Why Do People Choose to Reverse Park into a Carpark?

tomb11 on 11/11/2022 - 16:22

I've never understood the reasons why people choose to reverse park. As the title suggests, I want to understand the reasons why people naturally reverse park as their go-to instead of forward parking.

Common argument I hear is that it's easier/faster to get out. But, doesn't it just make it slower/harder to park the car?

Another one is that it reduces the chances of reversing into someone when leaving (where I assume a lot of accidents occur), but again, isn't there still that risk when completing the initial park?

What am I missing?

Poll Options

  • 1426
    To make it easier/faster to leave
  • 59
    To reduce my chances of reversing into someone
  • 96
    Because I like to reverse park. Simple.
  • 40
    Other reason - comment
  • 146
    I always forward park
Automotive

Comments

  • pegaxs on 11/11/2022 - 16:25
    +146

    Easier when I leave. Less chance of backing out and into a passing car/other idiot reversing. Easier to reverse park and get out than it is to reverse out of a car parking spot, so it can also save time.

    • SnoozeAndLose on 11/11/2022 - 18:09
      +14

      Normally when you get in you will not be a hurry as you need to get out, people tend to wait for you to park but they don't wait for you to get up if you need to reverse, I have seen too many near miss and hitting the bypassing car.

      When people to front in they sometime need to reverse to get the car straight, most idiot parking with 2 spots normally front in.

      • Kangal on 14/11/2022 - 15:05
        +2

        Yes, but that kind of trades one problem for another. The best reason to park a certain way is due to the movement.

        Some cars are wider, or longer, or both, and/or they have poor turning circle. Also some times there's not much clearance around. In those circumstances, it's easier to overshoot and carefully reverse-in because it is the front tyres that are spinning around the free space.

        For circumstances where you have a nimble little car, with tight turning radius, and lots of clearance…. Sure, drive right in, and drive right out.

    • lgacb08 on 11/11/2022 - 22:07
      +62

      that is the main point, another important point that those don't practice it well enough won't know is reversing into a tight spot is always much easier than driving in due to the inherent physic of the car (the turning wheel is the back wheel). Inexperienced driver always think that driving in is simple but they fail to see that the turning radius is much larger and for larger car you run the risk of nudging car on either side, particularly when you try to park to the spot on your left.

      My sister who is a typical incompetent asian female driver always argue with me about this and I just gave up to her ignorant, no wonder she didn't fare very well in physics at high school.

      • Maxxjet on 11/11/2022 - 23:45
        +43

        Well I do agree with you that reverse parking into tight spots is actually easier but your last paragraph about your Asian sister is unnecessary. It reinforces the stereotypes of Asian females and male. There is no need to trash your own race.

        • Jackson on 12/11/2022 - 08:35
          +20

          I didn't detect any malice in his words personally. I grew up in an ethnic dominated area and there were a lot of bad drivers, not because of any inherent race issue of course, just because there were a lot of immigrants who didn't learn how to drive properly overseas and because quite a few people bribed their way past the RTA rep (this used to be a big issue). It wasn't restricted to a single ethnicity, but Asians copped the moniker partially because of the lack of road rules in many Asian countries and also just because they were more dominant in recent waves of immigration. It was more prevalent with women who for whatever reason lacked confidence as drivers, possibly just because of old norms with women working at home while men worked outside the house, who drove more.

          On the other hand by stereotyping I feel like the guy got his point across quite succinctly. I am not pro stereotyping but in this case I felt like it wasnt that bad. I think Shakespeare said "there is no right or wrong but thinking makes it so"

          • Sxio on 12/11/2022 - 20:38
            +6

            @Jackson: Yah think that regarding the exact words "My sister who is a typical incompetent asian female driver"???

          • Dsquall on 12/11/2022 - 23:53
            -5

            @Jackson: So not racist, just sexist?

