Ask Lemmy

My mom does this every time she parks, even in our driveway. She's always said it's so if her car stalls, it's easier to get it jumped or towed out of the spot.

I back into my driveway. Way I see it, I either back in or back out. So what's the difference

Unless I am going to be putting stuff into the trunk, backing in is better, it's more dangerous to back the car out of the space than into it.

Backing in is the correct way to parallel park too.

Obviously so everyone knows I'm better than them

I don't drive, but the way I've always heard it is because people care more about leaving quickly than arriving quickly.

Backing into a parking bay where the amount of traffic in the bay is close to zero and visibility is great allows you to drive out into the street facing forward where you can see what traffic is coming.

If you drive forward into a bay then you have to back out of it into the street where you cannot see anything except what's directly behind you and you have little to no visibility sideways, unless the bays next to you are empty, so essentially you're backing out with your fingers crossed, hoping that nothing will hit you.

Moreover, the traffic rules, at least where I live, specify that a reversing vehicle has to give way to everyone.

As a bonus, when you're loading things, you're not standing in the street with your back to traffic.

In other words, learn how to back into a bay.

When parking i can get a good view of the immediate area, it's easy to spot pedestrians and oncoming cars. Pulling out is easy. If I have to back out I don't have such a good view. Yeah I get a look as I approach my car but by the time I sit down, click my seat belt, start the car, someone i didn't see could be coming along.

1. People/oncoming cars/kids are more likely to be in the road than in the spot I’m parking
2. I have better visibility when I’m facing forward than when I’m in reverse

Therefore I would rather reverse into the spot where people/cars/kids are least likely to be and drive forward into the place people/cars/kids are most likely to be. I personally almost always back in to be safer towards pedestrians and avoid getting hit by other cars.

fwiw, I've parked trailers for a living for 10+years--I do it out of habit and a work ethic of 'put the work in on the front end so I can backslide on the tail end' Tho I can see a practicality/safer attempt to having a better view upon departing the parked position. Obviously if you'd like to get into the geometry of it, backing in gives you a much wider range of flexibility to work with in the positioning phases of the maneuver.

Not sure if it's true. but I was also told that changing gears on a transmission that's been running for a bit is easier on the mechanical parts/bits involved (as opposed to swapping gears on a cold startup)

tldr because there's tons of good reasons to do so, and very nearly 0 good reasons not to do so. Leave the rest to the mathematicians and statisticians

My backup camera has little lines that show where I am backing up and change as I turn. So that combined with the 360 camera I will know exactly how I will fit in a parking spot. Also makes getting out faster since im usually an early bird to places.

Because I drive a truck so backing in and pulling out is just easier

In Australia, you're considered at fault for reversing accidents. Backing out is riskier.

It's just easier to get out, you even have to park like that when taking the exam.

I first learned how to drive on these old pickup trucks at a summer camp I worked for as a teenager.

The nice old fella who maintained the trucks (and who, not incidentally, taught me how to drive) said to do it that way and would get disappointed if you didn’t.

So, I guess it’s because I first learned it that way, but also because I don’t want to disappoint Alan (who may or may not be dead by now, I’m not sure.)

Easy and safe.

When you are approaching a parking spot you're already looking everywhere and can find obstacles as you back in. If you drive into a parking spot backing out may have issues because you may not have seen obstacles that would be in the way. We are not always as observant approaching our vehicle as we are when we have already been driving it. Plus, it's a whole lot easier to get back out of the parking spot if you can just drive away.

Every excuse I have ever heard defending this, and reading them here, always just has this underlying "I'm a moron" sound to them. The logic is usually abject idiocy. Keep telling yourself it's "better/easier/safer" whatever. You're an idiot for doing it and a bigger idiot for trying to justify it.

I will continue thinking to myself how I wish you'd die in a car crash every time I'm sitting in a parking lot waiting forever for the moron inconveniencing everyone as they poorly attempt to back in and take fucking forever cause they can't handle their fucking vehicle or surroundings.

Bonus points for you asshats with giant vehicles you have no business driving.

For years, I worked in a large building that required all employees and visitors to back in for a few safety reasons, with approximately 600 spaces and an almost full lot most weekdays. It was stated in our safety training that it was easier to see other people and vehicles when exiting facing forward and faster evacuation in times of extreme emergency. It had the benefit that it did seem to quicken flow of traffic when everyone left around the same time at the end of the day.

If a parking spot is straight, I tend to back in for those reasons, but if it is an angled spot, it typically denotes a singular directional flow, and it makes more sense to pull in and back out.

I'm going to guess that I'm in the minority here and say that I daily a long bed Ford F-250. It's big, it's long, and it's just generally unwieldy. Yes there are benefits to backing into a parking spot like better visibility and blah blah blah but for me it's actually more about just being able to get in and out of the parking spot. Especially in narrow parking lot aisles. Backing into a spot takes less room, because, idk, geometry. Similar to why a forklift steers with its rear wheels and that makes it more maneuverable (albeit less stable).

Though there is also the benefit of the tailgate and bed of the vehicle being less accessible and therefore less likely for someone to just walk off with something, if there's anything back there. My mom had the tailgate stolen off her Toyota once back in the 90s. I assume she pulled forward into the parking spot.

Easier to get in Easier to get out Safer (was trained to do it) Why do you pull in forwards?

I'm blind in one eye so find it hard to judge distances and gaps. As a result I find it easier to back in, especially if I am doing it between two parked vehicles, because I can judge it more easily using my wing mirrors.