How do you park at home?

[adrian]

random question: How do you park at home?

[Pomai]

I'd say more men reverse their vehicle in when parking than women. We'll see on the results of this poll.

I ALWAYS reverse in to park. You have so much more control of the direction of your vehicle when the "back" wheels are doing the turning vs. the front, which explains why forklifts have such good agility in tight spaces.

Plus, when it's time to leave, it's so easy to just drive forward out of that tight space in a parking structure, with less chance of having to reverse out blind and getting hit.

The only time I don't reverse in is in parking lots with angled, unidirectional stall layouts.

Now ask me to ask for directions to get somewhere.. Hey, I'm a guy.. guys don't read or ask for instructions.. we're know-it-alls! :p

[blueyecicle]

Both my husband and I pull in because our driveway is a hill. But when we are grocery shopping or other things we back in...I have to add. For the safety of our children we pull in too....when we were single we backed in.
The side that is safest to get in on is the side I pull in on. So they don't chance going around to the road or under a neighbors car perhaps.

[AbsolutChaos]

Renting a condo in Waikiki, so small parking spaces. Much easier to back in so that I can pull out in a hurry if I get called in for an emergency.

[craigwatanabe]

I reverse in when parking in my back carport. I pull in when I park in my side carport, and I reverse in when I park in my garage depends on which entrance I use.

[tutusue]

This is just one person's observation but I've noticed at my Makaha condo caucasians tend to pull in and locals tend to back in. I see this pattern at my office parking lot also. I doubt I would've paid any attention but a friend brought up this correlation so I watched for awhile. I'm constantly amazed how anyone can back a big, honkin' pick up truck into such a small space! It's like threading a needle.

I pull in. I've never been comfortable or gotten the hang of backing in!

Oh...and no cites, no percentages, just 2 eyeballs paying only partial attention to 2 small areas! :D

[zff]

I agree with Pomai. It's much easier to maneuver in tight spaces going in reverse. Try this parking game: http://www.mousebreaker.com/games/parking/play.php


As far as if I back in or drive straight in, it's something that I deliberately do the way I do. If you stand on the street and face my garage, the car on the left is backed in while the car on the right is driven straight in. Both cars are parked as close to the wall as possible so I have the maximum amount of space between the cars. I have a small garage, and I don't want to ding anything with my car doors. If you park the cars any other way, you won't have as much room.

In fact, here's a picture of my garage. The garage door is on the left.
http://drone.regexit.com/zff/garage.jpg

My truck is parked on the street, so it's parallel parked.

[adrian]

^ nice cars!


And you're right: it is easier to reverse in! (maybe because I drive a compact instead of a family sedan)

[lavagal]

I pull into our driveway at home, but most times at work, I back in to my spot because the lot is so tight that backing out of my spot is harder than pulling out. In the morning there's enough room to back in but in the afternoon there isn't enough space to back out. How profound. Kinda like imagining the universe that's the size of your fingernail. What movie was that? Animal House?

[craigwatanabe]

I agree with Pomai. It's much easier to maneuver in tight spaces going in reverse. Try this parking game: http://www.mousebreaker.com/games/parking/play.php


As far as if I back in or drive straight in, it's something that I deliberately do the way I do. If you stand on the street and face my garage, the car on the left is backed in while the car on the right is driven straight in. Both cars are parked as close to the wall as possible so I have the maximum amount of space between the cars. I have a small garage, and I don't want to ding anything with my car doors. If you park the cars any other way, you won't have as much room.

In fact, here's a picture of my garage. The garage door is on the left.
http://drone.regexit.com/zff/garage.jpg

My truck is parked on the street, so it's parallel parked.

You forgot to wipe off the excess Zymoil...friggin amateur:D BTW your garage floor is cracked.

Can you tell I'm jealous at your stable?:D

[Ms_Aloha_Nui]

At home I pull in but at work I reverse in because a lot of the other drivers don't understand COMPACT only.....

