Reverse angle parking

[kaytieeldr]

If someone else isn't comfortable backing into on-street reverse angled parking, I just expect them to not set themselves up for that. - But I have nothing against them driving to the grocery store and parking in a pull-through.

I'm curious how these people enter and exit driveways.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm curious how these people enter and exit driveways.

While, maybe it's because I live in the suburbs, but I assume when backing in or out of their driveways, there's lawn on either side of them, not other cars.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Just wonder why reverse angle parking is so rare if it is safer?

Because people are resistent to change would be my guess. And planners hate to be the ones responsible for all the short term comestic damage as people learn how to do it. And many streets and cities were designed when we had fewer drivers, or fewer studies on this, Etc

Those would be my guesses, anyway.

 

[GreatLakes]

As a pp already pointed out, this has no bearing in what we are discussing. Normal pull in, back out parking, reverse angle parking and parallel psrkipa ALL involve backing up.
Reverse angle parking is safer because it has people backing up into spaces that are the least likely to have a pedestrian, bike, other moving vehicle in them and the pulling forward when entering those other more high traffic (including bike and foot traffic) areas . Thus, you might cause some cosmetic damage, but you'll be far less likely to injure or kill someone.

Personally, I am not the best at tight spaces in a car. I know that about myself. So I buy cars with sensors and cameras and avoid parking garages that are very confining. I'll walk an extra km to park where I know I'm comfortable downtown.

And to add to this, it is always safer to back from an area with a wider viewing angle into an area with a narrow viewing angle. Always. It is simple geometry. Backing from an aisle or roadway into a space will always be safer and easeir than back out of a space into the wider viewing angle. The NTSB and insurance industries have published numerous studies on this. When cities design parking they should be designing it in a way that minimizes backing out of narrow viewing angles which is exactly what this type of parking is.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Because people are resistent to change would be my guess. And planners hate to be the ones responsible for all the short term comestic damage as people learn how to do it. Etc

Those would be my guesses, anyway.

I'd like to think it's more complex than that.

Diverging diamonds are considered gold standard in terms of safety and are above roundabouts for that. But it doesn't make sense to make every interchange a diverging diamond nor does it make sense to make roundabouts everywhere instead of 4-way or even 2-way stops.

Places need to consider their needs and feasibility before commiting to something.

Even so, if it proves to check boxes reverse angle parking may become more common, just like diverging diamonds have, but I still wouldn't expect it everywhere in every main street style place-it goes back to needs and feasibility (well also tax dollars too lol).

 

[wgeo]

I'm curious how these people enter and exit driveways.

They hit their mailboxes a lot?

j/k

 

[kaytieeldr]

They hit their mailboxes a lot?

j/k

Maybe not as much of a joke as you think

But seriously, I see driveways on busy roads with enough room to turn around and pull out, but no. Backing out into traffic is soooo much "better."

 

[mrodgers]

If you can't parallel park, how'd you get a license? Don't they make you do that anymore?

If you can't parallel park, don't come to my town. that's all we have on the streets, and very few parking lots, and those lots will have you backing up at some point, either getting in or out of the spot. We also have a few one way streets where you have to parallel park on the left side of the street as well as the right. Backing into an angled spot is the easy way.

When I got my license it was with the State Police and was way busy. The last thing was parallel parking and the officer said it was way to busy, just pull straight in, you pass.

So 30 years later my daughter needed to learn how to parallel park. I had to look it up as I had never parallel parked ever including my license test other than practicing on my permit 30 years ago.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

That's what a lot of locals commenting on the newspaper article are saying. Also, we have some oil companies here that require reverse parking of their employees, so a lot of people are used to doing it where ever they park.

I've never HAD to back into a space in my life, and I've been driving 30 years. It's only in recent years that I see people backing into spaces on a regular basis. I can parallel park fine and have no trouble backing out into traffic, so theoretically I should be able to back in. Like I said, I need to find a empty lot and practice, lol. I have to admit, it annoys the heck out of me when I have to wait in a parking lot for someone to reverse into a spot and they have to pull out and back in several times before they get it right. I don't want to be THAT person.

