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.

Depends if you’re talking about supermarkets (need easy access to the boot, so drive in/reverse out) or driveways on main roads (need easy & quick access out so reverse in/drive out). Or a general car park in which case you just do whatever’s expedient at the time?

Its strange how we all think so differently.

I always reverse in as I find it so tricky to reverse out. I'm worried I will hit the side of the cars parked beside me. Or I will not reverse out properly and will go too close to the cars parked opposite me.

Maybe its spatial awareness. I have no problem reversing in between two parked cars although I have never mastered parallel parking.

Same. I drive a 4 x 4 so much safer to reverse in. In fact, I’m so used to reverse parking that I struggle with forward parking 🤣

I look at people driving into spaces and think how smooth it looks! I wouldn't drive into a space because I would spend my time between parking and returning to the car, worrying about how I was going to reverse out of a space. Its much easier to reverse in!

Yes, thought it was obvious, OP. Same if you have a boot full of luggage. DH is like you and he drives me mad always insisting the correct way is to reverse in no matter what. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve had to walk through a puddle to struggle to get a heavy suitcase out of the boot, scraping myself on a bush while doing so. It’s a pain in the arse. If he insists on reversing in if we need to access the boot, either to load or unload, then I make him do the lifting and struggling now.

In my local supermarket you can't get the trolley between the cars so when you have 10 bags of shopping it's a real pain!

Highway code, rule 201:

201
Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can

The issue with reversing out isn't whether you find it easier, it's the relative risk of hitting something - going forwards - alternating between looking left and right is trivial. Going backwards it's slower and you're scan is narrowed. Cameras actually make it worse because you have to watch the front of the car as well as the rear and mentally swap the left/right camera image.

Proponents of reversing out who claim they've never had a near miss are lying - I've had enough going forwards!

Reversing in is safer for other road users.

I go out of my way to find a parking spot where I can drive through from one parking bay to another. Even if that means parking at the far end of the lot. When you back into a spot between two parked cars, that is a narrow spot. However, if you end up having to back out into the roadway, there is a lot more space to maneuvre. Either way, I prefer to drive in and drive out if possible.

@Treeabovethefire you're probably thinking of the 'do not reverse from side road into main road' rule, although the same applies to driveways where possible. So you're essentially right...

Highway Code UK 201
Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can.

I like to be able to load my shopping into the boot without scoring an interesting design into my paintwork with a shopping trolley. Anywhere other than the supermarket, I reverse.

I am wondering how exactly do you get a pram in the boot without scratching the car?

Because I am not the best at backing up into a narrow footprint surrounded by cars that I might scrape or hit. My favorite thing to do is pull through, though, if it's back to back (front to front?) parking, so I can drive out forward.

However, as everyone else says, not at the grocery store or how would you get the stuff in the trunk/boot?

Also, most cars have backup cameras now.

Put simply - I cannot.

Generally, I reverse in to parking spaces so I can drive out forwards, but, in most supermarkets, you can't get your trolley to the back of your car, so you have to drive in forwards to be able to get your shopping into the boot.

I takes more skill to reverse into a space than out and people feel under pressure from other cars to hurry up and feel judged if they have issues so presumably that is why. That's why I don't do it anyway

You learn how to do both when learning to drive. I always found driving forwards into a space much easier. As pp have said, some people find reversing quite difficult and it is easier to reverse into a larger space than into a tight one between two vehicles. In the supermarket, as many have said, it makes boot access easier.

Some pp have said that cars reversing out of parking spaces cause 'thousands' of injuries and fatalities each year but I can't find any statistics to back that up. Many accidents at work are due to reversing vehicles but this seems to be buses, lorries, refuse collection vehicles, fork lift trucks etc manoeuvring around sites.

I went to B&Q the other day, early so lots of spaces. Parked so that I could drive out . Came out with trolley and heavy items. Yes, you've guessed it , a car had parked behind me, so I couldn't access the boot easily. I can only assume that as I was in the first block of spaces nearest the store they had decided to park behind me despite loads of other spaces being available.So, my stuff went on the back seat as I could access that and not the boot. Which is why I won't reverse in.

Supermarkets; as per PP.

Driveway; our drive is only just wider than our car. When I drive in, the driver's door opens out to the 'open' side of the drive (front garden). If I reversed in, it would open onto the wall. Our neighbour reverses in for exactly the same reason. (And yes, if I have a passenger I ask them to get out before parking in the driveway!)

I always reverse park, the pram has never been a problem as it folds, when folded its smaller than me, surely most folded prams and push chairs can easily fit through a gap a person can fit through? If I’ve been shopping I just put the trolley at the front of the car or van and carry them to the boot.

I always reverse. Never had this access to buggy/shopping issue, and it irritates me when driving and people reverse out of their drives onto oncoming traffic.

I don’t get the ‘I’m bad at/I dislike reversing’ - you have to reverse at either end of the scenario, so do it when it’s safest at the start. Also baffled at people saying they are not confident reversing - it’s part of driving!

It’s what you’re used to, isn’t it.

I always reverse in because I find that much easier. Same with my drive at home. It’s because I’ve always done so, and I get into a pickle when I try to drive in and reverse out.

there are situations where it makes sense to drive in though - putting dogs or pushchairs or shopping into the boot, for example. There may not be room to get down the side of parked cars to do this.

I miss German car parks with their slanted spaces...

Bearing in mind how efficient and precise German law is... these slanted spaces can only be used by driving in and reversing out.

I always reverse in, because my driving instructor said it's safer, because you have a far better, less obstructed field of vision, when pulling out into the roadway. It is likely that there will be other cars, people pushing trolleys etc.

Your car, whatever the type, is more manoeuvrable when the wheels steering it are at the trailing end.

I don't care how people park, as long as they leave the space carefully and with consideration.

As for those who drive in to parent and toddler spaces! Come on! They always have a path and are ideal for reversing into.

You need about a foot or less of space to open the boot. We've got a boxy estate and I think I've only ever had to roll it forward a few inches once. I leave the trolley at the front and carry the bags to the boot, or back seat.

I always used to reverse in but since dc I drive in and reverse out, so I can get the pram in and out the boot. My car has cameras which show me a really wide angle which means I can see everything as I'm reversing.

Yanbu. I always reverse in. I can still get my shopping in the boot.
Much safer to reverse into an empty space and drive out so you can see people and cars coming.