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Posted: 1/20/2006 2:48:12 PM EDT
We just moved to VA, and everywhere we go people are backing into parking spots.  Why?
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 2:52:17 PM EDT
[#1]
Because it's easier to see the people coming through the parking lot at 35-40mph when you're "fronting" out rather than backing out.

ETA--This is for "NoVA".  What parts ya'll from?
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 2:58:57 PM EDT
[#2]
Nice.  Some of these people spend way too much time backing it in.  I just don't get it.

We just moved to Virginia Beach from CA.  It's nice to not feel like a criminal because I'm a gun freak gun owner.
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 3:21:01 PM EDT
[#3]
Welcome to Virginia Beach.  I haven't noticed which way people park really.   Personally, I only back in if it looks like it would be tough backing out without getting hit.
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 4:28:33 PM EDT
[#4]
Welcome to the Old Dominion!

It's traditional to fire off a few warning shots if you have to back out.

G
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 4:31:24 PM EDT
[#5]
Welcome to the liberated part of the world. We are very gun friendly here in VA.
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 5:14:37 PM EDT
[#6]
I almost always back in unless I can pull through to the other side.
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 6:17:32 PM EDT
[#7]
We back in so we don't have to take it in the ass when pulling out.....  (wait, I don't think that came out quite right.....)
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 7:30:24 PM EDT
[#8]

Quoted:
We back in so we don't have to take it in the ass when pulling out.....  (wait, I don't think that came out quite right.....)



im sure it came out just the way you meant it
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 8:21:04 PM EDT
[#9]
One of my petpeives is parking or parking lots in general. 1 The people that fly through the lot. I was at the movies tonight and saw people flying through there like the cops were after them but no one was behind them. 2 People that park in their spot and everyone elses spot. I am going to go to an online free business card shop and get 1000 business cards made with "Hey Idiot - learn how to park" stamped on them for the fool that parks next to me like that. 3 The people that park anywhere they feel like it or stand in the lot or in front of stores and block the road. That curb in the mechanicsville walmart in the parking lot on the side of the lawn and garden section is there so people dont park there. Do not put your superwide SUV on the other side of it so no one can get by. 4 and finally, Handycap parking. This is given out way too liberally in Va and around the country. If the person walks into the doctors office or is capable of walking into the walmart supercenter and everywhere once inside THEY DONT NEED THE WHEELCHAIR SYMBOL ON THEIR PLATES. If they have a wheelchair that they can wheel in on their own power and do the above they might or might not need it. If they have the hanger and they are caught parked in a spot in the lot without using it and it is only the handycapped person in the car they lose it. No selective disability except if they have a on and off condition.

Anyway now that I have gone and probably gotten myself banned by our new mod, everyone have a nice day.
Link Posted: 1/20/2006 8:59:30 PM EDT
[#10]
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 5:17:00 AM EDT
[#11]
Welcome to VA , I think you spent to much time in CA . I wish you a good and speedy recovery I back in to park facing out unless there are cars inline right behind me.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 5:18:19 AM EDT
[#12]

Quoted:
4 and finally, Handycap parking. This is given out way too liberally in Va and around the country. If the person walks into the doctors office or is capable of walking into the walmart supercenter and everywhere once inside THEY DONT NEED THE WHEELCHAIR SYMBOL ON THEIR PLATES. If they have a wheelchair that they can wheel in on their own power and do the above they might or might not need it. If they have the hanger and they are caught parked in a spot in the lot without using it and it is only the handycapped person in the car they lose it. No selective disability except if they have a on and off condition.



i never back in--fuck them i am pulling my ass out my spot and if they want it then they can wait.  i just hate backing into a parking spot.  and i am a nova kid born and raised.

