For The Love Of All That Is Holy, Stop Backing Into Parking Spaces Mark Hemingway

[Lando Lincoln]

Some industrial employers make “straight out” parking mandatory. It provides safer egress in the event of an emergency.

[sneakypete]

@mystery-ak

WHY do you think it takes extra time to back into a parking space?

Seems quicker to me because you have more control over your steering while backing up,and this makes it easier to center your car in the parking space.

[sneakypete]

With backup cameras it's sorta trivial to backup into parking spaces nowadays.

@Weird Tolkienish Figure

Huh? They make it easiser to back up,and are useless for anything else.

[sneakypete]

Meh. I can see what is immediately behind me.  I cannot see if some goober is flying up the row 3 cars down and will smash into me if I back out.

@Polly Ticks

BINGO!

[roamer_1]

All y'all need lifted pickups. Then you can see all the rows, and three blocks away.

[EdinVA]

All y'all need lifted pickups. Then you can see all the rows, and three blocks away.

But you can only get one wheel on a Lamborghini and it makes your truck lean..

[roamer_1]

But you can only get one wheel on a Lamborghini and it makes your truck lean..

Not if there's a Ferrari next to the Lambo... 

[catfish1957]

It doesn't happen very often in my case, but if safety is ever a concern where you park , it is always better to get the hell out of dodge in "D" than in "R"

[Free Vulcan]

What is this 'parking spaces'?

That help?

[roamer_1]

That help?

 

[Smokin Joe]

I always back in. The rail yard I reported to prior to retirement required it of employees. It's my preferred way to park, and I don't really care who approves or disapproves of it.

Same here. Parking on drilling locations is required to be facing out, not in.
For a few reasons it is safer, most notably:
If anything goes wrong, exiting the location (and the area) in a hurry is simplified if people aren't trying to back out, and you can see everything going on on location when you pull out.

[jmyrlefuller]

True story: the Dollar Generals where I live all have horse hitches to accommodate the Amish, who'll ride up in the parking lot with their horse and buggy.

We have quite a few recreational riders out here, too.

[roamer_1]

True story: the Dollar Generals where I live all have horse hitches to accommodate the Amish, who'll ride up in the parking lot with their horse and buggy.

We have quite a few recreational riders out here, too.

True story... all the way into High School, they had hitching posts built into the schools. And the Post Office.

No so much anymore.

[AllThatJazzZ]

   Quit yer bitchin and get a smaller boat.

This is exactly like my land yacht, and I back that puppy in every chance I get. I don't care if people get in a snit about it. I'm 4'9", and doing the 360-head swivel thing when backing out is harder than it was in my younger and taller years (when I was every bit of 4'11"). BTW, no cameras on those models. I'm not sure they could be retrofitted, but I wouldn't mind having one.

[sneakypete]

This is exactly like my land yacht, and I back that puppy in every chance I get. I don't care if people get in a snit about it. I'm 4'9", and doing the 360-head swivel thing when backing out is harder than it was in my younger and taller years (when I was every bit of 4'11"). BTW, no cameras on those models. I'm not sure they could be retrofitted, but I wouldn't mind having one.

@AllThatJazzZ

Of course they can be retrofitted. You can buy them at practically any parts store. I THINK I paid around 10 bucks for the last one I bought.

I don't know how much it would cost you to have one installed,but it can't be much. They bolt right to your license plate,and there are just a couple of wires that run to the front of your car so the camera comes on when you put it in reverse.

You can probably get a local high school auto shop class to install one for free.

[Hoodat]

No!

I second that.  First of all, backing into a spot is easier than pulling into one because the maneuverability (i.e. the steering axle) remains outside the space.  Secondly, when you back into a space, there is no moving car that can hit you.  Contrast that with backing out of a space into moving traffic.  And thirdly, it is a safety issue.  If you have to evacuate an area quickly, your vehicle is already in a position to move forward.

I have been in many chemical plants where backing into spaces was required.

[The_Reader_David]

With backup cameras it's sorta trivial to backup into parking spaces nowadays.

With backup cameras, which have wide-angle lenses, it is pointless to back into parking spaces:  you get a better view of danger pulling out backwards with the camera's view from the back end of your car (or truck) giving you wide angle coverage of what's behind you than you do of danger in front of you looking over your hood from your vantage point in the middle of your vehicle pulling out forward after you backed in.

This effect is probably far less pronounced in a high-cab pickup truck, and is surely more extreme in my favored vehicle, a Mazda MX-5 RF, than in most cars, but it is clearly safer to pull in forward and back out when driving a late model vehicle with a back-up camera and rear hazard warning system, than to back in and pull out forward.

[Elderberry]

On one of my many trips to the Home Depot near me, I saw where a jacked up pickup with around 42" tires backed in and his tires ate up the whole side of the car that was parked next to him.

[corbe]

    You know what they say about Men with big Belt Buckles or Big Tires

[Sighlass]

I only shop in places where you can pull through so it is like backing up into a spot. I often do have to park further out than most folks.

Can I back up fairly well, yes... but not so much in the dark with my stupid camper shell with tinted windows that ain't been washed all Winter.

[roamer_1]

Can I back up fairly well, yes... but not so much in the dark with my stupid camper shell with tinted windows that ain't been washed all Winter.

Let me... I'll step into that truck for the first time, and pull a Rockford with that puppy and never lose the lane. Of course, red and blue lights tend to inspire me, so... 

[Hoodat]

@roamer_1 can back that truck up a goat's ass, make a U-turn in reverse, and come out smelling like a rose.

[Free Vulcan]

  Couldn't resist.

[deb]

@roamer_1 can back that truck up a goat's ass, make a U-turn in reverse, and come out smelling like a rose.

Imagery, gentlemen!

[Hoodat]

Yes ma'am.