I’d be curious how I’d fare with this style parking. I never back into perpendicular parking (unless driving somebody’s big SUV with a camera). I can parallel park like a champ, but I’ve just never seen the need to back into a space.

I guess like anything, it’s a skill you could get better at with practice, but who wants to practice parking between two cars when trying to run errands.

I feel like the all-or-nothing thinking is getting a little out of hand. There's such a thing as being a "good enough" driver for the conditions under which you drive.

For instance, I don't feel comfortable driving in major cities...so I simply don't. It doesn't mean I shouldn't drive around my own town.

If someone else isn't comfortable backing into on-street reverse angled parking, I just expect them to not set themselves up for that. - But I have nothing against them driving to the grocery store and parking in a pull-through.

Yes! I live in Fl. I haven’t driven in snow and ice in over 20 years. No way would I be comfortable driving in those conditions these days as I have no practice. I don’t feel like I need my DL revoked but just probably shouldn’t speed off in a snowstorm.

On the other hand, I know how to keep my a/c on and the windshield clear when it’s 100 degrees and pouring >.<

 

[EveDallas]

I'm curious how these people enter and exit driveways.

I drive forward into the driveway, park, then back into the street when I'm leaving.

 

[mom2rtk]

They hit their mailboxes a lot?

j/k

I would have to be really bad to do that since my mailbox is on my front porch.

Maybe not as much of a joke as you think

But seriously, I see driveways on busy roads with enough room to turn around and pull out, but no. Backing out into traffic is soooo much "better."

And yet I've never seen anyone on my street back into someone in oncoming traffic.

 

[Skellingtonj]

I drive forward into the driveway, park, then back into the street when I'm leaving.

Same. Reversing and reverse parking are 2 separate things.

 

[Imzadi]

I'm curious how these people enter and exit driveways.

It actually used to be illegal to reverse out of driveways. It may still be on the books in many places, but it's such an old, archaic law, that even the police there don't know or pay attention to it anymore.

 

[Imzadi]

This makes total sense and is in no way difficult. If you can't back into a parking space I don't trust your ability to maneuver a 2 ton weapon down the roads.

Then I suppose you can and HAVE driven a car with one of those little U-Haul trailers attached to the back with a little trailer hitch and have REVERSED into parking spots? You DO know that one has to turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction than usual to get the trailer to back up in the direction you want it to move. According to your statement, that must make you a pro at doing that too, with very little experience or practice, in order to maneuver a 2 ton weapon forward down the roads. They should already be in your required skill set.

If someone else isn't comfortable backing into on-street reverse angled parking, I just expect them to not set themselves up for that. - But I have nothing against them driving to the grocery store and parking in a pull-through.

Exactly. In my example above, of how hard it is to drive and maneuver in reverse a U-Haul trailer, when we had to rent one, and found out how hard it is to back into a space, without wasting most of our time practicing A LOT, we instead looked for ways to NOT have to back up to park or maneuver. We parked along the perimeter of parking lots, where we could simply park in as straight line along the edge. Or we looked for parking spots where two spots across from each other were available, where we could simply drive forward though one spot to the other and our car was in the front spot and the U-Haul in back spot. No backing up necessary. And when we went to a gas station, we made sure to pull all the way forward OR pull in last, so that the U-Haul wasn't obstructing the gas pumps for others.

We had no problem with the work-arounds while driving forward. We're both still alive to this day driving around with our respective 2-ton weapons minus U-Haul trailers.

 

[GreatLakes]

Then I suppose you can and HAVE driven a car with one of those little U-Haul trailers attached to the back with a little trailer hitch and have REVERSED into parking spots? You DO know that one has to turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction than usual to get the trailer to back up in the direction you want it to move. According to your statement, that must make you a pro at doing that too, with very little experience or practice, in order to maneuver a 2 ton weapon forward down the roads. They should already be in your required skill set.

On both of my cross-country moves I towed my car behind the Uhaul and both times I had to reverse including once to back out of a packed parking lot because of construction. If you grab the bottom instead of top of the steering wheel you just move the steering wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go. Pretty easy.

Of course that is totally different than being able to back a standard car or SUV into a parking space or parallel parking. That is ridiculously easy and should be something any driver is capable of doing.