to ask why people don’t reverse in?

[Divorcedalongtime]

to parking spaces…
i know the safest is to reverse in and
drive out, so why do 95% of all cars drive in?
every time I go shopping I see cars desperately trying to get out of their parking bay with cars and walkers going past, whilst if they had reversed in they would get out so easily.

it makes zero sense.

I always reverse park into my driveway and in car parks. I find reverse parking a lot easier.

In the supermarket though I prefer to be able to get into the boot of my car easily. If you reverse in people park close to your boot so it's hard to get shopping in.

So you can access the boot without having to squeeze past other cars, not having to leave a trolley at the front of the car as you do so, to get bags and coats out of the boot, etc. On a practical level, at shops/supermarkets it makes sense to have easy access to the boot.

Just one of my little theories….

Yeah, I'm one of those people who are so boring and uptight that I care about reducing the chances of me killing a child. Talk about dull!

I used to assume that everyone was the boring kind of person who didn't want to accidentally run over people but then people started buying (well, not buying, getting on finance) those cars so needlessly large that they can't actually see over the bonnet properly, and it turned out lots of people were just too fun to care! Woo hoo, you go girlfriend!

It’s such a massive problem here I actually think driveways across pavements should be made illegal.

So you think it would be safer for everyone to park on the road side instead, narrowing the road for all road users?

My road doesn't have pavements anyway - just a block paved road, with drives coming off that. However, I would imagine the vast majority of driveways cross a pavement. Not sure you're going to make roads safer for pedestrians by having all those extra cars trying to park near homes and businesses but banning them tbh.

Whoops haha. Glad to report zero bear misses

It’s boot access. Plus most cars are front wheel drive, there’s no always the width of road available to reverse in.
I don’t really get your particular argument as whether you’re reversing or driving straight out you still need to stop for pedestrians. If you mean it’s safer to drive out because there’s more visibility I understand that (although less of an issue with proximity sensors and rear cameras). Most people understand that children need very careful watching in car parks

I usually drive forward into my drive too. It makes charging my car easier, and also gives me clear access to the boot. DH varies depending on if he needs to charge (his is easier to charge if he reverses in) or if he needs clear access to the boot (easier to drive in forward).
Our road is fairly open and view isn't obstructed, plus its a culdesac so not much traffic. Reversing out really isn't a dangerous option in our situation.
I'm capable of doing both but chose which is most practical for the situation I'm in, and take into account the location and the road type.

To change people's habits at supermarkets and shopping centres you'd need a bit change in car park layouts to happen first. People need boot access, without the risk of scratching other cars when doing so. Hence people usually drive forward in. Change car parking spaces to make them wider and to have walkways between spaces, then people may start to change habits. Until that happens - which is unlikely due to the cost and reduction in spaces if it happened - then people will continue to drive in.

I reverse park everywhere unless it severely limits access to the boot.

Genuinely think if people can't confidrntly reverse they shouldn't be driving. It's unsafe.

Exactly this! 👌

Because I'm Italian.

But you're driving blindly at pedestrians when you reverse out and - and I'm sorry to shout but I'm incredulous this has to be said at all but this thread shows it does - PEOPLE MATTER MORE THAN CARS.

To be totally honest.. I can’t reverse park. Never been able to back into a space or parallel park. Been driving 12 years.

I wouldn’t be able to open my boot at all so if I need to access it I have to drive into the bay forward facing as my boot opens sideways and it’s a huge door!
I also don’t reverse into my drive but it’s down a private dirt road which only leads to our house so you don’t get anyone walking down it.

I've never cracked the art of reversing. I wish I could.

YANBU I always reverse in even if I need to get to the boot. It's just so much easier and safer.

So for me it depends... I have a child still in a rearfacing seat- a 2.5year old... so I park to ensure that she can get in and out easily- so always park with the passenger side on a bigger space or area- reverse in or forward depending on the gap... I also drive a large people carrier and often there are no parent and toddler bays...
Getting her in and out is paramount... I drive forward onto our drive (but will normally turn around on our drive as its big enough even with a seven seater)....

You get ticketed for reversing in where I live.

I'm guessing the reason is people got mad when they found all the dings and scratches left in neighboring cars by drivers who reversed in badly. Plus the police needed to be called to referee disputes and file reports for insurance purposes.

Backing out is more sensible. You're backing into a more spacious area.

Plus, a lot of parking is diagonal where I am.

With reversing over a pavement into a drive, why is it safer to reverse on the way in than the way out? Either way you’re going backwards with limited vision as you cross the pavement. If you reverse into your drive, you have to rely on the car(s) behind not pulling up behind you so closely that you can reverse and swing in, which is an additional thing to think about as well as checking pavements, etc and pedestrians are maybe less likely to clock that a car on the road is going to come up over the pavement. If you reverse out you can wait for a big enough gap in the car traffic, but depending on visibility you may not be able to see pedestrians on the pavement either side. It doesn’t seem overwhelmingly obvious that one is more dangerous than the other.

I don’t understand the logic of thinking it’s easier to squeeze into a space when going forwards nor the thought that reversing out is safer as you have a larger space to reverse into. Reversing into a space is just the same as reversing out, it’s still the same space and still the same car park 🤷🏼‍♀️

I struggle to believe that reversing in is as easy as people claim. If it's that easy, why am I regularly help up be people in car parks making a massive meal of it?

I reverse park as much as possible.

I always reverse on to my driveway- even though it can be awkward with cars parked opposite. We're near a bend, and there's a tall fence to one side of the driveway, so very limited vision. Someone coming round the corner would need to be paying attention to not hit me- I wouldn't even be able to see them coming if I'm reversing, and you can't always rely on every other driver to be paying attention!

I always reverse in whenever I park, I find it really tricky to drive in.

If there are unsavoury characters around, I can just drive out of my space and go, not have to faff reversing out.
Has come in handy a couple of times over the years.

I don’t understand the logic of thinking it’s easier to squeeze into a space when going forwards nor the thought that reversing out is safer as you have a larger space to reverse into.

Well I go forwards a lot more often than I go backwards so I have far more experience of doing that! (And I live in the countryside so very used to squeezing past other cars and judging spaces.)