Backing into parking spots

[sam_gordon]

generally do not back-in and don't see it makes it any more/less safer when parking in some public lot.

It makes it safer when leaving. Pulling forward gives you a better view, especially when parked next to larger vehicles. It's also easier to control when leaving since the "steering" wheels are at the front and you're going "toward" them.

 

[lanejudy]

LOL. Not for a lot of folks.

Practice. It’s mental - you are more familiar with backing out so you think backing in is harder. Practice. The more you do it the easier it will be.

 

[slo]

I’m another backer inner when the opportunity is there.
I’m wayyyy…..more comfortable backing into a tight spot, than pulling in forward.

 

[sam_gordon]

No one has mention trying to back OUT of a tight spot... another thing that being able to pull out is better.

 

[leebee]

My car has been dented/swiped 3 times by vehicles backing into parking spaces. Once I was IN the car, the other two times. The other guy's insurance covered the first one (yup, cut it way too close) but I was still out the time and inconvenience of having body work done. Grrrr. At work, all the buildings are signed to say front-in parking only. There are windows and air vents/intake on many of the buildings. If a vehicle is backed in and idling until they leave, the exhaust gets sucked into the rooms. No thanks.

I can park anywhere, whether it's pull in, back in, or parallel (even on steep hills in San Francisco). I prefer to find spaces I can pull all the way thru, but if not, 99% of the time I pull in straight. I love that my car has side motion detectors, so if I am looking over my right shoulder and someone approaches from the left, I know about it. In fact, I like these better than my rear view camera (which I try not to use exclusively, so I don't become dependent on it- our other car doesn't have one).

 

[soccerdad72]

I only back in when I'm not going to take forever to do so. I think if you're good at it and you can do it quickly (or no one is around) then go for it. If you're in the Costco parking lot at lunch time and there are 8 people on either side of the parking lane just trying to get in , get out, get through, then don't make it worse. Clearly there are people who have not mastered the back-in.

I generally pull in at a place like Costco. It is a pain when I leave for sure because I'm in a low-to-the-ground Camry and it's very busy so I will wait sometimes for the ability to get out of my space. But the wait really inconveniences only me and no one else.

Costco is one of the few places I won’t back in, simply because I need access to my trunk for everything I’m loading when I get out of the store.

 

[tvguy]

Practice. It’s mental - you are more familiar with backing out so you think backing in is harder. Practice. The more you do it the easier it will be.

Well, I am about to back my 1965 Mustang into a parking spot at our weekly Sunday morning Cars and Coffee gathering. That is the practice there. Primarily so you can open the hood and show off the engine. Not a lot of fun because my Mustang doesn't have power steering or a back up camera!

 

[tvguy]

I have never scraped a car. It’s a basic skill. Is it a struggle for you so you assume it is for everyone?

No, it is CLEARLY a skill for those I have observed hitting cars doing it.

 

[tvguy]

Speaking of Camrys, Dh tried to start our 2024 Camry yesterday and it was dead!! Yes it's very cold but we have it in our unattached garage.

DH backs it in. I would have pulled in. I wonder if that would have made a difference.

Not likely anything other than a weak battery and a cold day. But if that is a hybrid, the 12 volt battery should last about 10 years, it really only does minimal work. The Hybrid traction battery does most of the electrical work.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There are a few parking garages we've been in where it's not allowed to back in. In some areas that's because the back license plate can't be seen.

 

[bluezy]

I prefer pull-through spots when shopping, but would generally rather back in than back out, because I can see where everyone is right before I back in. If I'm backing out, I've been putting my bags in the car, fussing with my seatbelt, the radio, whatever... so there is a gap of time where pedestrians could walk up near the car without me seeing them.

This is even more true for school pick-up. We're arriving over a period of around 20 minutes, backing in when it's just cars, but we're all leaving at the same time, with kids walking through the lot, so I feel like it's much safer to be pulling forward.

