Parking spaces and driveways - Back in or pull in?

[1995hoo]

There are some streets in DC with diagonal parking where the signs say "Back-in pull-out only." If you don't back in, you get a ticket.

So what do one do if they couldn't back a car into a parking space even if your life depended on it and there wasn't other parking available?

Either get a ticket for pulling in or give up on parking!

[agentsteel53]

There are some streets in DC with diagonal parking where the signs say "Back-in pull-out only." If you don't back in, you get a ticket.

So what do one do if they couldn't back a car into a parking space even if your life depended on it and there wasn't other parking available?

learn to drive.

[formulanone]

So what do one do if they couldn't back a car into a parking space even if your life depended on it and there wasn't other parking available?

Move to Florida?



Seems like a Ralph Wiggum parking attempt.

[froggie]

So what do one do if they couldn't back a car into a parking space even if your life depended on it and there wasn't other parking available?

You got three choices:

- Risk a ticket (not to mention raise the ire of passing motorists as they're forced to stop as you have to mostly turn around to park and depart)
- Find another street to park on (which may involve a walk of several blocks)
- Give up and go elsewhere

[Brandon]

There are some streets in DC with diagonal parking where the signs say "Back-in pull-out only." If you don't back in, you get a ticket.

So what do one do if they couldn't back a car into a parking space even if your life depended on it and there wasn't other parking available?

learn to drive.

^^^ This.

Far too many people seem to refuse to learn to drive properly, and that includes parking.  Can't tell you how many times I've seen people who just cannot park in any parking space to save their lives.  The number of people parking over the lines is ridiculous, as well as Mr. Door Ding who parks too close to me instead of in the middle of his space.

Then there's parallel parking, an art form which seems to escape some people.

[vdeane]

Just because one can't back into a parking space doesn't mean they would park over lines etc. when pulling in.

I was able to parallel park behind one car at the time of my driver's test but since I almost never need to parallel park, I can't any more.  Parallel parking between two cars always eluded me, but then it wasn't emphasized in driver's ed either.

[roadman]

Just because one can't back into a parking space doesn't mean they would park over lines etc. when pulling in.

I was able to parallel park behind one car at the time of my driver's test but since I almost never need to parallel park, I can't any more.  Parallel parking between two cars always eluded me, but then it wasn't emphasized in driver's ed either.

Just curious vdeane (and this is a serious question here).  Assuming the spaces on both sides of you are occupied, why do you consider backing out of a space (which is obviously what you do when you leave) to be easy, but that backing into the same space as nearly impossible?  You have the same clearances to contend with, and the consequences of mis-judging your blind sports are potentially more serious.

[realjd]

I pull through if I can, but I pull in regardless.  Backing out is SO much easier than backing in... in fact, if people were ever required to back into parking spaces, I'd probably have to stop driving (I'm terrible at parallel parking as well).

There are some streets in DC with diagonal parking where the signs say "Back-in pull-out only." If you don't back in, you get a ticket. I also know of one street (27 Street NW near the Watergate) with diagonal parking where the signs require you to pull in and back out.

I parked in back-in on-street diagonal parking in several parts of Australia but I haven't seen it here in the states. It worked really well and I liked it. Center parking (between the two lanes) is another great parking setup that seemed common in a Australia but I haven't seen here.

To answer the original question, I usually pull in forward unless it's a sporting event or a concert where we'll all be leaving at once. Also, if the spot is particularly tight, I'll always back in since my car's backup camera gives me much better visibility than I have pulling in forward, especially of the cars corners.

[corco]

Just because one can't back into a parking space doesn't mean they would park over lines etc. when pulling in.

I was able to parallel park behind one car at the time of my driver's test but since I almost never need to parallel park, I can't any more.  Parallel parking between two cars always eluded me, but then it wasn't emphasized in driver's ed either.

Just curious vdeane (and this is a serious question here).  Assuming the spaces on both sides of you are occupied, why do you consider backing out of a space (which is obviously what you do when you leave) to be easy, but that backing into the same space as nearly impossible?  You have the same clearances to contend with, and the consequences of mis-judging your blind sports are potentially more serious.

