Reverse Parking

Soldato
Joined
18 May 2004
Posts
2,890
Location
Lincoln, Uk
This is inspired by a recent conversation (and long time slight annoyance) with my missus....

Am I in the majority here?, 9 times out of 10 when I park up somewhere, I'll back into a space (The exception is being on the end of a row in a supermarket, or the car park being nearly empty and having parked by driving right through [so as to be parking forwards ready to leave anyway])

In my mind it just makes sense, as you don't end up with the wheels that do the steering towards the back of the gap you are in, and when you are backing in, you have good visaibility and can see anyone about to walk across the space, which is often not the case when backing out, and to me, its easier to line up with the space, you are not pulling a bit of a swan neck and then still ending up with mid point of the car on the side you are turning come a little bit close to the bumper of the next car. However my missus has some kind of adversion to reverse parking, I suspect its because she hasn't done it much in the years since she passed her test and doesn't like doing something she is unfamilar with, but thats a sorta a catch 22 thing, this is despite now having a car with reversing sensors and camera*

Just thought I'd put a post out here to see if I'm in the majority or not, perhaps a poll would be usful, I would suspect we would have a lot like me who always try and back in, quite a few who are indifferent and probably do a mix of the two and never really think about why, and maybe a small amount who are like my missues. I'm not sure if perhaps I've been influenced by the fact that I drive a van for work, and with the size and more limited visability backing out of a space would be quite a pain, and also that some client sites I visit have a reverse parking policy

* I don't actually tend to make that much of the camera, now to be fair I've only had this car for about 15 months, so early days (!!), but I tend to line up with the sides of the spaces just using the wing mirrors, and just check the camera to make sure nothing has ended up behind me as I back in, and to see the distance from the kerb at the back, and make sure theres nothing like a bollard or lighting column at the back to be carful of. Generally don't bother looking at the coloured guidelines on the screen, its just as easy to line up using mirrors (which I guess does some from driving a van)
 
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I do whatever is easiest in any given moment - reversing into a space in a busy car park can be awkward with cars following behind who don't catch on to what you are doing or worse nip into the space, etc.

Everything I've driven in years has had at least a reversing camera if not surround view.
 
Forward parking was a red flag for me when I was dating. My wife reverse parks. Although accounting for a very small portion of the overall decision, reverse parking was one of the reasons I married her.

I exclusively reverse park unless I need easy access to the trunk and reverse parking would preclude this. The only other time I forward in is if pulling through to the spot at the other side.
 
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Another one is people who forward park on to their driveway on busy or main roads. Had a couple of near misses from them. Isn't there something in the highway code about that too?
 
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she reverse parks with or without a camera ?

with next car I fear it will it will have tinted rears (3estate), or hatch, that means can't see the four corners over your shoulder, plus sensors, so - learn bloody camera + annoying beeping
I'm pretty sure that will preclude parallel reverse parking in some of the mean streets of Cambridge with tight double parking and room for one car down the middle
(PS are tesla sensor cameras distance measurement now accurate)
 
It depends on the situation, in a supermarket I'll probably want the boot to be easily accessible. At work if I'm early and can park by the gate, I'll back in to make departure easier. If later I'll slam it face first into any old spot.

I guess if you're a nervous or unskilled driver, doing the same thing every time makes sense
 
Forward parking was a red flag for me when I was dating. My wife reverse parks. Although accounting for a very small portion of the overall decision, reverse parking was one of the reasons I married her.

I exclusively reverse park unless I need easy access to the trunk and reverse parking would preclude this. The only other time I forward in is if pulling through to the spot at the other side.

I don’t understand people who forward bay park but not sure it would be a red flag while dating :P
 
Just something else i've been wondering about for a while.... If anyone here has a reverse parking policy at work - what industry are you in? - Every place I've seen with one has some connection to the oil/gas offsure industries, usually suppliers of equipment to just that that sector, etc Just wondered if anyone had knowlegde of one in a place that doesn't seem connected with that sector
 
Just something else i've been wondering about for a while.... If anyone here has a reverse parking policy at work - what industry are you in? - Every place I've seen with one has some connection to the oil/gas offsure industries, usually suppliers of equipment to just that that sector, etc Just wondered if anyone had knowlegde of one in a place that doesn't seem connected with that sector
I work in logistics and several sites I visit have a reverse parking policy. Anywhere with vehicles moving around regularly (which warehouses tend to do) generally have more vigilant H&S implementation outside the building.

I nearly always reverse park, I forced myself to get comfortable with it and now find parking forward harder!
 
Sitting in a shopping centre carpark right now, 2 out of somewhere around 50 cars I can see have reverse parked.

EDIT: Literally as I posted that someone just across from me drove up and did a very deliberate reverse park.
 
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