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I always pull through if I can see the immediate area on the incoming traffic lane (so I know if another driver is pulling into same spot).
My motivation is a little different than others because I have a handicap placard. Many times the handicapped spots are not angled but are in the busy front-of-store path with drivers rushing in/out & then having to stop at the pedestrian crossing sign where the front doors open up to the parking lot.
You can sit there in your car for 5-10 minutes waiting for a chance to back out because that lane is bumper to bumper cars. I've literally waited & watched someone pull in to park in the typical angled spots, get out, go into the store, come back out with their purchase, get back in their car & leave; all while waiting for a chance to back out into basically heavy traffic.
Additionally; I have the placard because I have a disabled child in the back seat whom I have to get in & out of the car, into the store & back. He has little awareness of oncoming traffic & he walks on his toes with his face looking at the ground & his shoulders towards his ears. He also flaps his lower arms & wrists & will lunge or bolt unexpectedly. Now that he is 13; he is 5'11" & 189lbs (bigger & stronger than I) & drivers will not anticipate that he might behave with the "randomness"of a toddler. They think he's a teen or adult who knows how to navigate traffic.
Simply put, if I pull all the way through; the rear doors are to the inside vs the outside of the parking spot so I have more of a chance to get a good hold on him & better visibility to cross. If not; cars will be passing by within feet of us & I have to position myself with my back to the traffic to get him out safely.
Any time you can avoid having to back out of a parking space is one less chance for a fender bender. Visibility can be blocked by other vehicles, someone across from you could be backing out at the same time, a driver coming down the aisle might not be paying attention...all kinds of things to contend with.
I always look for a spot where I can pull through and drive out.
Yes, pulling through or backing in is much safer anywhere. Whenever you are reversing out of a spot or a driveway you've increased your likelihood for an accident. I have a twelve passenger mommy van and can still manage to back in to 90% of spots or pull through to an empty one, so I don't want to hear anyone complaining it's hard in their SUV or truck . I'm bigger and my turning radius is sucks more, but its totally doable with practice.
I pull through sometimes, but if I am going grocery shopping and want to put the bags in the back of my SUV, it's easier to park nose in so I can bring the shopping cart more easily to rear of my car. If I have no reason to access the back of my car when I am leaving the parking lot, I will pull through if a spot is available to do that, but finding a pull through spot is more of a rarity in my experience.
I never pull through. First, backing out of a spot is not that tough. Second, I have had a lot of times where someone parked behind me so closely that getting things in the trunk / back of the car was damn near impossible. For the record, my husband has a habit of pulling through or backing into spots, and this only happens when he does this. He's had to pull up to get groceries in the back. And forget getting a shopping cart behind the car. All of that is a lot more inconvenient than backing out of a parking spot.
I like to park nose out in parking lots (as in the green arrow) of the configuration in the attached image, if there are no bumps, poles, or other restrictions. So I can just leave without the hassle of backing out of the space. So when I see someone, arriving just after me, and they stop in the space as illustrated in red, I kindly point out that it's OK to pull through, so they are nose out. They just smile and shrug, "It's no big deal" or "If someone parks in front of me, it is what it is".
So who's right?
There is no right or wrong. It's just an individual preference.
I drive an SUV with an automated rear liftgate to access the cargo area. I also have a rear view camera. The benefits of easily loading my purchases far outweigh not having to back out of the parking spot.
I prefer to just park parallel across three spaces.
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. I'm bigger and my turning radius is sucks more, but its totally doable with practice.
