Posted on 05/28/2019 2:42:37 PM PDT by dangus
I can't handle it anymore. My curiosity has burned for decades about this, and I finally decided that hey, there's a thing called the internet so I can ask:
Why do between about 1 in 5 and 1 in 10 people insist on parking backwards, despite the fact that it's obviously MUCH more difficult. I always get stuck waiting for these people why they try over and over to straighten their cars out. WHY?
I can't detect any trend in demographics... young v old, north v south, city v urban, white v non-white, men v women... just a consistent portion of people who INSIST on blocking me for fifteen minutes while they park backwards! Please... I'll just presume you're someone who can do it in one move, every time and never cause massive jams in parking lots... someone just tell me WHY you do it!!!
Exactly. It’s taught in industrial safety courses, for instance. And I remember reading some accounts of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. If a driver didn’t automatically “combat park” (back in), that was an instant fire.
Because the quality of your information about your surroundings is higher when you enter than it is when you leave. Simple, really.
Also, it’s easier to check the status of a small parking place than it is to check the status of the road in both directions, particularly since one or both vehicles on either side may be big SUVs or trucks that weren’t there when you parked.
It’s not backwards. When you find a way to stop drivers from speeding by you when you’re backing out of a parking spot I will stop parking by backing into the space.
It is impossible to drive front first into a single space. The only way to fit is to back into the space.
If you find it difficult, you probably never learned how to do it, or else you have a phobia about parking.
I work in the oil and gas industry and it is required in the entire industry.
Cops with the auto-scanning plate technology in their revenue vehicles?
And another thing. In large parking lots, city codes should require a certain percentage of spaces to be jumbos to accommodate large vehicles. Sign them so people notice the difference.
It is safer to pull out of a parking spot than to back out. I almost always try to find a “pull thru” so to speak, rather than back into a parking spot. Finding a pull thru to park into and then pull out was part of a defensive driving course I took many years ago. Also, you’ll get more exercise walking to the door of where you are parking, since these spots are further away from the door. Safe driving, more exercise, double win!
I’ve only seen that for angled parking, not pependicular.
YMMV
Two reasons:
1. To be like my father.
2. It pisses off my wife.
I park my car back end first into my parking spot in my apartment’s parking lot, for two main reasons. First is so I can easier see any cars that might be approaching from either side before I pull out. Several people in my parking complex have trucks and vans that you can’t see around if you back out. The second reason is that during the winter, when the complex plow plows me in on three sides, I can get out of my parking spot by just giving my car the gas. I’m 71, and been here 20 years. There are several other folks who live here, that park their cars the same way.
As a recovering alcoholic (20 years without a drink the November,) I’ll tell you that it’s a drunk’s trick.
Not that I’m saying all these people are drunks...
Also, I parked cars, as a valet, for years. I actually feel more comfortable parking backwards and there are less accidents when pulling out of a parking spot this way.
Bwah?? Did those geniuses ever offer some justification for their fascism?
It may be because:
1. It is not against the law.
2. it is a free country to maneuver in a way that pleases the driver.
3. He/she is notdriving primarily to obsequiously please you.
4. To load groceries, wheelchair, etc. without standing partially out into the lane traffic.
5. His/her car may be prone to battery problems and needs to have the hood easily availabe for access in case a jump start becomes necessary.
6. One better avoids the danger and inconvenience of backing into traffic when exiting the space.
7. To take up less parking space by making access to the driver's door side common and wider between one's own and the adjacent nosed-in vehicle.
8. The best way to park nosing in is to bring the front of the car to the rear of the farthest next vehicle, then back up so as to bring both front and rear of one's own car in line with the center axis of the parking spot, then drive straight into te space with better judgment placement.
9. To provide you with a source of irritation tha will help you to improve your character in dealing with others. 10. To give me an opportunity for commenting on your obvious boorish lack of patience in driving skills.
“why”
Eons ago when I would visit me grandfather at his condo in Fla, I would back into a vistor space. That was a huge no no....the condo commando’s would give me crap about it.....old biddies screaming from their balconies....
Something about the exhaust fumes killing the shrubs lined up along the parking spaces.....
The problem with a lot of people is that they have no depth perception, and can’t tell how much space they have on the passenger’s side of their car. I can’t stand people who have to go into the opposite lane to drive by a parked car. I also can’t stand people who turn their steering wheels left first, to make a right hand turn...and vice versa.
In many states you only need a license plate in the back, and by parking backwards you avoid police camera scans that reveal suspensions, expirations, warrants, etc.
Hmmm... Seriously question the stats... First correct step would be to determine how many vehicles have the front seat installed backwards... Then, a simple count of those people who have such a car would be more representative of the problem...
Same here. I drive an f150 during winter & rainy season, once the parking garage fills up, I can’t back out or find enough room to turn around. Also, ya can’t read my license plate when it’s against the wall.
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