I once heard “to keep your tailgate from being stolen” but that seems like it’d be a rare case.
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.
Simply having to sit and watch as morons poorly attempt to back in suggests they don’t have a good grasp of their surroundings.
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.
Backing in is the correct way to parallel park too.
That’s because the rear axle is immovable.
Because I have worse visibility backing than going forward. There’s a smaller chance that there’s a kid suddenly walking into my parking spot than moving behind my car when exiting my parking space
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.)
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One of our vehicles is a full-size pickup truck and in certain parking lots I have to find a spot on the outer edge and back in so it doesn’t stick out too much. It keeps inattentive drivers from gouging their cars on the trailer hitch. And if there’s anything interesting loaded in the back, it keeps it out of sight of curious persons with hand-wavy concepts of personal property.
Our other car is a little hatchback, and its reverse camera gets a good 180 degree view, far better than any driver pulling forward out of the space. I never park it backwards because I’m not silly.
Because you have more control and visibility both when you get in and get out.
In and out of the parking spot right?
Actually having to sit and watch these morons attempt to back in in the first place says otherwise.
Sounds like projection.
Lol you cant park? that’s soooo uncool.
Go practice.
I can and have parallel parked a giant van on a busy downtown LA road very quickly. I passed my original driving test in one of the largest SUVs on the market at that time (my parents were idiotically obsessed with large vehicles. I’ve driven some of the largest rental box vans. I have zero crashes on my record. I also know how to drive a manual and have changed timing belts and do my own oil and who fucking cares cause I know you don’t.
Not projection. Fuck people who back in. Especially when they suck at it. Especially especially when they suck at it in a pointlessly oversized vehicle.
It was a joke. Chill.
Reversing in is actually easier. As your car can turn tigther reversing than going front in.
Guess it’s a non issue if you have massive parking spaces, but when space is tight every little bit helps.
So you could back in, but be unable to get out by going forward?
No, because when you drive out forward, you can start turning the front of your car faster. Hard to put into words.
I asked AI to explain. It can do it better than me
[r/NoStupidQuestions] Q: Is it better to back into a tight parking spot or drive in forward? Won’t you get stuck driving out?
A: Backing into a tight spot is almost always better. Here’s why:
More control: When backing in, your front wheels (which steer) are free to pivot, giving you tighter, more precise control. Your back wheels just follow.
Better exit: When it’s time to leave, driving out forward gives you better visibility and a wider turning radius—no more blind reversing into traffic or trying to edge out slowly.
Why you won’t get stuck driving out: The same space you needed to back in is more than enough to drive out. Your front wheels can turn sharper, and you can see what’s coming. Even in tight spots, driving out is usually quicker and safer than reversing.
TL;DR: Back in now, drive out easy later. Your future self will thank you.
I have a cargo van. It’s impossible to see any traffic coming from the passenger’s side when backing up, and there’s a big blind spot even on the driver’s side. It’s a larger vehicle, and it’s much easier to maneuver into tight spaces in reverse. (It’s why we learn to parallel park in reverse. Try it in forward once, and see.) Also, backing into a parking spot can be accomplished with just a steady gaze at one of the wing mirrors. (Driver’s or passenger’s side depends on which way you’re turning.)
That last point will also be important someday when I’m older and don’t have as much flexibility to turn and look backwards. (I was appalled once at a city transportation committee discussion about back-in parking stalls when a city alderperson said that he doesn’t look behind his car when backing out, because he can’t twist his body. If you can’t drive safely, you shouldn’t be driving!)
On your last point, there are absolutely ways around that with technology. Reversing and side cameras existed long before they were factory features as aids for disabled drivers.
I swear part of it is regional. In the mid-Atlantic region - low volume lot, perpendicular spaces, maybe 1/2 full at max - you can watch people spend minutes faffing around to back into a spot.
Because, unless you’re driving a forklift, the point of a vehicle’s rotation is in line with the rear wheels, meaning you can take turns at a much more acute angle when reversing than going forwards. Which makes backing into spaces much easier.
Notice that most of the half-assed parking jobs you see are generally people who have driven forward and left the car parked at a diagonal half out of the space, because getting the vehicle lined up in that situation is more difficult.
Rear visibility in my car is kind of trash so it’s safer if I back into the spot so that I can better see what’s going on when I’m leaving
Obviously so everyone knows I’m better than them
Because the front tires move when you turn the steering wheel and not the back tyres
Sometimes backing in seems easier than backing out
It’s also easier to see oncoming traffic because some assholes will not stop.
The real answer, sometimes the geometry makes more sense to back in 🤷♂️
Geometry is a lot of it. It also makes seeing much easier when pulling out. When backing in, I can easily see the traffic lane around me, and they can see me pretty easy as well (I’m the asshole blocking up the whole place). When driving out, only a smaller portion of my vehicle needs to enter the traffic lane before I have a clear view of any opposing traffic. For the case of nosing it, I have a clear view while pulling in; but, when pulling out I need to get most of my vehicle out into the traffic lane, before I can see anything.
Especially if your car has a rear camera.
I’ve driving long enough that I can “feel” my way through parking normally, but sometimes I just want to play the minigame.
When I have to park in a particularly narrow spot, I find backing in easier due to the better vantage point of the camera.
It’s not just the camera, it’s the geometry. A car can fit into a narrower space from a narrower lane backing in.
Yeah, has to do with where the turning wheels are positioned. It’s like with forklifts having the wheels turn in the back instead of the front.