        • lgacb08 on 12/11/2022 - 23:26
          -1

          Well, I should've rephrased that better, but people often fails to see there're more than just that one group, there're typical compentent driver of certain race too, and those are probably in the majority. The group mentioned is just a small minority and exists in every part of the world. And they're less of a menace on a road among many other things and actually give you some harmless laugh, especially when it get to something closer to this.
          And trashing someone's driving as incompetence isn't necessarily a bad thing because they might actually be a better driver than everyone on the road as they're not part of the groups that take risk and do silly thing at high speed.

        • OzBarAnon on 13/11/2022 - 12:14
          +2

          Stereotypes exist for a reason, they don't just materialize out of the ether. I even hear my dad (Asian) complaining about the reckless driving and road etiquette of female Asian drivers.

      • drfuzzy on 12/11/2022 - 08:26
        +65

        You shouldn't be so nasty to Asians. How would you feel if you were Asian like your sister?

      • JuliaH on 12/11/2022 - 18:05
        +13

        "My sister who is a typical incompetent asian female".
        Yes I know that I am female; but have driven in several different countries for nearly 50 years. If you want to generalise, I would say that males of (probably) around your age are the most careless/incompetent that I have encountered. I believe that research has also consistently backed that up:). Just saying …

        • Juice-Wa on 14/11/2022 - 11:00
          +5

          Being risk-prone i.e. having an apatite for higher risk behavior, is not the same as incompetence… Maybe learn to interpret research data :) Just saying …

          • ihfree on 14/11/2022 - 12:18

            @Juice-Wa: Any actual stats to back that up? Or, are you just perpetuating a bad stereotype?

            Insurance costs also don't lie. Damage to property costs the same regardless of reason.

            • Juice-Wa on 14/11/2022 - 13:21

              @ihfree:

              are the most careless/incompetent that I have encountered

              then maybe they shouldn't make such statements. Here are the stats. More careless I can agree with, but higher incompetence better describes (and statistically I might add) females. The consequences of incompetent behavior is much lower than high risk behavior. Reversing into a pole, angering others by driving well below the speed limit or poor traffic navigation, reversing into a parked car at the shops is not the same as being in a head on because you're overtaking a truck. Accidents by males cost insurance more on average per accident than females. You people need to learn to actually think about what you're reading…

            • OzBarAnon on 21/11/2022 - 14:43

              @ihfree: It's called knowing a bunch of young men and women drivers. Young men are more likely to behave recklessly, even though they are generally more skilled behind the wheel. Go to any car meetup and see the split in demographics, see who is more likely to engage in street racing, etc. I've had friends and acquaintances damage or even wreck their cars doing stupid stuff. They're perfectly capable driving from A to B as normal, but because they were in their late teens/early 20s, they wanted to try dumb stuff and ended up rolling or otherwise damaging their cars.

      • AnotherCheapo on 14/11/2022 - 09:19
        -5

        This is why Asian girls prefer white guys

        • ihfree on 14/11/2022 - 10:16
          +1

          Only insecure losers use that line.

        • convictoffspring on 14/11/2022 - 11:29
          -1

          The ones you're talking about are just taking whatever they can get. Better than nothing after all, right?

    • CocaKoala on 11/11/2022 - 22:48
      +4

      Easier when I leave. Less chance of backing out and into a passing car/other idiot reversing. Easier to reverse park and get out than it is to reverse out of a car parking spot, so it can also save time.

      ^^ this.

      /thread

      • hobo123 on 12/11/2022 - 16:41
        +9

        So it's easier if you just ignore the part that makes it harder.

    • Miss B on 12/11/2022 - 13:16
      +5

      I mix it up, sometimes forward sometimes reverse, I love a drive through spot even though you're not supposed to. But I think OP doesn't realise that because you're reversing into a parking space, there are less likely to be moving people/cars behind you, because most people tend to be on the road, not in the middle of a car park. Your visibility of the road is quite good when you're reversing into a spot, but terrible when reversing out, especially if there are large vehicles on either side.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/11/2022 - 16:28
    +19

    But, doesn't it just make it slower/harder to park the car?

    but doesn't it just make it slower/harder to leave when you forward park? I mean in direct-comparison to reverse parking, you got to say that people who reverse-park will definitely leave faster than those who forward-park. I think that's just common sense.