but in defense of the handicapped people you see walking--my mom is on social security disability due to severe back problems.  she has the hanger thingy.  sometimes she uses it and sometimes not--depending on how she feels that day.  she avoids places like walmart because she just can't make it from one end of the store to the other.  similarly i have a friend who has severe medical issues.  she has virtually no muscle mass and is forced to use a cane on most occasions.  but if you saw her standing in line at the store you would think she is just wicked skinny.  just because people don't have a walker or roll in a wheelchair or are missing a leg does not mean they don't have a lot of issues with walking those distances.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 6:06:55 AM EDT
[#13]
I back in because Im used to driving an ambulance all the time. Also makes for a quick get away if I ever need one.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 7:00:59 AM EDT
[#14]
It could be worse-

I grew up in NC, and kids down there parked what we called "Car Club Style"

They'd back their POS riced-out civics and acuras and neons diagonally into two spaces, usually in the streetside corner of the lot, where everyone who came in and out could see them. Four or five of these cars would be parked diagonally backed in, taking up 8-10 spaces, and the kids would just hang out on the hoods bullshitting. Of course, when I was a kid, me and my friends would drive by and splatter some chunks of mud off of our tires onto the hoods. Typical kid rivalries.

I too back in when I'm in the back or side of lots, learned it from driving an ambulance also.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 7:18:32 AM EDT
[#15]
Because you're in NoVA and a lot of people were taught the 'escape position.'
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 7:19:59 AM EDT
[#16]

Quoted:
Of course, when I was a kid, me and my friends would drive by and splatter some chunks of mud off of our tires onto the hoods.



Sweet!
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 7:25:43 AM EDT
[#17]
I don't understand the whole safety angle.

Granted, it might be safer to leave the parking space traveling forward, but wouldn't this be negated by the additional danger encountered when trying to back in?

In more than a few instances I've nearly plowed into drivers that drive past a space with the intention of backing in.

Plus, if you can't back in quickly, you're an a-hole for trying.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 9:21:39 AM EDT
[#18]

Quoted:

Plus, if you can't back in quickly, you're an a-hole for trying.



That's my problem with the whole thing.  There's nothing I like more than some 5' tall soccer mom type driving a friggin' Excursion, trying to back into a parking space.  Then, after taking 5 minutes to do it, she's still crooked as all hell and ends up making one of the spots next to her unusable.  Now I can understand if you have a really nice car and don't want someone parking next to you and dinging it, but don't be a tool and take up two spaces at the front of the lot.  Go to the back where less people park anyway.

Oh, and people that somehow think those lines on the ground that mark off the parking lanes only apply to them when they're actually parking.  I've nearly been clipped a dozen times by some a-hole zipping through the lot ACROSS the parking lanes.  

..okay I feel better now...
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 12:42:26 PM EDT
[#19]
Allow me to field this one.  As a former resident of CA and the owner of a very long truck, I am in a unique position to answer this question.  You see, in CA, they have parking lots that were designed for people to actually park in.  Lanes are wider, as are the spaces.  At least that was the case when I lived there.  

Here in the Old Dominion, our streets were designed to handle a horse and buggy and our parking lots were not designed by people who actually drive cars.  They were designed by hillbillys who got government jobs and live by the creedo "F-em if they caint take a joke."  

Now, look at pivot points.  Backing into a space allows you much better control when negotiating into a tight space without enough width in the lane to make a proper enterance.  If there are cars on both sides of an open and narrow space, if I pull straight in, I have to back in and out several times before I am straight in the space.  If I back in, it takes one shot.  

If they would design parking lots with wide lanes and 9" spaces, there would be no need nor excuse to back in with a full size truck.  An 8" space with narrow lanes makes backing a near requirement unless you like taking several shots at getting in straight.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 12:43:28 PM EDT
[#20]
Yeh kind of made a blanketing statement covering all handycapped people. Just think there needs to be a little more stringence there. Sort of like some people have no business having guns but none of us dare say it because we are afraid it could come back to bite us later or that we would sound like the brady bunch. Quick EZ fix to that and the gun show loop hole is not to sell cheap guns. Same is true with drivers license. Just because they weight 400lbs and dont try the doctors recomended measures to fix it that doesnt entitle them to a swinging tag. Now if they try and still do that is another story.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 12:55:07 PM EDT
[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Plus, if you can't back in quickly, you're an a-hole for trying.



