Another Island Crisis

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LovelyLadyLux
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Another Island Crisis

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Life here can get pretty boring and I sometimes think people have nothing better to do think up things to become enraged and upset about so much so they spend hours writing to local newspapers and putting their concerns on social media.

The latest crisis here is - When you park your car do you drive straight into a parking spot and back out OR do you opt to back into a parking spot so you can then drive straight out??

This may seem trivial but it is definitely in the news here. Apparently many of us can't stand the people who make the choice to back into a parking spot. Their doing this basically angers others thus ruining their day and ultimately their lives!

Personally I drive front end into a parking spot, don't parallel park unless I absolutely must and don't see the need to back in somewhere as I never need to make a speedy getaway.

Is this an issue in your area? And out of curiosity do you back into a parking spot or drive in straight away?


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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Ruby Slippers »

I don't drive and it definitely isn't an issue over here in the UK, but DH always reverses into a parking spot even at home. He says that it's a safer way to drive out rather than try backing out.
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I'm not disagreeing and I see people drive into spots and back into spots BUT there is apparently a preferred way (as per ALL the people here complaining)

Apparently if you back into a spot you take way more time which frustrates, infuriates & annoys people waiting for you to get out of the way as often you have to jockey back and forth and back and forth to get into your spot vs if you drive straight in you basically drive straight in.

AND if you back in means the truck or boot of your car isn't as accessible so it takes you longer to unload your purchases into your car........

Should there be a law or by-law regulating how people pull into parking spots? Is backing into a parking spot really being inconsiderate of other people's time?

This is part of the article:

TIME OUT! Back up the SUV.

Can anyone explain the rationale behind backing into parking spaces? I understand occasional need, but I don't know why it's such a common practice. It's like someone saying "sorry" when they run into you with their buggy at the store. How is backing out any different than backing in? In fact it often times causes traffic jams in parking lots as some drivers require several attempts to park correctly. Perhaps such driving habits inadvertently teach some of us to be patient...but it can be frustrating as well.
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Do I take it that nothing much goes on in your neck of the woods, LLL? :lol:
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Mad Dilys »

I prefer to back in if the especially if the space is tight. When leaving the space it is easier to see if some mother with buggy, child cyclist or driver in a hurry hasn't noticed your reversing lights and is going to broadside you. ;)

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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Grandad »

I think it is much better to reverse into a parking space and drive out safely. If that delays someone for a few seconds, hard luck, better that than reversing into someone as MD has illustrated.
My son and DiL work for Eurotunnel and it is policy for staff to reverse park.
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Horus »

More to the point is the stupid way that our car parking is laid out, I tend always to drive in and back out and never had or seen a problem with doing so, you have just as much chance of hitting someone reversing in as driving out as both involve the same manoeuvre. In the UK most of our car parking is designed to be a rectangular box space set at 90 degrees to the road and our parallel parking is often in line with the road, so those spaces are long but narrow and in line with each other. This involves a parking manoeuvre in both cases, but the parallel one can only be done properly by reversing into the space due to the front wheels having a tighter lock and being able to pivot the car into the space, going in forward results in going over the kerb or being too far away from it if you do it it one move if the space is limited.

Compare that with the more sensible way that many large car parks are laid out in America and that is diagonally. This allows easy driving off the road straight into the space, it also allows for safer reversing out of the space as you are not blind sided by the next vehicle as the driver can see more clearly. They also make them wider which not only allows the doors to be opened with less chance of hitting the next vehicle (a common occurrence in the UK) but this again makes the parking easier as the turn space is wider, our parking designers should take a lesson from that master of crowd control and parking management Mr Walt Disney at his numerous theme parks. ;)
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Mad Dilys »

LLL Surely fiddling about reversing out of a space makes people wait just as much?

Horus I'm not worried about hitting someone else, but them hitting me and saying it was my fault!

I've never had a threat from a child on a bike or a Mum pushing a buggy across my path when reversing - just one car who drove into an empty space behind me (frontwards) at the same time and wanted part of my space too. :lol:

Being involved in farm work and using a variety of vehicles and two and four wheel trailers - you use the opposite lock for each - I've done a lot of reversing on a day by day basis and I'm very comfortable with it. The Vet just used to get out of the car and let me do it if a trailer was involved.

I found it irritating in Luxor when reversing into a kerbside space outside our house, our cleaner who had never been behind the wheel of a car in his life would try shouting and waving his arms at me - while I tried to ignore him - and he was well pleased with his efforts when I got out.

Few women I have found offer advice to reversing drivers. I wonder why? ;)

















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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Grandad »

Nobody will convince me otherwise, Reverse in - Drive out.

I found this article that would support my view and coincidentally is from Canada.
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by Horus »

Each to their own, like you MD I have driven all sorts of vehicles including trailers and large caravans and never had a problem, in fact a small trailer is often more difficult to reverse than a long one. I can only speak for myself inasmuch as I choose the best method appropriate to the conditions, I have no pre conceived method and make my decision based upon actual conditions at the time, some spots are easier to drive into and others to reverse into. Now take your average supermarket car park, all those cars that have reversed into the typical double ended bay are the usual suspects that scrape a shopping trolley down yours while trying to put shopping in their own inaccessible boot, why would you want to park boot to boot in those conditions?

Your link didn’t work, but you can choose anything on the web to support your particular standpoint and just to prove a point, only 6 percent of Americans reverse park while 80 percent of Chinese do. And like you no one will convince me that your method is any safer. :cg
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I rarely if EVER back into a parking spot but that being said I tend to typically park in parking lots far away from stores so as to avoid the crush which makes backing out relatively easy.

The comments go on and on forever but these are a few (as I said there isn't much to do here so even the most trivial thing can become a major issue talked about for weeks with letters being sent to the Editor):

When we bought our Expedition a friend that drives the Fire truck said always back into your parking spot. It was the best advice ever. It is way harder to back out of a spot than to back in.


Companies with big fleets that keep good control on h&s, near misses, accidents, veh incidents, etc have the stats to prove its a great idea. its usually part of most big fleet companies safety policy. Extremely important in your driveway with kids around, n little guys that are below your vision line...


Well if you are like me and drive a car with a super long hood that doesn't turn super tight it is way easier to back the shorter end of my car in to avoid damaging other people's vehicles. I think the lesson here is that people need to be more patient perhaps.


I would back in except ppl block the tailgate that way.


What annoys me more than waiting for people to back in are those who drive through one stall to get to another so they're facing out, just as I'm about to pull into that stall. Inconsiderate and potentially dangerous. There should be concrete dividers so that thoughtless and lazy people can't do this.


I back in. My wife drives in. I back out. She drives out. Hmmmmm


Backing in is only relatively safe because a minority of drivers do it. Imagine the holdups and chaos with everyone reversing into parking stalls.


Honestly folks, I think we have beat this poor dead horse enough. Patience is the key to successful parking whether you pull in or back in. HAPPY PARKING


The longer the vehicle the harder it is to drive in and back out...I have a long box Chevy and although I fancy myself a pretty good parker it is rare to be able to drive straight into a spot and be parallel to the lines,(thus crowding the car next to you), unless there are no vehicles on either side that you intend to park


Some drivers are able to do it either way while others are not able to do it at all. . . .. I am reminded of the toilet paper roll debate. . ..
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Re: Another Island Crisis

Post by FABlux »

I go in forward because I can get at the tailgate when I come back. We do have reasonably long cars in both countries, not such of an issue in France where space is less limited but when we take it to the UK it can be an issue. If you back in there is also the chance some bright spark will come right up to the back of your car even if it is well inside the bay :x In Luxor it's academic as it is only street parking.
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