This!!! I didn't need to pick my kids up after school very often, but when I did I would always back into the spot. It wasn't a problem at our lower schools because they had different pick-up procedures (you had to go inside to sign out your child -- so there wasn't ever a big mob of people trying to leave at the same time.), but the high school -- with all of those teenage drivers in the same parking lot -- was a nightmare. Once those kids started descending on the parking lot, there was no way you were going to be able to back your car out of a parking spot. Even those teen drivers learned very quickly that they needed to pull through or back into their spots in the morning or they were going to be stuck in the parking lot for 10-15 minutes at the end of the day. I always got there super early when picking up a kid and always always always backed in to the parking spot. I would quietly chuckle to myself when I'd see a parent arrive to pick up a child and they'd pull into the parking spot despite *all* the other cars being backed into the other spots. They would never make that mistake again.

To the OPs question, in general, I will back into a parking spot (or pull through) because I find it easier to do that than to back out. When I'm just arriving at the parking spot I'm fully aware of everything around me -- where the parked cars are, where the moving cars are, where pedestrians are, etc. If everything is clear, I'll back in. If it's not, I'll either pull into the spot or keep driving to another row/spot where it's safe to back in to the spot. When I'm leaving, while I'm fully aware of my surroundings while walking to the car, things can change in those few seconds while I'm getting into the car and getting settled. I also just simply find it more difficult to back out of a spot. I didn't always back in to spots, but once I started doing it, it became so easy that I wished I had started doing it sooner.

 

[AnnaS]

Backing in preferred and have been doing it for years. Much easier to go out especially in the evenings. I have the cameras and get a great view but still prefer it. People/kids/cars come out of nowhere fast all the time too.

I will go out of my way or come back around if there is someone smacked behind me in a hurry - does not happen often. This is always my first choice. I also am a parker who will park the furthest away from where ever my destination is. I call it La La land where most don't want to walk that far

 

[Skippy918]

I don’t like backing in. I will pull in to the spot. I don’t have fancy cameras or the beeping.

 

[_19disnA]

Perhaps your shopping area parking lots are setup differently from where I shop. Most are one-way lanes you drive down and then turn right/left to park at an angle. Backing into those would involve going in reverse and turning at an unusual angle. Pulling through to a lane on the next aisle means you would have to drive the wrong way down the lane when exiting which doesn't seem safer to me.

 

[Christine]

Perhaps your shopping area parking lots are setup differently from where I shop. Most are one-way lanes you drive down and then turn right/left to park at an angle. Backing into those would involve going in reverse and turning at an unusual angle. Pulling through to a lane on the next aisle means you would have to drive the wrong way down the lane when exiting which doesn't seem safer to me.

We have almost zero parking lots designed that way. Our are straight spaces and two lanes of traffic going up or down.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Perhaps your shopping area parking lots are setup differently from where I shop. Most are one-way lanes you drive down and then turn right/left to park at an angle. Backing into those would involve going in reverse and turning at an unusual angle. Pulling through to a lane on the next aisle means you would have to drive the wrong way down the lane when exiting which doesn't seem safer to me.

My library's lot is like that, and you're right, I don't back in there, but all the grocery stores I go to have the straight spots.

 

[sam_gordon]

Perhaps your shopping area parking lots are setup differently from where I shop. Most are one-way lanes you drive down and then turn right/left to park at an angle. Backing into those would involve going in reverse and turning at an unusual angle. Pulling through to a lane on the next aisle means you would have to drive the wrong way down the lane when exiting which doesn't seem safer to me.

Those are the exception, and it is one time when I will pull in.

 

[China Expat]

It is becoming the norm in So Cal, everywhere. I only back in at concerts or arena events. WHat pains me are the massive trucks backed in and then you can't exit your car because of their side mirrors. Or the twenty minutes it takes for people to back in. DRIVES ME NUTS!

 

[kdonnel]

LOL. A lot of cars have the battery in the trunk these days. Our 2020 Camry does.

I believe almost all cars that locate the battery elsewhere provide jump points under the hood, including your 2020 Camry.

 

[Christine]

It is becoming the norm in So Cal, everywhere. I only back in at concerts or arena events. WHat pains me are the massive trucks backed in and then you can't exit your car because of their side mirrors. Or the twenty minutes it takes for people to back in. DRIVES ME NUTS!

Yeah, this is where I'm against backing in. If you can't do it with skill and speed, just don't. Got no issues with skilled back-in parkers.