Back in, or back out?

M

mwerner

Joined
Apr 23, 2002
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5,354
We have, like many folks, big, congested parking lots with spaces as small as possible to cram as many cars as possible onto the property.

Most folks just pull into the spaces, requiring them to back out when they leave.
A fair percentage goes to the trouble of backing into the space, so that they can pull out facing forwards.

Seems to me that you have to back up at some point....

One might make the case that when you pull forward out of a space, your visibility is a bit better, and you can see oncoming traffic. On the other hand, trying to back into a space flanked by other cars is a prime cause of fender-benders.
Any preferences?
 
At home I prefer to back in so that I'm facing the road when I get ready to leave the next time. But at work I like to park facing the building. I will pull-in or back-in, as long as I'm facing the building. I don't really know what that's about, but I ALWAYS do it.
 
The best is when you can pull-through.

Otherwise, you are right

Seems to me that you have to back up at some point....
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The question is when do you back? The answer is that you want to back and do all the shifting involved when your transmission is warmed up. Therefore, back in.
 
This is one of my pet peeves at my office. Some people back in, missing the lines and taking up two spaces or backing in and out to get straight, instead of just pulling in. It seems to me that its easier to back out, where you are just need to back up and pull away, than backing up into a small space. At my office at least, its not like everyone is leaving at once and its a big delay.

I do admit that if I get to a place like a party or a concert early I will try to back in because when everybody is leaving at once its easier to just pull out.
 
I always back in if possible. I got used to doing it while I worked with the FD and carried it over to my personal car. If you checked the parking lot at the station, almost 100% of the guys backed into spaces.
 
I cannot stand people that back in. For some reason, it drives me insane. Probably because in a parking lot, the speed limit is 5 mph, so pulling out carefully and slowly shouldn't be that difficult. If you can't back out of a space, you don't know how to drive. It reminds me of people who drive some tiny-**** huge truck, and park ACROSS spots because their vehicle is too big to fit. The proper thing to do in that situation is to go to the farthest parking spot away, and park where nobody else will.

Man, what's eating me today :confused:
sorry for the rant
 
The speed in parking lots may be 5 mph but the pedestrian speed is instantaneous -- just as you start to back out, someone steps behind your car :)

Back in; see where you're going when you leave.
 
if you back out, depending on what cars are parked beside you, your visibility isn't that much worse than if you pull out forward. But, if you back out and get hit in the rear, that's not going to cause as much damage to your vehicle as pulling out forward and getting hit in the engine would.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The speed in parking lots may be 5 mph but the pedestrian speed is instantaneous -- just as you start to back out, someone steps behind your car :)

Back in; see where you're going when you leave.
Click to expand...

Good point!!!!!!!!!
 
I usually just pull in, unless I can pull through, in which case I get the best of both worlds.

It is amazing the number of people who can't drive in reverse. I used to drive a truck, and needed to back in to park for the night. It required me to back into a right turn down a pretty busy road, cut the wheel all the way to the right, and finally pull into a parking spot just barely big enough for the truck. Got used to doing it pretty fast, with traffic coming at me. Never really liked it though.
 
Back in.Always,hell if I can back a 45 foot ladder truck down city streets using only mirrors,theres not a space made I can't back a van into.

With so many big suv's and vans around,its often hard when parked straight in to back out and see walkers till your already way out of the space.

Plus I leave my trailer hitch and ball in year round,so if someone pulls to far in they hit that instead of my front bumper. :D
 
Always reverse in. As an LEO, I learned that early. There are so many reasons:

As an LEO, you may need to get away fast. There may have been all the room in the world when you parked, but when your mate calls for urgent assistance and you dash back to the car, you can bet that every dockheed in the world has abandoned his car within 6" of your rear bumper.

As Gollnick says, reverse gear is a different design from forward gears. Reverse in when everything's warmed up. Drive out forward when it's cold.

Your field of view of moving traffic is better when reversing into slots.

You are exploiting the steering front wheels to best advantage.

None of the above apply when you're female. Park any way you can, just don't do it anywhere near me...

:D

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
None of the above apply when you're female. Park any way you can, just don't do it anywhere near me...

:D

maximus otter
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OT ... You've been a copper for well over 20 years and times have changed ...

How many times have you been hauled over the coals for calling your female colleagues WPCs? :D :D I know it happens to most old timers.

Roger
 
I normally back in. Parking is always tough to come by here in Italy, and Italians in general are totally undisciplined parkers.

Getting into a parking space may be easy, but you may come back to your car after two hours and find it blocked in by motorists who couldn't be bothered to look for a "real" parking place. It's easier to wind your way through triple parked cars in a forward gear than in reverse.
 
I'm all about backing in. I think pulling in is something that people do when they're not thinking about parking. I don't know anything about it being better for your car, but I do know that I've never regretted backing into a spot, and I have regretted not doing so on a few occasions.

There are a few 45° head-in only spots near me, and I've always wondered why on earth they bother to specify head-in only. I guess you're pulling out on the wrong side, but if you're not able to do that safely how did you get to the spot in the first place?

I don't think there's any excuse for not parking smack dab in the middle of the available space. People need to learn to use reverse. I'm far from the best reverese driver in the world, but compared to some of the geniuses I've seen I'm a regular ambulence driver. Jeez, just drive slow and don't turn as hard, what's the problem?

OK, done ranting.
 
Of course the reason to go head in is immediate gratification. :D You got where you're going and you want to go and keep moving. Sure you have to back out later - but that's later. Why do now what you can put off until later? You're thinking about living in the moment. No time to worry about tomorrow.

The other thing that hasn't been brought up is where you are when you're parking. I always go head in at the hardware store or grocery store. Pain in the butt to try to load the trunk or back of the van if you've backed into a space. You've either gotta squeeze a cart between the cars - which you can never do cuz the guy next to you parked too close - or you've gotta heft everything all the way around the car. Head in is a must when you're going to be loading the car.

Also - if you're backing up going up hill - like into a driveway you're visibility behind you is even worse or nonexistant (depending on your car I suppose). Scares the poopy out of me to see people fly backwards into their driveway - you better make durn sure you know where those kids are - cuz you aint gonna see em.
 
I back in where possible, especially with the vette, because those concrete parking bumpers wreak havoc on the front end and frame of a low-slung car.

Typically no matter what car I'm driving I attempt to park out away from everyone, but no matter how hard I try there always seems to be a heavily-dented minivan that wants to park 6 inches off my driver-side door :mad:
 
We park our minivans there because we know you guys will be careful not to scratch our paint! :D Plus the kids wanna put their noses and fingers on your windows as they're peeking in to the fancy race car. :D
 
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