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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask why people don’t reverse in?

430 replies

Divorcedalongtime · 25/03/2023 22:16

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
nuttynet · 27/03/2023 21:38

I hate waiting whilst some gigantic vehicle attempts to reverse park

Skodacool · 27/03/2023 21:41

Sparklesocks · 25/03/2023 22:23

I can’t speak for why people choose to do it that way, I was just answering OP’s question. But I suppose in some ways it’s easier for some to reverse out into a wider area where you have more room to adjust than into a smaller parking space.

Show quote history

You’re right Sparkle

Tarantellah · 27/03/2023 21:43

It’s much easier to reverse out into a big wide road than into a narrow parking space with cars either side! I’m much more likely to bump the neighbouring car reversing in than driving in forwards.

Skodacool · 27/03/2023 21:45

SalmonEile · 25/03/2023 22:24

It takes longer to reverse in , you have to drive past the space and hope the fucker behind you doesn’t drive in, then you have to maneuver all while people are milling around you or the person in the next space returns to their car and starts opening doors and what not
it feels easier just to nab the space and get on with your shopping and deal with the above when you’re done

This

Doomscroller · 27/03/2023 22:26

I'm really confused why so many grown adults on this thread can't understand the concept that we all find different things easy, and that writing BUT IT'S EASIER TO DO IT MY WAY can be true for you and utterly false for someone else?!

The matter of which is safest/allows access etc is different obviously.

AmberMcAmber · 27/03/2023 22:28

Some people don’t feel as comfortable/confident reversing compared to driving forwards

how do they leave? Do they live at Tesco now?

Airspice · 27/03/2023 22:53

I’m more than capable of reversing in thanks very much! I just, 9 times out of 10, can’t then open my boot so if my boot is needed I have to go in forwards!

Rosula · 27/03/2023 22:54

AmberMcAmber · 27/03/2023 22:28

Some people don’t feel as comfortable/confident reversing compared to driving forwards

how do they leave? Do they live at Tesco now?

Fairly obviously, there is much more space when reversing out of a space than reversing in, hence it's easy to get out with reasonable care.

Fluff3 · 27/03/2023 23:28

FixTheBone · 25/03/2023 22:53

Amazed at all these people thst can't carry shopping from the front of the car, to the rear....

Their driveways must back directly onto their fridges for unloading....

Some people dont have drives, so that isnt an issue for them.

Its preference, some people like to reverse in, some dont. Personally I find it easier to reverse out of a space, then go forwards out of 1. Its easier to manovere your car, if there is something blocking the way. You just need to take care that there are no pedestrians walking past as you do so, thats what mirrors are for.

Teenagehorrorbag · 27/03/2023 23:42

As everyone has said, you have to park forwards in a supermarket or shopping area so you can put your purchases in the boot. If I park with a view to going to the cinema, or a doctors appointment, of course I reverse park.

My latest car has sensors but prior to that I never have. I was once in a supermarket car park and was reversing back out and a lady banged on my boot and shouted 'watch my daughter'! The child was below the back windscreen height and invisible to me in the car. Luckily we were nowhere near contact but it did make me nervous - I agree it's a bit of a danger zone!

So no easy solution - drivers need to be vigilant and parents/pedestrians need to be conscious of blind spots.

Rookie93 · 27/03/2023 23:50

@JassyRadlett Thank you for the link to that great article. One piece of research I actually enjoyed reading.

SinnerBoy · 28/03/2023 02:48

blacksax* · Yesterday 14:57

Besides, if you are a good driver (and some fuckwitted pedestrian doesn't decide to walk behind your car when it is already moving) then reversing out of a parking space is a doddle.

If you were a good driver, you'd realise that nosing in means that your vision is restricted and that you're less able to see the pedestrians, who have absolute right of way over you.

For whom you must wait and allow to pass, before making your manoeuvre, just as you must legally wait to turn into a side street, if a pedestrian is waiting to cross.

