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Back in or back out?

PHILIP JACKMAN

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 8:59 AM EDT 20/07/08

The great parking-lot debate ...Read the full article

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  1. Tracy Bracy from Ottawa, Canada writes: winter: back in because there is always ice near the divider where the ground has probably lowered a bit.
  2. David K from Guelph, Canada writes: Back in because that is the only way to have half a chance of getting out safely when stuck between pickups/SUVs/minivans etc.. (even my spellcheck thinks minivan is an oxymoron).
  3. M. Mark from Victoria, Canada writes: I believe the Canadian military has a policy that requires drivers to back their vehicles into parking spots.
  4. Nickstar One from Canada writes: Back in, no question. Far too many drive at excess speeds for parking lots and you can spot these clowns, before it's too late, much easier. The defensive driving technique of checking the front wheels for directional/motion clues is enhanced when vehicles have been backed in. Further, the majority of female drivers are still in 'cellphone to the ear' mode, doing last minute updating of grocery orders, to be paying proper attention to vehicles backing out.
  5. Red Black from Windsor, Canada writes: Back in. Easier to drive safely out of a parking space at a shopping mall or other; you drive blindly for a shorter period of time if you are stuck between two vans or SUVs. Also, easier to drive out safely from your driveway, in Winter, if your municipality piles snow on the boulevard rather than plow and remove it, and at all times if wee kids walk or cycle on the sidewalk, they're easier to see if you are driving out, rather than backing out of your driveway.

    Pet peeve: those people who buy cars without a reverse gear, who have to drive into a parking space and then through to the other space in order to position their car in such a way that they can drive out of a parking space without ever having to back in (do I make sense?). Especially when I am trying to back into the same parking space. Used to be a woman thing, it seems, now more men are doing it, too, and not just little old guys like me, even!
  6. Emma Hawthorne from Canada writes: What creates the male gender preference to back in?
  7. wetsneakers yaknow from Canada writes: M. Mark:

    It's true the Canadian military holds a back-in policy for safety reasons, however it's the rules governing auto insurance that makes me back-in every time: according to my broker, in an accident in a private parking lot, a driver backing up is considered 100% at fault!
  8. Ed Anger from Canada writes: how do you load the grocerys when your trunk/hatch back is against a fence or another car. You'll learn not to back in at home depot when you buy lumber.
  9. Smart Aleck from Edmonton, Canada writes: I park at the far end of the parking lot. Then, 99% of the time, there is not a car within 50' of me, and there is plenty of room for loading groceries/lumber etc. I can pull in to the second stall, and pull straight out. Not to mention that the extra minute I spend walking doesn't hurt either, and I'm stuck in parkinglot traffic much less frequently. On a mechanical aside, on manual transmissions, it is easier on the transmission to put it in first gear when the engine is cold than putting it in reverse. The synchro rings in first are more adapted to the high-idle that occurs during cold starts than the reverse gears are (at least that was the case 10 years ago.)
  10. Que Sommes-Nous from Canada writes: People who back in are forward-thinkers, planners.
  11. Que Sommes-Nous from Canada writes: Red Black, regarding your Pet peeve: I admit I do this too, BUT only if I know I'm not stealing someone's spot. I try hard to be considerate in this city of selfish, me-first drivers.
  12. jan bakker from Canada writes: Did any of you back in brains think about the limited space to access your trunk for grocery loading? See it all the time, these clowns pushing their cart to the back of their car to load, somehow oblivious to the paint being scraped off the next car, and certainly oblivious to the dents made to the next car because of poor parking techniques. If you can,t back out of a parking spot properly ,then you can,t drive properly, as seen on Canada,s worst drivers.
  13. George BrownIII from Christmas Island writes: Emma, males prefer to back in from my limited statistics. But that has been handed down to us from evolution. Our prehistoric male relatives went hunting with spears and clubs had to watch their back for mastodons, sabre tooth tigers etc and developed a much better visual perspective of dept, distance and speed. Relax, it is sunday, and cant afford to go for a drive and the thickness of a Suitable boy by Vikram Seth should make this summer sunday pass away like a breeze.
  14. varun xm from toronto, Canada writes: Back in always, unless i'm scraping seconds for time. it makes sense in any case. especially in public parks where there are runners and cyclists going every which way, ipod and all, paying little heed to the cars backing out. I'd rather not have anyone's blood on my hands.
  15. Elena Graff from Saskatoon, Canada writes: I think anyone backing out of a parking stall should have the rite away ,they cannot see who is comeing ,but they can see you backing out.
  16. Jim Hope from Saint John, Canada writes: This is a no-brainer. When you go to the mall,you should always look for a double stall. Then you should drive right through and park in the front stall. When you come out, you can then get in your vehicle and drive out in forward gear. There is no reverse driving involved at all.
    I worked for NB Tel for over 30 years and this company had a backing up policy. We were not to do it unless absolutely necessary.
    Insurance statistics prove that an accident is more likely to happen when driving in reverse than in forward gear.
  17. Able Bodied Man from It's NOT 'VICTORIA' Island, Canada writes:
    Some people like to park over the line. In the Citizens' Parking Patrol we call 'em "OTLs" -- over-the-liners. We put warning cards on their windshileds advisin' them to take the "24 simple steps" refresher course on parking.

    Then we get those big SUVs -- "Sucks Up Volume" we call 'em -- and pickup trucks with 17 wheels across the back axle that park like they're on the ranch gittin' ready t' haul sh~t out of the corral. Makes you wonder how they handle the little one-eyed general when he's peepin' in the seafood store. Some of those cowboys gotta be pretty sloppy in the saddle. Wives must have to do a helluva lot o' the drivin'.
  18. Able Bodied Man from It's NOT 'VICTORIA' Island, Canada writes:
    Ther are two reasons the CFL didn't change to metres:

    1) -- the 'Canooks are better'n Yanks' crowd will love this -- at 110 yards we can say our football fields're bigger'n the Yankers' football fields.

    2) When Canada changed to metric the CFL wasn't run by a bunch of pinkos.
  19. Puzzled One from Canada writes: The reason more men than women back in: children & groceries.

    I cannot back in because 99% of the time, I need to load or remove a stroller from the trunk, which is difficult to do if I have backed in (well, it is easy to do if I completely disregard the paint job of the person parked behind me).
  20. Michael Sharp from Victoria, Canada writes:

    Take up two spots.

    This way you'll have plenty of room to load your groceries, open your doors and a spot to put a lawn chair if you want to wait outside and have a smoke while the wife shops.

    Never mind the dirty looks.
    Sucks to park in one spot only, they're just jealous.
  21. Piltdown Man from Canada writes: I park as far away from the big box store as possible where no one else parks - that way I can drive in nose first without guilt - I like the walk too.

    Then when I come back its interesting to see what other types of cars have "gathered" around yours. Do they associate with yours? Are they following the same strategy? Are they also looking for exercise?

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