| | Backing Into A Parking PlaceA few days ago, I overheard two people talking about SUV and truck owners. One was saying that if they would get something smaller to drive, they could park like regular people instead of having to back into parking spaces. I do not have a big vehicle, and I always back into parking spaces, because I have discovered that backing into the space is, overall, safer than pulling straight into the same space.
Think about it. You have to backup. You either backup when you pull into the parking space, or you backup when you leave the parking space. Either way, you backup.
When you back out of a parking space, you have to be very careful, because you cannot see as well as you can when you are going forward. There could be someone walking behind you, or a driver could be impatient and simply drive past you when you are backing out.
When you back into a parking space, you still have to be careful about anyone who may be walking behind you, but the likelihood of that happening is less than if you are backing out of a spot, because given a choice of walking behind you and possibly getting trapped between you and another car or walking toward the front of your car, most people will instinctively walk toward the front of your car because it is moving away from them. Also, it is almost impossible for an impatient driver to try to squeeze by you as you are backing into a parking space. There simply isn't enough room for them to do that, so the possibility of that causing an accident is practically nil. And when you leave the parking space, your field of vision is much greater than it is when backing out of the spot, reducing the possibility that you may not see either a person or another car.
Taken together, I believe that the possibility of having an accident or causing personal injury is significantly reduced by backing into a parking space, regardless of what kind of vehicle you may be driving. So, since you have to backup in either case, you might as well do the safest thing. |
| | Posted 2/21/2008 3:31 AM - 10 comments
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