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If you drive, do you prefer to pull forward into a bay or reverse into a bay?

If you drive, do you prefer to pull forward into a bay or reverse into a bay?

  • Total voters
    29
Matt N

Matt N

CF Legend
Hi guys. Given that pretty much everyone on here is either a teenager or an adult, I’m guessing that quite a significant percentage of people on here can drive or at very least have experience of driving. If you do drive, one thing that you’re bound to have encountered at some point is pulling into a bay in a car park. There are one of two ways that you can get into a bay; you can either pull forward into it, or you can reverse into it. This might sound like a random question, but I’d be interested to know; if you drive, do you prefer to pull forward into a bay or reverse into a bay?

I myself much prefer to pull forward into a bay. I know that you have to reverse out, but I personally find reversing out far, far easier than reversing in. Reverse parking entails a lot of extra faff, in my opinion, and I really struggle with striking the right angle to get into the bay.

The reason I ask the question is because reverse parking seems to be a bit divisive. I much prefer forward parking, and some of my family seem to as well. However, I’ve known other people who much prefer reverse parking, and whenever my driving instructor comes to pick me up for a lesson, she always reverses into our drive, without fail.

But I’d be interested to know; which type of parking do you prefer?
 
Reverse parking for me. Car parks vary on ease of parking in either direction but will always reverse park on people's driveways Being able to drive forwards out of the driveway allows so much more visibility for the driver. Especially on busier roads, I find it a lot less faff to reverse in than reverse out.

I also find parallel parking much easier when reversing in. Can never get the angles right when driving in.

Driving a van for work does influence this opinion a lot but it applies to anything I drive. There's a few roads i drive for work that are dead ends with no van turning space. Driving in forwards to them would mean having to reverse out blind onto a major road. Granted you will disrupt traffic while positioning to reverse in, but it's still quicker and safer for all.
 
You have a much tighter turning circle when reversing so it feels much easier to get into tight spaces.

Also i like the visibility and being able to just drive out, if its busy and you need someone to let you out you can stare into their soul and they will begrudgingly let you out, im less inclined to help some white reverse lights knowing their gonna need more space to get out and they may not even see me knowing im letting them out.

At theme parks at the end of the day when there is a mad exit out of the car park you will always get out faster if you parked in reverse.
 
I usually reverse in, drive out. Just seems easier, and it makes it simple to get out after another horrible shopping trip!

The exception to the rule is if two spaces back-to-back are free, then I'll drive in the back one and park in the front one!
 
I used to work for a trucking/shipping company. When training drivers, they required them to back in first and pull out when leaving. Studies indicated that you are 80% more likely to be involved in an accident when backing out than driving out.
 
I don't think I've reversed into a space since my driving test 13 years ago (holy, I'm getting old). I kind of suck at it, but I'm a master of parallel parking now which I guess is a sign I should probably start at least trying to back into spaces in order to get proficient at it.
 
The driveway for my house is round-the-back and oddly positioned so the only safe way for me to park (and get out again) is to reverse in and drive forwards out. So that's what I do pretty much everywhere. My only disappointment is I haven't got round to installing a gate that automatically drops as I drive out, like on the old Batman TV series.
 
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