To ask school to choose? (parking)

[Carpark1]

Aibu to ask my DD’s school to choose to alert that they must reverse park. There are no guidelines in the car park and I just feel like it’s mayhem. If we all reversed parked then it may be s bit more streamlined and time saving? Do you think they would find me weird for suggesting it ?😂😬

I must admit i am shocked some people saying they can't reverse park .It is my choice of parking and i am not blowing my own trumpet but i am bloody good at it .It is a standing joke if the space is big enough i will get in it .But years ago i had a brillant instructor who was very hot on reverse parking he said it's a skill you need so i hand it to him for teaching me well and years of practice .Had it on my test too .

@Sleepyblueocean I am a teacher I am aware of staff have to do. Thank you. A text to all parents would suffice I think.

I was useless at reverse parking until I got a new car with back & front parking sensors & a reversing camera, I can park on a sixpence now.

At our local school, I have seen two separate incidents recently whereby a car is reversing into a space and another car drives into that space at speed to take it before the reversing car. I know another mum who was reversing into the space and collided with a car who was trying to drive into the space at speed to take it before she had completed the manouvre. You can ask the school but I doubt they will enforce it. The parents may also choose to ignore the rule. 🤷‍♀️

Our office introduced this a few years ago. some people do it, some people don't. I actually find it easier to reverse park than to forward park. I only passed my test 6 months ago.

I'm not great at reverse parking because I never need to do it. Even at supermarkets I need access to my boot so deliberately don't reverse park.

This rule was introduced in the primary school car park my kids went to. It was introduced after a parent in a ridiculously big car reversed into a child.
It made a massive difference to the safety of the kids and general peace of mind knowing that can be seen when waking past.
It changed our car park from a frankly scary experience to a much better one.
Of course it's ignored by the few. But that's life.
Thankfully my kids are no longer at primary.

No you were being rude and generalised when someone else said about getting a buggy out ..... you are on AIBU asking about reverse parking in general. Nobody knows the layout of your school car park so they can't judge just on your school.

Also, the head will think you're a PITA if you suggest this so if you want to be that parent then go ahead.

@Sexnotgender
I’m shocked people can’t reverse parkfor those that say they can’t why is that?
I kind of agree if you can’t park you really shouldn’t be driving.

Don't confuse reversing with reverse parking.
If you can reverse you are safe to be on the road. Why would not being able to reverse park make you unsafe on the road?

I can do it, I'm a wizz, I drive for a living. But I can't see how it makes you unsafe to the point of having to throw in your licence.

FWIW this is what it looks like...Green Bay’s are disabled bays red is the gate and school playground. 🤷‍♀️

Why is forcing all parents to do a driving manoeuvre that clearly some may be uncomfortable with, just to suit one parent's idea of what is "streamlined" a good idea? It will just lead to a lot of unsafe driving around kids.

Reversing round a corner is pretty much the same maneuver. I taught myself to reverse park, and now I can do it it's so much easier than parking forwards.

Agreed - if you can't reverse park don't drive! Reverse parking is a proxy for being able to control your vehicle properly - knowing how to steer and maneuver slowly in a confined space in reverse. I spent some time stuck in chaos in Slovenia last summer in the middle of nowhere where a car had encountered an obstruction on a narrow lane and the driver was utterly unable to reverse her way out of it. She didn't seem to understand why if she turned the wheel to the right when she was reversing the front of the vehicle went left, and she didn't get the fact that by steering with the rear wheels the car behaves differently. In the end another driver had to do it for her.

I'm vaguely surprised that there are so many people out there (male and female) who "cannot" reverse park or parallel park.

It really must make parking difficult at times, extra time searching for the right space to avoid reverse/parallel parking

I had a boyfriend once, years ago, whose mum could not and refused to refill the car with petrol- if the tank was almost empty, she'd have to wait for her partner to fill it up before she could go anywhere!

Then you shouldn't be driving at all. Those who claim problems because of the size of their vehicle, buy a car you can manage, not a status symbol! Supermarket car parks are littered with badly parked large vehicles.

My vehicle is 6.5m long, I would have no issue reverse parking my husband's focus at 4.4m, however unless there are empty spaces opposite my vehicle does not have the turning ability to reverse park in the gap left in most car parks between two opposite rows. And it's not a status symbol, it's not even considered a car and I wouldn't ever have chosen it, but it's a necessary work vehicle as I need the carrying capacity, classified as such, I drop the kids off and pick them up every day on the way to and from my business, owning an extra car just to do the school run would be madness. Many of the parents at our school are business owners so drive vans and pickups for work.

It will just lead to a lot of unsafe driving around kids

Reversing out of a space when the car park is full of kids is massively unsafe!

But surely reversing into a space in a carpark full of kids when you don't really know how to is even more unsafe? There's reversing either way.

Not being able to reverse park is actually bloody dangerous. Imagine needing to park on a drive off a main road and having to reverse into traffic and that's just one scenario.

I can reverse park, but though I know I'm not supposed to, I park forwards onto my drive on a b road and reverse off.

Why? Because my drive is where there's a queue for traffic lights. If I try to reverse park on at most times of day, people just do not get that I'm positioning myself to reverse onto the drive. If they do, they don't always react sensibly anyway - they start reversing blindly towards cars behind them without looking to accommodate me. Or someone 'nips around' the car waiting for me.

In fact, when parking forwards I frequently have people think I'm aiming for the next house along and do the same 'reversing to accommodate me (getting in my way and really, REALLY stupid - from my road position and drive shape I couldn't possibly be heading anywhere else).

If I park on forwards, I can reverse off safely, because the traffic is slowing for the lights, I go when someone lets me, and I have good visibility in both directions.

But surely reversing into a space in a carpark full of kids when you don't really know how to is even more unsafe? There's reversing either way

Won’t most be arriving to park up before the kids come out? Therefore doing the manoeuvre when it’s safer?

Either way, practising to reverse would be good for them!

I'm shocked some people can drive but not reverse park?!

I passed in 1985 and there was no parking whatsoever in the test or lessons. Reverse round a corner "turn the car with the use of the forward and reverse gears" (AKA 3 point turn) and emergency stop. Oh, and a hill start if that counts.

Parallel parking was introduced after that and "bay parking" replaced the reverse round a corner in the most recent batch of changes.

My company has a reverse park rule in every office location apparently it's safer for pedestrians improves visibility and is better for your car. I think it's a load of bollocks but we have a supervised car park and if you don't follow the rules it's three strikes and you're banned from parking there

Reverse parking into a confined space is much harder for some people then reversing out to an open space and will take longer and cause more mayhem so your idea is flawed for your original streamlining reasons.

@PCohle because I like to assume they are all competent drivers....because they should be 🤔

Years ago now I knew someone who couldn’t turn right. Or wouldn’t turn right one or the other. Used to drive miles out of her way so as not to have to do it.