Did I have enough space to reverse

[YourJadeSquid]

Big white van was parked where the green dots are. I was parked where the red dots were.

I was trying to reverse but I couldn't. Van driver moved a little but then said I had enough room to get out. I honestly don't know if I'm just a bad driver or I needed that much space. He ended up moving and I got out.

@YourJadeSquid- I also think you need to get in the habit of reverse parking, because you need less space to reverse in than out. This means if it’s not possible to reverse in to a space (because other drivers aren’t waiting for you or it’s too tight a space), then it would be even harder to get out of the space. You don’t have to get into the parking space if there’s other options, but once you’ve got into the space you do need to be able to get out of it again!

Get in the habit, if you can’t reverse in (space shape, traffic etc) you can’t reverse out. On the way into a space you can give up and find a different space, on the way out, you are stuck with the poor space choice.

If there's a prospect that reversing out might be difficult you'd be better reversing in.

Wowsers. Your posts are wild. Where did I say, never learn to reverse park, never reverse park… your posts an example of making a drama out of very little/nothing. You seem determined to have an argument.

It's not to do with shape of the car. Unless you're driving a 4 wheel drive car, passenger vehicles are front-wheel drive. That means the direction the car moves in is controlled by the position of the front of the car.

For front-wheel drive cars, when you drive into a space and reverse out, the position of the front of the car is limited by the vehicles parked either side. When you reverse into a space, the front of the car generally has more available space on the road. Just means it's usually easier to maneuver a car into a space backwards than it is to reverse it out of the same space.

Honestly @YourJadeSquid even if the van took up half the lane opposite I'm confident I'd have been able to reverse my estate car out of any of those spaces. And I only have wing mirrors, none of these fancy modern bleepy sensor things 😂

Judging by some of your replies I'm guessing you're a very inexperienced driver with little knowledge of correct driving procedures. For instance what on earth do you mean by saying you put your "reversing hazards" on?

You don't need as much swing to get out. Bonnet is longer than the boot, you can lock the turn faster and don't have to worry about the bonnet hitting the car next you.

That looks like a manoeuvre that an autonomous car was made for 😎

As soon as I saw your pic I thought it looked extraordinarily like the car park at my local hospital! Doesn't begin with a W by any chance does it?

Not at all. I gave an opinion - I find it better. The post I responded to said only drivers who are unconfidnet and shouldn’t be on the road go in forwards. That’s very condescending, very superior and patently not true.

Says the person determined to repeatedly see 'drama' in everything, including my posts. It's ok to disagree with me you know, there's no need to try to turn it into anything else, it really doesn't matter.

Highway Code rule 201

🤣🤣🤣
You're the driver you say??

To answer the question, yes you could reverse out but this is the exact reason I always reverse into spaces.

I’ve spent 25 years working on building sites. Most accidents happen reversing out of parking spaces, especially at the end of the day. We have to reverse park for easier and safer exit.

Reverse parking doesn’t change the shape of the car no, but most cars are rear wheel drive and so pivot on the back, which gives a tighter turning circle and better manoeuvrability when you reverse, as well as better visibility.

Apart from not having to reverse out, I’ve twice been really pleased with myself for parking facing out . Once when I think I was bring followed, and could just get in the car and go, once when we were parked down a very narrow country lane, which required several manoeuvres to turn round. DD had an accident and I had to take her to hospital. Had I actually been able to think through the turning round procedure whilst DD was bleeding heavily, it still would have added several mins to our arrival at A&E.

Omg
posters on this thread !
it’s not always possible to reverse into a car parking space when coming from a contraflow road like the OP. There may be traffic in front, behind, other side of the contraflow and just not feasible. Hence driving in front ways. If this is the only car parking space, so be it ! The van driver had parked illegally and behaved like a twat. I don’t think the OP has done anything wrong and I don’t agree with the majority on here. The van driver must have parked onto the road too as not possible to fit entirely into the green triangle. So it’s obvious to me.
If this is a car park, then OP probably could have reverse parked initially. If this is a contraflow road with car parking either side, as the diagram shows, then OP is entirely right.

Think where you drew the turquoise would be where the van is parked. I think a fan would take the full side of the road
Also reverse v drive forward is nothing to do with confidence or ability. Its what's more convenient at the time. Drivers should manage all manoeuvres

No which means there’s two crap ones!

No it was a huge van parked on the pavement

So bloody annoying, these sodding huge vans parked on the pavement.

My sister uses a mobility scooter and lives on a short road that ends up at the railway embankment wall so there's only one end to get out. Bloody great massive van parked up on the corner at the other end. There are no dropped pavements on the stretch up to the corner so off she goes to the shop and discovers the van and can't get past it, nor can she go round it because no dropped pavement. She just gave up and went home thinking she'd leave the shopping until the next day. Next day at 9am the van is back again. Same thing, no grocery shopping. Didn't leave till gone 6pm. Next day there it was again - these houses are sheltered living houses for people with disabilities so I doubt she was the only one who was caused problems. I happened to visit next day and I was furious at the entitlement of the bloody driver. I rang the company as nobody knew where the driver was working. They were not at all helpful so I took a picture of the van with registration and rang the police helpline and explained that my sis had been confined to barracks for 3 days so far.

They acted quickly, somehow found his home number and rang his wife who was the registered owner, to ring him and get him to move it. He arrived shortly after to find 2 disability scooters waiting for him to shift his arse. He didn't look particularly bothered. I hope his wife gave him a bollocking but probably not.

As the pusher of a double buggy I've often had to walk out into the road myself due to careless parking. Sorry, I know I've gone way off piste but it bears mentioning when these inconsiderate van drivers inconvenience so many people every day. Like OP. I would have had a problem. He shouldn't have been parked there.

I would say there was ample room to reverse out and it is your lack of skill/confidence that was the issue.

I will also put it out there that I am someone who always reverses into a parking space, driveway etc and reversing poses no fears to me.

The location of your steering wheels can definitely have a bearing on how a car will manoeuvre in a tight space.

what I am taking issue with is you saying I have had said things that I have not! You do know that if you quote someone it helps if they have actually said what it is you are claiming they said, not whatever is in your head, or what an array of other posters might have said? You can’t just take the general drift of a thread or an opinion you want to express and then point it at someone who said nothing of the sort - that’s the wild and crazy part of your posts.

Must have had the same designer, the resemblance is quite uncanny!

Tons of space.
the fact you don’t know why reversing IN is the right strategy tells us you definitely need parking lessons

OP I taught myself to reverse park years after passing my test. I went to the very end of a large supermarket car park at a quiet time of day and did the manoeuvre again and again until I’d got it. DS is learning to drive at the moment and we’ll be practicing in our local car park in addition to him doing it in his lessons. Being able to reverse in can make life a lot easier.

It doesn’t but it does make it easier to get out

This is another reason why I’ve always reversed parked; personal safety. I used to work long hours and returning to an emptier car park, I wanted to literally run to my car, turn the key and drive straight out.

Our box garage is fairly tight, but I can reverse into it in one move. When DH’s driven in, it will take me at least 5 manoeuvres before I can turn the car sufficiently to exit the box and be clear of the gates.

Crikey there’s absolutely tons of room to get out if there, in fact there’s room even if the van was parked in the road.
As others have said it is easier and safer to reverse into and drive forwards out of a parking space. Yes the car is the same size, but it’s still amazing how many people seem totally unable to manoeuvre their vehicle in a straight line in reverse never mind actually turn.
I can’t believe you need to ask why it’s safer to drive out forwards, into an area where traffic and pedestrians are.