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.

@Hardbackwriter I have been driving since 1985 & I can assure you I do not "drive blindly at pedestrians" when reversing out 🙄 Please do not judge everyone else by your own standards.
And no need to shout, I neither require a sight test nor a hearing test 😏
Thank you!

Because they're shit drivers. If you can't reverse into a space without making a massive meal of it then I don't actually think you're safe to drive at all.

I agree. It’s basic. There’s a reason it’s a standard manoeuvre in a driving test.

There’s a reason it’s a standard manoeuvre in a driving test.

It wasn't when I passed. Neither was parallel parking. I did have to reverse round a corner and do a three point turn, both of which I find easy.

It was when I did mine. They could pick and choose various manoeuvres, but reverse bay parking in the test centre was non-negotiable.

Unfortunately, most supermarket car parks are not designed to help the shopper. You will be unable to load your shopping because you are backed up against another vehicle.

Well I passed in 1986 and you definitely didn't have to then. I think it changed in about 2016.

So there's probably a hell of a lot of us who weren't taught how to!

I agree. It’s basic. There’s a reason it’s a standard manoeuvre in a driving test

Another who definitely didn’t have it decades ago while doing mine, nor did any of my kids who have done it quite recently (we are in Aus).

Im one of those shit drivers that while driving safely for 40 odd years with a great record can’t either reverse into a parking space or reverse parallel park. It’s moot though as cars have driver assist these days. Reverse camera, while not enough to enable me to reverse park, definitely shows any pedestrians nearby as you reverse out of the car spot including small children lower to the ground. What’s more if they are close enough the alarm goes off. Then there’s cross traffic alert so you can’t reverse out into a moving car coming through behind you. I’m guessing it’s why they don’t require it or have it in tests? It all works, I went to reverse out of my drive one day and the alarm went off like nothing else (different tone/urgency for different things) and it was next doors dog had wandered up right behind the car. No way I could see that dog in my rear view mirror /side mirrors but the sensors picked it up, then it grinned at me on camera. Then I had to yell at neighbour to take their freaking dog so I could leave🤣.

Reversing into a space isn't a standard manoeuvre in a driving test. I did mine in 2021. You're tested on either parallel parking which isn't reversing into a bay as such, parking and reversing out or pulling up on the right and reversing on a straight line. A lot different to reversing into a small space in a car park.

I can't forward park. Very good at reversing as my car parking space requires it, so I do it every day. Forward parking, terrible.

I imagine some people prefer to drive into the smaller space where they can perhaps more easily judge the space between them and the cars either side, and the reverse out into the much larger area, where the moving things like people and other cars can clearly see you are moving and adjust course, which parked cars can't do. Plus shopping or buggys or wheelchairs to unload etc.

From https://www.gov.uk/driving-test/what-happens-during-test

Reversing your vehicle
The examiner will ask you to do one of the following exercises:
parallel park at the side of the road
park in a parking bay - either by driving in and reversing out, or reversing in and driving out (the examiner will tell you which you have to do)
pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for around 2 car lengths, and rejoin the traffic

It can be part of the driving test - the examiner will pick which 2 of the 3 manoeuvres you need to perform. This was the case when I did my test back in 2003 (and I did reverse into a bay as part of my test)

I reverse into my drive, but front onto mist other spaces because otherwise it is hard to get into the boot.
Once saw someone reverse into a parking space leaving about 4 foot behind them so they could get a pushchair our of the boot, when there was a car in the space behind them. The car bonnet was sticking out into the road. This was in a Tesco car park with lots of empty spaces.( by lots I mean half the car park in a tesco extra). They could have parked fully in a space and had access to the boot if they had picked a different space. It wasn't if they chose that one because it was a child space or close to the door- it was a normal space at the opposite end of the car park.

At my test centre it was standard. Maybe they just did that to shorten the tests as it was one less manoeuvre on the road. No idea. Everyone had to, though, it was the last thing in your test.

My instructor was a former trucker and was an amazing teacher. Had loads of tricks for parking, like lining up your back seats with the rear of the car you’re trying to parallel park behind would put you in exactly the right place to put on full lock and turn. And if you want to reverse into a bay, pull up so you the driver is level with the third line up from the bay you want, then by the time you’ve got full lock on, you should arc more or less right into the space, allowing for mirror alterations.

I’m a tremendous parker and love driving and I know it’s because I was taught so well.

So much easier to reverse in

@prescribingmum I passed 2 years ago and was only asked to bay park by driving in and reversing out. You're only asked for 1 manoeuvre now. It's changed since 2003.

Perhaps you could reverse in but it was never taught or asked. You're asked 1 of 3 on the test plus possibly emergency stop (which I wasn't asked)

I reverse in as I do all my grocery shopping online. When I had a pram I would go forward in but I hated it as it really is dangerous reversing out with pedestrians including children everywhere.

I like this comment and imagine this is true for many actually.

My company has this as a policy at all sites and I got so used to doing it I now always reverse park. Is a bit more awkward now with a 7 seater with huge boot door but I’ve only had someone back so close to me that I couldn’t get it open once and by the time I came back to the car after I’d finished shopping they’d gone. So much easier pulling out forwards!

If you're walking through a supermarket car park, you are very aware of the moving cars - ie the ones driving up and down the lanes looking for the spaces. They're already moving, so you're aware they're about to be manoeuvring into a space and you're generally alert and aware to make sure you're not in the way when they do so.

On the other hand, there is usually a much larger number of parked cars that you're walking past, and you're more likely to be caught off guard if one of them suddenly reverses!

I hate reversing out of spaces. The visibility just isn't anything like as good as if you're facing forward... Obviously!

Newer cars with fancy cameras would admittedly be a bit safer.

Because you can't get to the boot if you reverse in?

I'll reverse in if I don't need the boot.

Can't say I've ever had an issue in a car park big enough to be able to recall it now.

If I see reverse lights and I have space to I let the person out and I'm grateful when others do the same.

Parking camera + sensors, both ways are easy I just prefer to park forward and reserve out

@Antiquiteas ditto. My instructor was fabulous and insisted on teaching to drive rather than teaching to pass the test. I knew all the manoeuvres inside out and it has helped me so much over the years. He made me parallel park on a busy high street/busy car park when learning (obviously once I’d already mastered it in quiet places) so I understood how to behave with pressure of other cars around

@blebbleb Im fully aware the manoeuvres will have changed in the past 20 years hence quoting and posting a link to the current requirements. I was simply making a point to the PP who tried to claim it wasn’t required 2 years ago that it very much has been required for more than 20 years and just wasn’t the chosen one assessed for her test