I tend to think it must be psychological- backing in is daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a lot easier because you're trying to put your car in a clear space between two things on the side of you, instead of backing out into something potentially not-clear straight behind you. This is especially important if you're driving a 15 passenger van or a suburban or a U-haul or something that either doesn't have a rearview mirror, or is too long for the rearview mirror to be of much use.

I drove the drunk van (15 passenger) on Saturdays around Seattle/Tacoma for a couple years when I was an undergrad- the only legitimate way to park it was to back it into spaces, because backing out was fucking dangerous.

Beyond even that, pulling in nose first if you don't have a wide berth is really hard in a vehicle of that size, because the rear of the vehicle wouldn't have time to straighten out by the time the nose made it to the front. Backing in, moving the steering wheels to the "rear" of the situation, made it so that the last part of the vehicle that needed to be straightened was at the part of the car that had wheels, making it actually possible to park in a straight line without maneuvering.

I parked in back-in on-street diagonal parking in several parts of Australia but I haven't seen it here in the states. It worked really well and I liked it. Center parking (between the two lanes) is another great parking setup that seemed common in a Australia but I haven't seen here.

Even my hometown of McCall, Idaho has adopted back-in diagonal. It works well where there are a lot of pedestrians.  http://goo.gl/maps/KHmx6

Fort Collins, Colorado comes to the top of my head as having centered parking.  http://goo.gl/maps/q1jOk

[signalman]

I became accustomed to backing into parking spaces from my years of driving a panel work van with no rear side windows nor no back windows. It was much easier to sight the space I planned on backing into then back in.  Attempting to back out of a parking space was very dangerous.  While it was a bit daunting the first few times, it got easier with practice.  Before you knew it, it was second nature to back right into a spot.  To this day, even though I have a small car, I always back into spots with ease.

Galaxy S3

[vdeane]

Well, I've only ever driven sedans (aside from a Versa Note rental and my Dad's pickup truck, the latter of which is out of my comfort range), so I'm used to being able to see through the rearview mirror.  I guess backing in would have more peace of mind if you're afraid someone would T-bone you backing out, but I find it to be harder since I'm constantly afraid I'll hit the other cars or not be between the lines... backing out into the relatively wide open spaces of the aisle feels much easier  The last time I tried backing up into a spot, I was six inches closer to the left than I wanted to be, and 2-3 feet further forward.

[corco]

I was six inches closer to the left than I wanted to be, and 2-3 feet further forward.

Lining up is just something that takes practice, especially if you aren't used to using your side view mirrors (you'd need to get used to using those). As far as distance, that's the tricky part, especially in unfamiliar vehicles. If I'm backing in a large, unfamiliar vehicle in a parking garage or outside at certain times of day, you can usually look at the shadows in your side view mirror to see how close you are to either the wall or the thing behind you. Otherwise you just kind of have to be familiar with how long your vehicle is- I try to gauge where I think the front of the car should end up before I back into the space, and then put it there. If there's a car next to you, that makes life easier.

[KEK Inc.]

If it's angled, you shouldn't back in, since the parking lot is designed for a single direction (unless it's on a street; a sign would indicate back-in parking only). 

I do both depending on what's easier and makes more sense.  Don't really put much conscious thought into it.

[Duke87]

Just curious vdeane (and this is a serious question here).  Assuming the spaces on both sides of you are occupied, why do you consider backing out of a space (which is obviously what you do when you leave) to be easy, but that backing into the same space as nearly impossible?  You have the same clearances to contend with, and the consequences of mis-judging your blind sports are potentially more serious.

You said a magic word here: blind spots. This is a major issue trying to back a large vehicle out of a space. A sedan, not really. In my car I definitely find backing out of a space to be easier than backing into one. Were I driving an SUV or something of that sort instead, I would be more inclined to try backing in, since the benefit is greater.

Of course, those larger blind spots are one reason why I hate driving SUVs/vans in general. It makes things as simple as changing lanes that much more challenging.

[Dr Frankenstein]

I usually pull in, and pull through when I can, but I can handle pretty much any type of parking (back up, parallel, etc.)

[ET21]

I pull in for the most part. The exception is one of my cousins who has a driveway just off a T-intersection. I back in there because it is easier to then pull out and turn when leaving.