I strongly recommend, whenever and wherever possible, for you to back into parking spots instead of forward. It's far safer for you to back into spots because it gives you a wider field of vision when you're leaving.
If you don't believe me, there's some science:
"When entering and leaving a parking space, three maneuver options exist for drivers: (1) forward, (2) reverse, and (3) pulling through an adjacent parking space. When specifically entering a parking space, the maneuver options become: (1) pull-in, (2) back-in, and (3) pull-through. When leaving the parking space, the maneuver options become: (1) pull-out, (2) back-out, and (3) pull-through. This study found that the pull-in/back-out vehicle maneuver’s percentage of total crashes was greater than the percentage of vehicles that were actually observed to use the same maneuver. The analysis from this study implies that the pull-in/back-out parking maneuver is more likely to result in a collision and therefore, is associated with a higher crash risk. Further analysis of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and serious injury crashes found that vehicles backing out of parking spaces was overwhelmingly the main cause for these serious injuries. 90% of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and serious injuries occurred during a back-out maneuver."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847819308812
Additionally,
"In Tucson, AZ, two blocks of reverse diagonal parking have been installed along the University Boulevard Bikeway (see Figure 1), which leads into the west entrance of the University of Arizona (-36,000 students). In the two years of reverse diagonal parking, there have been no accidents along the segment, despite the large number of cyclists using the bikeway.
Figures 2-4 illustrate some of the benefits of back-in/head-out angle parking. In Figure 2 the driver is able access her trunk from the curb rather than from the street. Figures 3 and 4 show that the driver can have eye contact with oncoming traffic, in this case a bicyclist."
"Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee says that after implementing the back-in/head-out angle parking scheme in Tucson they 'went from an average of 3-4 bike/car accidents per month to no reported accidents for 4 years following implementation.'"
https://weblink.ci.wheatridge.co.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=287170&dbid=0&repo=cowr&cr=1
I found a misguided article on The Federalist sanctimoniously titled "For The Love Of All That Is Holy, Stop Backing Into Parking Spaces," which points out that there's a chance you might hit one of the parked cars as you backed into the spot, but that's a smaller risk to take, and they don't point to any science studies.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/0...hat-is-holy-stop-backing-into-parking-spaces/
Unfortunately, reverse parking is not always legal. Some cities have ordinances against reverse parking. Government authorities cite the need to identify license plates from a distance, because their convenience is more important than your safety.
If you don't believe me, there's some science:
"When entering and leaving a parking space, three maneuver options exist for drivers: (1) forward, (2) reverse, and (3) pulling through an adjacent parking space. When specifically entering a parking space, the maneuver options become: (1) pull-in, (2) back-in, and (3) pull-through. When leaving the parking space, the maneuver options become: (1) pull-out, (2) back-out, and (3) pull-through. This study found that the pull-in/back-out vehicle maneuver’s percentage of total crashes was greater than the percentage of vehicles that were actually observed to use the same maneuver. The analysis from this study implies that the pull-in/back-out parking maneuver is more likely to result in a collision and therefore, is associated with a higher crash risk. Further analysis of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and serious injury crashes found that vehicles backing out of parking spaces was overwhelmingly the main cause for these serious injuries. 90% of North Carolina’s parking related fatal and serious injuries occurred during a back-out maneuver."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847819308812
Additionally,
"In Tucson, AZ, two blocks of reverse diagonal parking have been installed along the University Boulevard Bikeway (see Figure 1), which leads into the west entrance of the University of Arizona (-36,000 students). In the two years of reverse diagonal parking, there have been no accidents along the segment, despite the large number of cyclists using the bikeway.
Figures 2-4 illustrate some of the benefits of back-in/head-out angle parking. In Figure 2 the driver is able access her trunk from the curb rather than from the street. Figures 3 and 4 show that the driver can have eye contact with oncoming traffic, in this case a bicyclist."
"Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee says that after implementing the back-in/head-out angle parking scheme in Tucson they 'went from an average of 3-4 bike/car accidents per month to no reported accidents for 4 years following implementation.'"
https://weblink.ci.wheatridge.co.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=287170&dbid=0&repo=cowr&cr=1
I found a misguided article on The Federalist sanctimoniously titled "For The Love Of All That Is Holy, Stop Backing Into Parking Spaces," which points out that there's a chance you might hit one of the parked cars as you backed into the spot, but that's a smaller risk to take, and they don't point to any science studies.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/0...hat-is-holy-stop-backing-into-parking-spaces/
Unfortunately, reverse parking is not always legal. Some cities have ordinances against reverse parking. Government authorities cite the need to identify license plates from a distance, because their convenience is more important than your safety.