That's my problem with the whole thing.  There's nothing I like more than some 5' tall soccer mom type driving a friggin' Excursion, trying to back into a parking space.  Then, after taking 5 minutes to do it, she's still crooked as all hell and ends up making one of the spots next to her unusable.  Now I can understand if you have a really nice car and don't want someone parking next to you and dinging it, but don't be a tool and take up two spaces at the front of the lot.  Go to the back where less people park anyway.

Oh, and people that somehow think those lines on the ground that mark off the parking lanes only apply to them when they're actually parking.  I've nearly been clipped a dozen times by some a-hole zipping through the lot ACROSS the parking lanes.  

..okay I feel better now...



I think tall men who can't back their Excursions or their Geo Metros into spaces or stay in their lanes should stay off the road too!
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 1:11:34 PM EDT
[#22]
Well, someone touched a nerve.

G
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 1:31:25 PM EDT
[#23]
It speaks for people in general. They have gotten really $4ity in the last few years and getting worse.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 2:55:50 PM EDT
[#24]

Quoted:
Well, someone touched a nerve.

G



Just didn't like the generalization that all women can't drive.  There are plenty of men who drive like crap on the roads too.

ETA:  And what does the height of the person have to do with it?

Plenty of people of both sexes drive like they're the only ones on the road.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 3:23:25 PM EDT
[#25]
I get blinded a lot being in a small car and having trucks and SUVs passing me or riding behind me so close I can not see their bumper (I dont drive slow either.) The day I put my projectors on I started getting flashed by all sorts of SUV drivers. I would come around the corner and they would start flashing their high beams. Funny, I never have a problem withe the smaller cars that are used to it. I drive with my fogs on now so that no one thinks I have my high beams on.

On the topic of tailgating. I was on the way home from work one night really late. I was on 95 going to 295. 295 is 4 lanes I was in the center left lane and this car comes up behind me like a bat out of hell and goes right up onto my bumper. There was no one else on the road. Usually I will get over for slower traffic but this was really annoying since I looked and I was going 75. I slowed up to 70 so they would get the idea and at this point the vehicle got so close I could no longer see the headlights or the hood. I tapped the breaks just enough to light them up and not effect my speed. Suddenly blue lights flash behind me. I pull into the other lane like I was going to pull over (thinking, cant wait to hear what he tells the judge when I ask him why he was following me so closely) and he just cuts his lights off and drives on off. I was like WTF.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 6:53:49 PM EDT
[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Well, someone touched a nerve.

G



Just didn't like the generalization that all women can't drive.  There are plenty of men who drive like crap on the roads too.

ETA:  And what does the height of the person have to do with it?

Plenty of people of both sexes drive like they're the only ones on the road.




height has nothing to do with it...except....I think it's funny when short people drive big SUVs andsit way up close to the steering wheel, so they can reach the pedals...too bad that leaves almost no room for airbag deployment...how does one remove an impaled sterring wheel from one's chest?
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 7:31:57 PM EDT
[#27]

Quoted:
Nice.  Some of these people spend way too much time backing it in.  I just don't get it.

We just moved to Virginia Beach from CA.  It's nice to not feel like a criminal because I'm a gun freak gun owner.



Welcome.
It took me about 35 days from my arrival to get a CHP, AR15, and AK.
I love virginia.
I miss CA weather and babes, but not too much.
Link Posted: 1/21/2006 11:27:50 PM EDT
[#28]
I'm mostly from PA.

It's because, by and large, people here are insane in parking lots, and coming out head first means you've got some better control in case you need to take evasive action.