SinnerBoy · 28/03/2023 02:53

This:

I was once in a supermarket car park and was reversing back out and a lady banged on my boot and shouted 'watch my daughter'! The child was below the back windscreen height and invisible to me in the car.

Is a textbook example of why it's better to reverse in!

Rottweilermummy · 28/03/2023 06:50

I'm afraid I'm a driver in reverse out, just because I find it easier , I'm pretty rubbish at reversing in tbh , if I can find 2 spaces together drive through to next space lol win win , reversing in just seems to hold up other cars more I think

prescribingmum · 28/03/2023 07:33

SinnerBoy · 28/03/2023 02:53

This:

I was once in a supermarket car park and was reversing back out and a lady banged on my boot and shouted 'watch my daughter'! The child was below the back windscreen height and invisible to me in the car.

Is a textbook example of why it's better to reverse in!

This is exactly why I reverse in and go out of my way to find a supermarket space that doesn’t back onto other cars so I can park in reverse.

There is another thread right now about someone who was reversing out of a space, was extremely careful and yet another car in a rush from opposite side reversed into her and hit her. Much easier to see the other car if going out forward as you have entire field of vision so can react much faster

Supermarkets are not set up for us to reverse park, I completely see why someone with a pushchair and/or shopping wants access to their boot but there is absolutely no argument that it is safer to reverse out - if you’re limited by your driving ability, that’s on you to learn, not argue a less safe manoeuvre is better because of this. Ultimately, we do not have eyes in the back of our head plus our view is blocked by the car on either side until we have already moved. Reversing out from between 2 parked cars will always have far more hazards associated with it. Modern cars are doing all they can to make it safer which is only a good thing but it can’t be argued that the technology is substitute for our eyes and reactions

WhenDovesFly · 28/03/2023 07:45

Sockloon · 27/03/2023 19:26

I reverse in everywhere including supermarkets those that claim it's for loading are talking bollocks or just incompetent 😂

Haha, so sorry (not) that my painful osteoarthritis and use of a walking stick, which prevents me lifting heavy bags back and forth in a narrow gap between cars, makes me incompetent. You carry on with your blinkered view of everyone's capabilities though.

WhenDovesFly · 28/03/2023 07:56

The most irritating people imo are those so determined that they are right, so enraged that others might make a different choice, so belligerent and rigid in their thinking that they are incapable or unwilling to imagine for one minute that other people have different experiences and needs.

👏👏👏👏👏

Best response on the whole thread. It's not just that these people can't understand others may have different experiences or needs, it's that they feel it necessary to insult them or call them incompetent.

Mark19735 · 28/03/2023 12:12

Many new IKEA car parks are designed in such a way that the pedestrian access to the boot of a parked car requires that the car be reversed in. The pavements are between the rows of parked cars. They also make the kerb so high that you cannot leave the pedestrian areas with a trolley to even get to the carriageway. It's quite amusing watching people who parked nose-in try and find a dropped kerb to get stuff into their boots. There aren't any.

The future approach will be to have full-self-drive installed on all cars. It will drop you off at the front entrance, go and park itself in a very narrow bay - you don't even need to open the doors if you're already out of the car - maybe it will even charge up while you don't need it - then you summon it when you've finished what you're doing and it'll meet you wherever you are. Any Tesla can already do that today (except the wireless charging bit ... but that's coming soon).

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 28/03/2023 12:29

I think it varies. A very large garden centre near me has slanting parking spaces and a one way system that means you have to drive forwards to park. Ditto a local petrol station. If you tried reverse parking in front of the shop bit you would cause carnage.

Mark19735 · 28/03/2023 12:39

Oh, and another thing - it is demonstrable through simple geometry that when making a turn, the wheels that steer will be the ones furthest from the centre of the circle being turned through. Manoeuvring in tight confines, such as when parking in a bay perpendicular to the carriageway, requires less lateral space when the centre of the turning circle is aligned with the closest obstacle (usually the nearest corner of the car in the adjacent bay).