    • Stopback on 11/11/2022 - 16:41
      +60

      It's safer to reverse park in. As you have a snapshot of your situation before you park.

      And people know you are revesing

        • Nugs on 11/11/2022 - 18:36
          +22

          Put indicator on and start turning opposite way. Pretty sure more than 50% of following drivers would know what is going on.
          .

        • ihfree on 11/11/2022 - 18:43
          +18

          You don't need to read minds. You just need common sense.

          • RSmith on 11/11/2022 - 20:00
            +4

            @ihfree: Common sense is not found in common people.

            • jerimiahhalls on 11/11/2022 - 22:40
              +1

              @RSmith: I wanna live like common people
              I wanna do whatever common people do

        • smartazz104 on 12/11/2022 - 10:40
          +3

          That’s what they get for being idiots and tailgating.

    • Quantumcat on 11/11/2022 - 20:06
      +41

      In this era of rear view cameras, it is way easier to reverse park. Line up those yellow curves with the parking spot and bam, 3 seconds later I'm in there in one go. Forward parking can sometimes take me 2-3 tries with little adjustments in between. I only ever forward park if there is nobody on either side of the car spot or I'm at Bunnings and will need to load lots of stuff into the boot or there's an eager beaver behind me who I suspect might steal the spot if I go far enough forward to start reverse parking into it.

      • juki on 12/11/2022 - 00:14
        +3

        if you turn your head and shoulders you are fine, i dont use the camera even when the car is equipped with one (other than checking no kids, or cats are there)

        • s1Lence on 14/11/2022 - 19:01
          -1

          Not everyone has full mobility in their neck and/or shoulders you ableist.

          • juki on 14/11/2022 - 19:12

            @s1Lence: good point, we shouldnt forget about disabled or elder (?) people, but plenty of people do and yet dont turn when parking. i dont really care which way people park as long as they dont hit anything :)

    • Spam Service on 14/11/2022 - 08:58
      +1

      But, doesn't it just make it slower/harder to park the car?

      If you've done it enough, reversing into a park is far easier than driving in forwards, especially if you have a bigger car or a tight car spot. I learned to drive in an old toyota hilux, and if you're parking in a city parking lot, there are plenty of circumstances where parking front-in is physically impossible, but reverse parking OK.

      • knk on 14/11/2022 - 09:51

        Agreed, much easier particularly with longer vehicles. Unless it's a pretty wide carpark it's way easier to just reverse a car in.

        Plus, with reverse cameras it makes it even easier. With 360 degree cams it's a no brainer.

  • stan86 on 11/11/2022 - 16:28
    +112

    Also easier to park if the spot is tight.

  • rickb on 11/11/2022 - 16:29
    +12

    I reverse park in my driveway as well as car parks. Each to their own.

  • JIMB0 on 11/11/2022 - 16:32
    +16

    Some workplaces require reverse parking as you're far less likely to hit someone leaving the spot. Reversing in it is easy to see any pedestrians.

    • Trekky on 12/11/2022 - 08:07
      +3

      20 plus years ago, I got my drivers License via work (They paid for my driving lessons) and once I had that license, I had a near miss reversing out and the Transport Co-coordinator saw it. A few days later and we were all required to reverse park from then on. The workplace had various vehicles from small cars to EWPs and trucks.

  • scrimshaw on 11/11/2022 - 16:32
    +12

    When your car is equipped with the tech to make it easier to back in — a wide angle reverse camera with guidelines that tell you how far you're away from hitting the kerb — I think it makes sense to back in most of the time.

    https://www.vox.com/2016/8/1/11926596/safer-back-into-parkin…

    When you get out later (whether there's an emergency or you're seconds away from having to pay a parking ticket) it's much quicker / easier to leave without accidentally hitting a pedestrian walking past.

    • bleach1st on 12/11/2022 - 09:53
      +1

      This is the biggest one for me - up until I got my most recent car I didn't really care to reverse park into a car park. Both methods were as easy/hard as each other so I just did whichever, mostly driving into car parks.
      Since I got my recent car though I now have a reverse camera and sensors on all sides - it's so much easier to reverse park now and makes my life easier in nearly all cases, and is ultimately safer. Nowadays I almost exclusively reverse park.