[adrian]

a lot of the other drivers don't understand COMPACT only.....
Because some people think they'll "compact" (come back)

*rimshot*

[craigwatanabe]

At home I pull in but at work I reverse in because a lot of the other drivers don't understand COMPACT only.....

Ahhh another pet peeve of mine...

When I see a Compact Only sign on the only open stall at WalMart and I'm driving my AstroVan past all the compact cars parking in all the regular stalls.

At that point I cram my van into the next available stall regardless if it says Compact Only. If the security guard tells me to remove my van I tell em, "Then get those friggin compacts outta the regular stalls so I can park there".

[Ecntrc]

depends how im feeling. usually pull in but sometimes back in...

[craigwatanabe]

depends how im feeling. usually pull in but sometimes back in...

And if you're feeling awkward you pull in crooked?:D

[AbsolutChaos]

And if you're feeling awkward you pull in crooked?:D

I see things crooked. Whether I back in or pull forward into a parking space, it's ALWAYS crooked. :o

[adrian]

Okay, this is ridiculous. I had to move my car because my Dad wanted to go out, and I reversed into his parking spot in less than 10 seconds w/out thinking. The thing is, that I got up 15 minutes ago and I did it like it was nothing.

*wonders if he can drive in reverse*

[KeleiGrrrl]

I split my time between two homes. I pull into the one with a garage since it's a tight fit with my husband's big ole honkin' truck in there and I back into my space at the other place since it's a very wide girth.

Oh, and when parking at the grocery store, instead of looking for a close spot, I look for the spot in which the two spaces facing each other are empty. This way I can pull forward into the "front" space without having to back into it, so that when I leave I don't have to back out. I'm always afraid I'm not going to see a little kid out of my back window or someone else backing out so I try to avoid backing out when possible.

Oh, and I thought I was the only one that noticed men tend to back into a spot while women more commonly drive into a spot. I wonder why that is?

[infinitypro]

I attempt to drive straight in, and NOE reverses.

[ploal5333]

Ahhh another pet peeve of mine...

When I see a Compact Only sign on the only open stall at WalMart and I'm driving my AstroVan past all the compact cars parking in all the regular stalls.

At that point I cram my van into the next available stall regardless if it says Compact Only. If the security guard tells me to remove my van I tell em, "Then get those friggin compacts outta the regular stalls so I can park there".

Another pet peeve of mine...

When I see non-compacts parked in compact stalls. Compact stalls are made shorter and narrower than regular stalls. When big behemoths park there, it makes it harder to pull out. Bigger vehicles are simply being inconsiderate by parking in compact stalls. There, I said it. :mad:

[Pomai]

Another pet peeve of mine...

When I see non-compacts parked in compact stalls. Compact stalls are made shorter and narrower than regular stalls. When big behemoths park there, it makes it harder to pull out. Bigger vehicles are simply being inconsiderate by parking in compact stalls. There, I said it. :mad:Parking Peeves, eh?

In the parking structure at work, chumps with "nice cars" take the end stall, so they can space their car away from the next car over so they don't get door-dinged. The end stall being located closest to the center of the structure where ALL the vehicles circling the causeway must go around.

So Mr. Hummer and Mrs. "Bling Bling" Titan QuadCab is sticking way out, making it even more of a challenge for everyone else to negotiate that tight-radius turn. And, this often occurs on more than one floor! :mad:

Perhaps when their car gets side-swiped they'll stop this kind of inconsiderate parking.

[acousticlady]

Parking Peeves, eh?

In the parking structure at work, chumps with "nice cars" take the end stall, so they can space their car away from the next car over so they don't get door-dinged. The end stall being located closest to the center of the structure where ALL the vehicles circling the causeway must go around.

So Mr. Hummer and Mrs. "Bling Bling" Titan QuadCab is sticking way out, making it even more of a challenge for everyone else to negotiate that tight-radius turn. And, this often occurs on more than one floor! :mad:

Perhaps when their car gets side-swiped they'll stop this kind of inconsiderate parking.

Or.... when they park on an angle taking up 2 or 3 spaces so they won't get door-dinged.