For front-axle steered cars, reverse parking always uses less space, both on the way in and on the way out. It's the same reason why reversing into the space is advised when parallel parking. It's also why forklift trucks tend to have rear-wheel steering - because the forks and mast need to directly access to the loads and the racking, and it's more manoeuvrable (provides a tighter turning circle) if the steering is at the rear.

Everyone saying "I just find it easier to nose in" is demonstrably wrong - it's geometry. You will always need more space to get the same size car into the same size gap. And you will always pass closer to the nearest obstacle than if you'd reverse parked.

Not every difference of opinion is of equal validity. Sometimes people holding an opinion on one side of a debate genuinely are just plain wrong. Still no need to insult them though ... better to teach them why they are wrong and inspire them to try and improve.

Rainbowshit · 28/03/2023 12:44

So we can get stuff in the boot more easily.

WeWereInParis · 28/03/2023 12:55

Mark19735 · 28/03/2023 12:12

Many new IKEA car parks are designed in such a way that the pedestrian access to the boot of a parked car requires that the car be reversed in. The pavements are between the rows of parked cars. They also make the kerb so high that you cannot leave the pedestrian areas with a trolley to even get to the carriageway. It's quite amusing watching people who parked nose-in try and find a dropped kerb to get stuff into their boots. There aren't any.

The future approach will be to have full-self-drive installed on all cars. It will drop you off at the front entrance, go and park itself in a very narrow bay - you don't even need to open the doors if you're already out of the car - maybe it will even charge up while you don't need it - then you summon it when you've finished what you're doing and it'll meet you wherever you are. Any Tesla can already do that today (except the wireless charging bit ... but that's coming soon).

That would be a better design (the ikea layout you describe) but putting walkways between rows of spaces rather than having them back to back will take up more space so I doubt it will catch on widely. Supermarkets won't want to reduce the number of spaces in their car parks.

WeWereInParis · 28/03/2023 13:00

Everyone saying "I just find it easier to nose in" is demonstrably wrong - it's geometry. You will always need more space to get the same size car into the same size gap. And you will always pass closer to the nearest obstacle than if you'd reverse parked.

Not every difference of opinion is of equal validity. Sometimes people holding an opinion on one side of a debate genuinely are just plain wrong. Still no need to insult them though ... better to teach them why they are wrong and inspire them to try and improve.

You may need more space and have to pass closer, but that doesn't mean that an individual can't still find it personally easier. I think it's partly confidence, but also just being able to see better the direction you're moving in, and people being more aware of where the bonnet is than where the back of the car is.

I do reverse in when it won't cause a problem with the pram (or when I don't have the pram), so I'm not talking about me. But I can see how someone may feel they are better at going in forwards.

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 28/03/2023 13:00

For front-axle steered cars, reverse parking always uses less space, both on the way in and on the way out. It's the same reason why reversing into the space is advised when parallel parking. It's also why forklift trucks tend to have rear-wheel steering - because the forks and mast need to directly access to the loads and the racking, and it's more manoeuvrable (provides a tighter turning circle) if the steering is at the rear.

Everyone saying "I just find it easier to nose in" is demonstrably wrong - it's geometry. You willalwaysneed more space to get the same size car into the same size gap. And you willalwayspass closer to the nearest obstacle than if you'd reverse parked.

That may well be true and actually a lot of the people saying that they reverse park have also said that they have large cars. But in a small car (like I have) I'm not sure it makes much difference, I have plenty of space providing cars parked either side have parked properly. Does the theory mean that forward drivers are making getting out of the parking space ( by reversing) easier for themselves whereas the reversers are making getting out harder for themselves?

Unfortunately even if I drive through spaces to pull out forwards, if I have vans or 4x4s either side of me I can't see to pull out easily. Perhaps supermarkets should segregate according to height of vehicle?Wink

WeWereInParis · 28/03/2023 13:02

Unfortunately even if I drive through spaces to pull out forwards, if I have vans or 4x4s either side of me I can't see to pull out easily. Perhaps supermarkets should segregate according to height of vehicle?

Ooh I'd love this! I have a little Aygo and even coming out forwards can be annoying with big cars either side of me.