    • io on 13/11/2022 - 00:41
      -1

      You may be right. I think reverse parking is mostly an Asian thing. This is because in Asian countries the parking spaces are tight.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/11/2022 - 16:33
    +38

    ' show your dominance over the forward parkers with this one weird trick. '

  • timthetoolman on 11/11/2022 - 16:34
    +12

    It's quicker to get in to a car park. You can reverse straight in vs driving in and having to fix it up /leaving your car in two parks.

    • AustriaBargain on 11/11/2022 - 17:24

      Why is it easier, because you can use your mirrors?

      • Mike88 on 11/11/2022 - 17:55
        +42

        Your car will pivot on the non-turning wheels allowing you to get into tighter spaces

        • AustriaBargain on 11/11/2022 - 18:02
          -1

          Yeah I guess that makes sense. And pivoting is made even easier with the virtual top down cameras some cars have these days.

      • timthetoolman on 11/11/2022 - 19:02

        If you've got a spare spot on the side of the road, one car length, is it easier to drive or reverse in to it?

    • Nebargains on 12/11/2022 - 10:29
      +1

      100%.

      Unless there is no cars around and I can swing around pretty wide (or it's a wide spot, or can drive though to another spot), parking in front first nearly always requires straightening up.

      Reversing in rarely requires straightening unless you misjudged it (i.e. too close to a pole).

      That said Ive watched people take forever to reverse park and still do a bad job while I could probably do it with my eyes closed.

  • sharkyoz on 11/11/2022 - 16:35
    +1

    because have extra long ute body and a dirty big towhitch on back
    safer poking over gutter edge than into traffic area

  • kanmen on 11/11/2022 - 16:35
    +1

    Sometimes the angle in which you're positioned near the parking spot means its easier for you to reverse in. For example if you're very close to the spot you probably don't have the space to drive more on the oncoming side of the road to enter the spot.

  • seraphim2017 on 11/11/2022 - 16:37
    +27

    But reversing into a parking spot is easy. If you can't do that should you be behind the wheel? queing in a car park to reverse out relies on people being decent to let you and they rarely are. Face outwards means you can just get on with it and cause lesss disruption to traffic flow.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/11/2022 - 17:04
        +37

        When I was learning to drive with my Dad decades ago, he would force me to practice nothing but reverse parks. We would literally spend 2-3 hours a week leading up to the learners test JUST practicing reverse parks in empty carparks at night. Then smash out a few before or after trading hours at the shops so i could get a feel for parking up next to actual cars. He would basically just be going off at me for every little mistake if the park wasnt right, or if I had to go forward and try and re-align even once.

        He said mate, in the future, when you're on your own, and you're that ****head who cant back it in first go, you're going to have some other ****head beeping/ going off at you.
        Do you REALLY want that?

        Anyway he was right aye because nothing frustrates me more while driving than being stuck waiting for some genius to try and 50 point reverse park their mazda 2 into a carpark.

        • montorola on 11/11/2022 - 17:35
          +15

          nothing frustrates me more while driving than being stuck waiting for some genius to try and 50 point reverse park their mazda 2 into a carpark.

          I lol'ed.

        • yaburi on 11/11/2022 - 21:57
          +1

          I see we have the same father

        • juki on 12/11/2022 - 00:17

          are we related your dad might have some explaining to do, my dad said the same decades ago ^^

        • Flash_Bang on 12/11/2022 - 09:50
          +1

          nothing frustrates me more while driving than being stuck waiting for some genius to try and 50 point reverse park their mazda 2 into a carpark.

          I call this "The small car syndrome", you see it every time! Some people in the smallest of cars will have no spacial awareness and cannot mentally process spacial reasoning to park a car.
          That or sit in a blind spot of a slower truck or bus because they think they won't get past a larger vehicle on a dual-lane road, yet deem it to be safer!

