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It is illegal in some cities, if there is not a front license plate issued. Purpose of the law, is to make it possible for police officers to look for a certain license plate of someone they are looking for, stolen cars, etc.
A couple of examples of where it is illegal to back in.
Definitely seems a majority in this topic prefer to back into a parking spot however i'm not seeing this majority at mall type parking lots as the vast majority of people just pull in.
I'm also not seeing all this supposed high speed traffic many are referring to in mall type parking lots as most people are driving very slow either looking for parking or being cautious for people pulling out of parking spots,
Backing out of a parking spot has never been a problem for me in 50 years of driving,i have many mirrors,a head with eyes that swivels on a neck,when backing out i can usually see well enough to determine if any car is coming,on the off chance there is a car coming i dont see he will usually stop to let me out or lay on his horn to let me know he is there. I dont care if people want to back into parking spots but i've noticed those that do seem so incompetent as they make their efforts to back in to the spot,its the rare person i see back into a spot in one shot its usually back up narrowly missing sideswiping one of the adjacent cars,pull out and try again several times, i always pull in in one shot and safely back out in one shot never coming anywhere near hitting the two adjacent cars.
Never back in- but I will pull through to the space in front if available so I don't have to back out. My biggest pet peeve is people who think it's fine to drive 25 MPH in parking lots.
I prefer to back in. I like to park on an edge spot or away from other cars. And many times, the edge spots are perpendicular to a spot on the other edge. So if there is a car there, it's easier for me to pull past the spot and back in.
Will always pull through to the spot in front if available (assuming the lanes are not directional).
Quote:
Originally Posted by stumble
Backing into a space is inherently more dangerous as it increases the risk of a fatal pedestrian accident. A pedestrian can be pinned or trapped by a car backing into a spot. A car backing out of a spot is less dangerous to a pedestrian who has room to dodge. Also, backing into a spot increases the chance of a fender bender being your fault 100% of the time, since the vehicle you hit will be parked. It is good this that more and more states and municipalities are banning this practice.
Your first two statements may be "technically" true as backing up a car is more dangerous than going forward. But your point is a bit of a reach from a practical standpoint. If those are issues you need to consider, than you have bigger issues from a driving ability standpoint.
As for the final comment - it has more to do with law enforcement seeing plates/registrations and little to do with safety.
Every now and then I'll pull in, but probably 95% of the time, I back in everywhere (Jeep Grand Cherokee). I can back in just as fast as I can pull in, and it's easier to pull back out. I usually park my motorcycle behind my Jeep in my space at home, and with the camera, I can back almost right up against it as well. In the garage at work, I won't park next to a pillar unless I can back in, because I can see down the side of my car with the blind spot mirrors - lets me get closer to the pillar so I'm not on the other line. I usually park close enough that my mirror barely clears the pillar when I back up.
With that though, I've had the occasional car park in a space behind me, go over their line and bump into my Jeep. Backing in means they hit my trailer hitch instead of my front bumper. Sucks for them. I've been contemplating putting my hitch step back on. I've noticed in general, at least around here (VA), that parking is a skill many people don't have.
And in some cities (Austin among them) there are entire stretches of parking along the streets where you HAVE to back in to the angled parking - they re-lined the parking that way on purpose because of studies that said it was safer., and it is illegal NOT to back into those spaces.
I've lived in Austin all my life and that's the first time I've ever heard of that.
Found one in 3 seconds. Fort Collins CO, enforced.
Quote:
1205.5 Obedience to angle parking sign or markings.
On those streets which the City Traffic Engineer has approved and has signed or marked for angle parking, no person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle other than at the angle to the curb or edge of the roadway indicated by such signs or markings, and within lined markings, with the vehicle's appropriate front tire adjacent to the correspondent curb or edge of the roadway except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or other emergency services personnel. (Ord. 016, 2003 §1; Ord. 119, 2011, §11)
You stop, same as you would going forward if that happened. What's the difference?
Big difference. Driving straight in, you see everything in front of you. Backing up you have to be checking three different mirrors as well as looking over your shoulder, and even then there will be blind spots. You look over your shoulder to the right, and suddenly somebody in a car on the left throws their door open, and crunch.
My biggest pet peeve is people who think it's fine to drive 25 MPH in parking lots.
Are you thinking 25mph is too fast or too slow?
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