So what is the allure of backing into a parking space?
 

Seriously, what is the deal with backing into a space in a parking lot? Am I too old to understand this phenomenon? I took my son to soccer practice tonight, and a cursory review of the lot showed almost half of the slots backed into.

It certainly isn't easier to do? Is it cool?

Are people afraid they will have to flee from the lot, and need the advantage?

Is this like wearing a baseball cap sideways or with a flat bill?

Do I need to page Bucc to see how he copes with this?

Do I need to start yelling at children loitering near my property?

I figured that this was the place to ask.

It's a good habit to get into for when the Zombie Apocalypse happens.

I have worked driving jobs in the past and it was always taught to back into a spot when you have the option of doing so. I'm guessing it's considered safer, but it is something that never carried over to my daily driving.

I always back into a parking spot whenever I can.

I've always been taught that backing into a parking space is always safer than backing out of one.

Yeah, this is my thinking.

Better view of pedestrians when leaving, certainly. Less risk of turning your head to check the other direction before exiting and getting clobbered by someone who was in a blind spot (or clobbering someone who was in one).

From a youth sports perspective, easier/safer to load/unload the vehicle that way, I'd imagine. You're not blocking traffic when unloading, and you're at less risk of getting hit by someone who just wants to get home after spending 3 hours on the metal bleachers.

I've never really thought about it, but I can jump on board with the "it's safer".

But, as for the quoted, are you sure about that ? I'd be surprised to find 1/2 the slots were actually backed into. Possibly they were pulled through ? I find myself doing that whenever possible, I simply hate backing up.

Did you know that in New York State it is the law to back into your driveway? Sadly not enforced at all.

I believe this was referred to as a distinctly poor phenomenon recently on the Adam Carolla podcast.

I always try to back in when I know that a large group of people will be leaving at the same time. For instance, the parking lot at a professional sporting event.

Also, are you sure the majority of these weren't just people who "pulled through" as opposed to literally backing in?

In larger vehicles the turn in rate is betterwhen backingalso

I find it fascinating that this was perceived as some sort of generation gap thing.

:+1:


My mother in her 60's has backed in to parking spaces as long as I can remember.

Fire, police and other public safety workers are all taught to back into parking spaces because the split seconds you save leaving a space might save a life.

Two years back, the new fire chief showed up with the fire bigwigs waiting to greet him. He pulled into a space head-in and there were audible gasps (I'm told). He laughed as he got out.

I do it at work simply because it's a pain in the ass trying to back out of a space in such a cramped parking lot. With very few cars in the lot when I arrive in the morning, it's easy to back in. And then it's that much easier to leave at night.

I don't always do it, but try to when the lot isn't crowded (ie: I don't have other cars on my tail, waiting to get through). Makes it much easier/safer to leave a crowded event.

I took a traffic school class about 10 years ago and the guy kept talking about backing into spots and about looking at pedestrian walkway lights to determine if your light is about to turn red. When we came back from lunch everyone had backed into the tiny strip mall lot. Not sure it was worth 6 hours for those two items but they did stick with me to this day.

Not sure how I would load groceries if backed in, so I don't think I'll start this up while running errands just yet.

yy.

I back in in crowded lots, front in in less crowded lots.

I've been driving for almost 20 years and I don't know how to back into a parking spot. If I really had to, it would probably take me a dozen tries.

But if I find a "pull-through" spot, KA-CHING!

I works in claims for a large insurance company. There are many, many, many, more accidents involving people backing out than people backing in. You will just about always be at fault in an accident where you were the one backing out as well.

Bingo - I will almost always park a bit further away if I can find a pull-through spot.

We can at least all agree that for sporting events/concerts only idiots don't back-in, right?

It is also the law in Germany - and they do enforce it. This is where I learnt to do this as a habit.

The logic I was told is that it is safer for the person parked to leave by driving forward than it is to reverse out of the parking space as they have more chance of avoiding another careless driver who is going too fast. According to the Germans it cuts down on a lot of accidents.

(Also in Germany you are required to have a full first aid kit in your car and the police can stop you to request it if they need extra first aid stuff at an accident - and they enforce this law rigerously too.....Germans have some sensible laws)

Backing into a spot is for Batman and bank robbers.