      • SnoozeAndLose on 11/11/2022 - 18:18
        +1

        Some people take 2-3 go to get front in too, when you reverse in take you mostly 1 go to get out, reserve out require at least 2.

      • ChickenTalon on 11/11/2022 - 21:58
        +2

        If they can’t reverse park it probably means they can’t fwd park properly in the correct spot either, and would take even longer when they eventually need to leave.

        Parking forwards just shifts the problem, doesn’t fix anything.

      • smartazz104 on 12/11/2022 - 10:43

        As opposed to people who take 10 minutes to reverse out.

      • ihfree on 12/11/2022 - 20:29

        Lol, I'd be terrified to see those drivers reverse out.

    • timthetoolman on 11/11/2022 - 19:04
      +2

      That's another point, in that when you reverse out of a park you are liable for any crash (best case, half at fault if you crash in to someone else also reversing?). Driving out you can see what's happening

  • Duckie2hh on 11/11/2022 - 16:40
    +1

    Most cars (not top spec) have reverse parking sensors. Therefore, it would be easier to reverse park over front parking.

    • SgtBatten on 14/11/2022 - 14:40
      +1

      It is easier to reverse park regardless as the steering wheels are typically as the front if a car, giving greater control of the back when reversing. Same reason a forklift has rear steering to login up the forks at the front.

  • mapax on 11/11/2022 - 16:42
    +10

    Why does OP park forwards into a space?

    • jv on 11/11/2022 - 17:22
      +22

      So they can load their shopping easily in the car boot.

      • Serapis on 12/11/2022 - 01:55
        +3

        Pretty much the only logical reason unless also required by signage

    • SF3 on 11/11/2022 - 18:57

      At Ikea.

      • kolorijo on 13/11/2022 - 07:51

        And the airport too

        • thewan on 14/11/2022 - 19:58
          +1

          At costco too

  • jumpypotato53 on 11/11/2022 - 16:45
    +10

    One should be able to reverse into much tighter spaces than front parking because it is possible to turn much more when reversing. Also, the front of the car is "free" to turn when reversing, but when front parking into a tight space the front of the car (which does the turn) is locked.

    • xylarr on 12/11/2022 - 09:32
      +3

      I've been trying to think in a clear way why reverse is better - you have put it into words.
      When reverse parking, the front of the car is free to move about and unconstrained - unlike when you front park.

  • lunchbox99 on 11/11/2022 - 16:45
    +15

    If your car has steering on the front like 99.99%, it is more maneuverable in reverse ie you can turn more abruptly and get a better angle. Also as others have said, sensor and camera make it easy plus easier to leave. The real question is why wouldn't you park in reverse?

  • Muzeeb on 11/11/2022 - 16:46
    +38

    1. Drive past the spot you intend to park in and inspect for hazards (like trolleys or broken glass etc)

    2. Reverse park in because, with practice, it's actually really easy

    3. Reverse camera and sensors assist in identifying any hazards you may have missed at step 1

    4. Impress the ladies who are watching and waiting for you to stuff up but are turned on by your professional abilities

    5. Vacate your spot quickly and safely

    6. Drive off with a smile and your new friend (see step 4)

    • Antikythera on 11/11/2022 - 21:22
      +1

      the biggest point here is that there is no point impressing the ladies with your reversing skills while reversing out and driving away, leaving them behind.

      impress them with your reversing skills on arrival and they can reward you properly.

    • CanadaAye on 12/11/2022 - 14:12
      +1

      This guy parks

      • lunchbox99 on 13/11/2022 - 10:51
        +1

        by number 4 he had me fully on the edge, step 6 I totally lost it. I need a cigarette and a nap.

  • Brian McGee on 11/11/2022 - 16:46
    +5

    Pros: Easier to leave/see other traffic when leaving

    Cons: Harder to load vehicle (if backed against a wall or other car)

    I do either depending on the situation, grocery or bunnings trip = front in. Gerenral shopping trip or going to a park/roadside lot = reverse.

    • CanadaAye on 12/11/2022 - 14:13

      Yep, I mostly reverse park except when doing the grocery shopping or something else that necessitates loading up the boot.

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