Oh, if when you get cut off in a parking lot, I recommend (if you car has good breaks and is aligned properly) hitting the brake, and covering your eyes with your hands (with enough room to see in case of problems). This scares the living crap out of bad drivers, and is also hysterical.
Link Posted: 1/22/2006 5:45:45 AM EDT
[#29]

Quoted:
height has nothing to do with it...except....I think it's funny when short people drive big SUVs andsit way up close to the steering wheel, so they can reach the pedals...too bad that leaves almost no room for airbag deployment...how does one remove an impaled sterring wheel from one's chest?



Gee at least someone got it.

Lighten up 9, you'll live longer.  Man people on this site have gotten way too touchy and take shit way too seriously.  OH MY GOD YOU HAD AN OPINION!!!!
Link Posted: 1/22/2006 7:44:16 AM EDT
[#30]
I started combat parking when I was a street cop.  The one time I pulled straight into a parking spot at 7-11, I had to leave in a major hurry....and boned a car cutting across the lot.  Now, combat park everywhere, regardless of vehicle.  Once you figure out your vehicle's reference points for hitting a spot straight the first time, it's really easy.
Link Posted: 1/23/2006 7:10:47 AM EDT
[#31]
Same here.  I back in because I'm never in a hurry when I'm parking my vehicle, but when I am trying to leave from someplace I might be in a hurry and it's quicker to pull out of a spot.  

However, if there is someone behind me, I don't typically back in because I have to take wide angles to park in my truck, so it takes longer and it's wasting their time.  Unless of course it's a hot girl, in which case I try to woooooo her h.gif  haha
Link Posted: 1/23/2006 7:39:21 AM EDT
[#32]

Quoted:
...how does one remove an impaled sterring wheel from one's chest?


We come along and do it for you.... rather messy, I might add...

Not sure what really got me into the habit of doing so, but like pevrs114, emergency vehicle driving
might have had something to do with it, and it just stuck.

Drives Mrs. Tanker nuts too!
Link Posted: 1/23/2006 3:14:05 PM EDT
[#33]

Quoted:
Allow me to field this one.  As a former resident of CA and the owner of a very long truck, I am in a unique position to answer this question.  You see, in CA, they have parking lots that were designed for people to actually park in.  Lanes are wider, as are the spaces.  At least that was the case when I lived there.  

Here in the Old Dominion, our streets were designed to handle a horse and buggy and our parking lots were not designed by people who actually drive cars.  They were designed by hillbillys who got government jobs and live by the creedo "F-em if they caint take a joke."  

Now, look at pivot points.  Backing into a space allows you much better control when negotiating into a tight space without enough width in the lane to make a proper enterance.  If there are cars on both sides of an open and narrow space, if I pull straight in, I have to back in and out several times before I am straight in the space.  If I back in, it takes one shot.  

If they would design parking lots with wide lanes and 9" spaces, there would be no need nor excuse to back in with a full size truck.  An 8" space with narrow lanes makes backing a near requirement unless you like taking several shots at getting in straight.



Thanks for 'splainen that to everyone Cliffy!!!  While I drive a small truck now, I had a fullsize, extended cab long-box and it was much easier to back in to a spot than to pull forward into it.

The problem around NOVA is that so many people in NOVA don't know where their car begins nor ends.  They have no idea how close they are to another car or if they have room to make the turn into a spot.  This is why it takes some people so damn long to park.  If they'd spend just a little time familiarizing themselves with the extents of the vehicle when they buy it, a lot of headaches could be avoided.

Yes this is a touchy subject with me!

Link Posted: 1/24/2006 7:54:21 AM EDT
[#34]
Welcome to VA!

I back in when it's more convenient for whatever reason, but not when it isn't. Never thought of it as "combat" though.

Maybe the result of a large military presence in the state? (My dad was an Army Colonel). Especially lots of uniformed personnel at the Beach and everywhere else around Tidewater.

Am generally glad when others just manage to get the damn thing between the freakin' lines....
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