sightlines are far better when heading out in Drive versus Reverse.
A safety tip I carried over from big trucks was to nearly always use 4-way flashers when backing up. They're an attention-getter, handy when starting to maneuver back into a space.
On the other hand, I've heard that the practice (speaking of insurance companies) is viewed with justified suspicion at convenience stores due to the "get-away" factor.
(Forget to add that it I drive a pickup. In my wife's little car the exercise is pointless).
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