There are only two times when I back into my parking spot:

1. Parking in front of my apartment building with items in the trunk that need to be unloaded (groceries and such).
2. During the winter when a significant amount of snow is expected. It is much easier to drive forward than to back out of a spot in the snow when your car is front-wheel-drive (obviously the opposite holds true if your vehicle is rear-wheel-drive).

I find it easier to drive forward out of a spot in the snow with a rear wheel drive car.

My driveway is on a slight slope, so if I back out of the drive my rear wheels will sometimes slip as soon as they hit the snow, but if I go forwards the rear wheels have almost a car length of clear ground to allow me to gain a little momentum before I hit the snow.

Things I learned my first winter in Wisconsin after 27+ in California for $500, Alex!

A fair point for those of you with a garage. My statement was assuming starting from a dead stop in every driver's favorite white stuff.

It was pretty close to half, anecdotal, but only because I got tired of counting. I was sort of taken aback, like I had missed a memo or something. Oh and you can't pull through in that particular parking lot. Tight confines too.

I always like to start out entering the parking spot forward. Slowly at first just to get the parking space all worked up to really want it.

It's safety. It is safer to back into a spot when you have all the information and knowledge than to back out when you are leaving your location.

(did not read your post, but that is the typical and most logical answer)

FYI - I teach defensive driving at work and all of our technicians are required to back into parking spots unless there is no option to do so (ie. angled parking spots in one way lanes.)

Although I doubt you are required to use it or know how to use it... ;)

Well I've always wondered about it, and just the sheer volume/percentage of folks doing it triggered me to ask here. I was really grasping at straws to figure it out.

I figured it was an age thing. Or maybe something else I didn't understand like socioeconomic or racial?

Now I'm wondering if there were a bunch of fire fighters there.

I wouldn't know how to act if I were required to back into a parking spot. I might even refuse. I get the safety aspect, I guess I'd rather just risk it and pay attention when I back out. It's worked for me the past thirty years.

This.

If by 'idiot' you mean folks that don't really think things through, then, yes. Trying to back your car against the flow of wall-to-wall traffic sucks. But if I can get a nose into the flow of traffic, I own that position.

No, and try not to break anything climbing off the horse.

Edit: I may or may not be serious with this post, but I've wanted to say that shit for a long time.

If you back in three times in a row, a hooker arrives to give you a blowjob. So that might help explain it to you. Didn't you get the memo?

I've always backed into parking spots. Feels weird to pull into one and I hate backing out into traffic. YMMV I guess.

I would just be happy if people parked between the lines regardless of which way they pulled in.

If you back in how do you sit in the alley and watch the tv/satellite set up in the bed of the truck back of the SUV?

It's standard operating procedure at PG&E (my company) to back into all parking spots. It's safer for several of the reasons already mentioned, but the part that they harp on us about is that once you are leaving, you are already thinking about where you are going to go next. If you have your mind on the next task you are going to do, something as menial as driving your car isn't getting your full attention, and backing up is more dangerous than driving forward - so it's something you should be paying full attention to.

I'm not sure how much it is skewed outside of our company, but I know that at PG&E something along the lines of 75%+ of all motor vehicle incidents occur when backing. If you do your backing first (or try to avoid backing completely), you stand a much better chance of paying attention to the backing as opposed to whatever it is you're on the way to go do.

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to compare backing out to, uh, forwarding out? I'd imagine more claims come when you're going "out" then when you're going "in"

You're probably still right that it would be safer though, even once you account for the fact that more people back out than back in.

was thinking of this thread when I went for my morning walk around the parking lot. noticed that one entire row was cars facing forward. I'm assuming those were the first to arrive in the morning and pulled through.

This reminds me of our visit to the middle school the other night. An entire row of minivans (including ours) were parked like that, having filled up the row by pulling through.

Unfortunately these were angled parking spots, and everyone was facing the wrong way.

I think I can take a stab at this one. It is company policy that we all back into spots (or pull through) with the result being that when you leave you are pulling out a spots. Even so the largest cause of accidents with our company is still because of backing. We have very few it any accidents due to pulling out of spots going forward.

personally, I'm not great at backing into a spot and I think I'd be much more prone to have an accident backing in rather than backing out (albeit a more minor accident)

I wonder if people take advantage of utility trucks as well. Sneak into a blind spot and hope to get bumped for a few thousand dollars.

This is America! If they don't have their own first aid kit, they shouldn't be bleeding!

Stupid pinko commies... trying to tell me what I have to carry in my car. And then telling me I should have to share it should the need arise. :lol: