Parking in bays....?

Had an interesting discussion with a learner client regarding the whole 'drive in or reverse in' topic yesterday..... Quite interesting and made me think about this issue in a slightly different way tbh

What thoughts do you have?

Should be reverse in unless you can drive STRAIGHT into the bay and reverse straight out.

Always drive in so you can put your shopping in the boot !!!

Sorry I have ignored this forum and your comments for a while. I thought it was dead!! Hello Phil!!

I would ban the 'always', 'should' and 'never' words from my car if I could!! Every situation/driver is unique!!

I discussed this subject with a learner pupil recently: he trotted out the usual, reversing in is more eco and also safer due to vision when driving out.... and the, unless you are planning to fill the boot with shopping. He agreed to come up with a few others to buck the trend as homework...... as ever!! Thought you might enjoy!

1. If you reverse out of a bay, you can pick your time AND take your time to ensure it's safe. You can get out and take a look to plan the manoeuvre beforehand. This you cannot do when reversing in.... he thought this might work well for an elderly or inexperienced driver.

2. For many people, especially the less competent, it is safer to reverse into a bigger, more open space (when you reverse out) than a narrow one between 2 cars (reversing in).

3. If the postion of the door is important ( ie in a multi story car park) you can use the pillar to give you more room to open the door. Depending which side the pillar is yu might either reverse in or drive in. Ideal if you have children in the car or have any sort of mobility issues.

4. That in an auto it is better to reverse out as the creep will be stronger when the engine is cold, so you can keep your foot over the brake rather than the gas!! (I would never have thought of that!)

5. That it is easier to load something like a van if you drive in, as spaces are often too narrow to safely reverse park or to load.

6. He would tend to drive into his own drive because it is on a hill and because of the difficulty in selecting a space because of parents car, a boat and a van!!

These amused me.... and clearly valid in specific circumstances!

My reply was supposed to be a joke But I do always drive in when I'm shopping .......