Why do Americans Drive Front First into Their Driveways?

I was born and raised in the US and I can't explain it. I always back into my driveway and parking spaces.

Then again, we ask, why do you guys drive on the left side of the road? :)

Usos y costumbres my friend, is the same in my country. As I see it, is due to the fact that when you arrive home after a worksday, you feel the real world comes chasing you and you want to leave all behind, all you want to do is rest, and soon, no time for an extra parking maneuver, you leave that for tomorrow, when you are fresh and willing and have the time (or not) to do the trip to your workplace.

Regards

You wrote, "I find it much, much easier to back out of a garage than to back in."

It's the reverse for me, no pun intended. I have it down to a science.

Some states want head in parking to expose the license plates. I got a $15 fine for backing into a spot.

From a safety point of view it is much safer pulling out of a parking spot head first because you can see so much better and far less chance of running over a small toddler.

The same goes with exiting the driveway. Every once in awhile I get someone that backs out and does not see me, dragging me down to a near stop while they fumble out.

Lastly, the nose of my car is so low it almost scrapes gum off of the road. Going in head first is a sure way to destroy the front spoiler on a curb stone. Don't ask how I know, please.

passingtongreen,

Your observation is correct for the most part.

Many, many folks pull in.

I drive in/back in depending on the situation.

Groceries or materials in the trunk/bed, I back in.

Most times though if I am too tired, lazy, in a hurry or want to break off the close confines with the wifey after a long drive together I pull in.

I cannot explain it especially given the fact that in my state it is illegal to back out onto a public roadway, however, I have only known of people getting a ticket for backing onto a road way if they cause an accident.

Never heard of anyone getting a ticket if law enforcement observed them backing out on a roadway though.

Whether one drives in, or reverses in, the points you raised are the most important regardless. GA. But reversing in without getting out of the car first to check I don't think would be a good habit?

Regards JD.

It's because we're always in a hurry, and we live for the moment....

Because it is so much easier to do that with an automobile than by means of commuter rail, which this country continues to insist on NOT making a priority if at all possible? Where I live they're nearly finished building an eight-lane highway to literally NOWHERE - at the cost of several hundred million - whilst threatening to suspend the local, two-car commuter rail for lack of funds. Now, as it seems *gross generalizations* are definately ON TOPIC (read thread title if there is any doubt), why are the citizens of the country *you're* from likewise identical in some arbitrary fashion? I dunno, pick something; something which characterizes the question as provincial and uninformed - as you've done in naming your thread just now.

because whatever you do, don't look back?

Maybe it's because I live and drive in the north east, but I feel like another reason may be that UK drivers might be a little more patient than US drivers. I live on a moderately busy road, and any time I for some reason feel like taking the extra moment to back into my driveway I will most likely get dirty looks or get the horn blasted at me for using the precious seconds of my fellow NY drivers. I still like to back in when I see no one is on the way up the road.

People may simply be more patient, and as a result will allow another driver the liberty of taking an extra second to back in. It was also said that Americans live in the moment. I agree, I think for many it just hasn't even crossed their mind.

Expectations, probably?

It is self-propagating methinks: some drivers can be very impatient with the few (yes, there are some, if even they are [gasp] American) drivers who take a little extra time to back-in when this isn't generally the norm. To avoid upsetting drivers to their rear these drivers simply pull straight in when they would rather in all likelihood back in. It is safer to pull out into traffic and clearly more convenient to do so and, I might add, a number of states encourage this practice in their driver-training guides. Citing safety concerns, some companies go so far as to insist on backing one's car into the car-park space whilst on company property. Those who pull into a space in the forward direction are ticketed unless they are guests or it is their first day on the job, or they've got a good reason for doing so.

Car parks featuring angled parking where there are physical barriers to prevent forward motion pose problems. One-way rows of angled parking are even worse. They make it difficult to back-in even for the determined, safety-conscious driver. As common-sense design practices often seem to be lacking where car parks are concerned, perhaps this style of angled parking should be outlawed where other schemes are possible and definitely preferable. Oftentimes one finds this style of car park in shopping centres, supermarkets and so forth - places where there is frequently heavy pedestrian traffic who may or may not be paying attention to their surroundings.

One might also argue that people often prefer to place their purchases in the boot (trunk) but in many cases space can be provided between rows of vehicles in order to accommodate access.

I too have that problem yamdankee, if I stop to back into my driveway which is on the right when I come the most common way home, people almost invariably will pass me even though the front of the vehicle swings out when backing, and almost always causes an accident. For this reason it is safer for me to back out rather than risk an accident backing in. I live in upstate NY 60 miles north of Syracuse.

Understandable.

I just refuse to live on a busy road.

The worst are the housing developments that run along major highways. Most of them around here are very high end homes, too.

Granted, you don't have any way to exit/enter the highway from the development, but it baffles me why someone would buy a house where their back yard overlooks a major highway (i.e., Rt. 95), with an in-ground swimming pool to boot.

Yeah, that's the best and I wish I had the space for that. The closest I'm going to be able to get is adding onto the driveway behind the house. That way I can pull in forward, maneuver to get turned around, and exit forward again. But your driveway is definitely ideal.

60 miles north of Syracuse puts you about Watertown. i am located on Wolfe Island, south shore, between Cape Vincent and Clayton. Hello Neighbor. Lots of snow most winters, except last winter. I have always seemed to have a drive with a slight incline up as you enter. Backing a truck with rare wheel drive is impossible on ice unless you have a load on the back. Traffic is never a problem so always drive forward.

Good point!

Finally! Someone who agrees with me. I hear a lot about how it is safer to back into a driveway or parking spot and drive straight out, when exactly the opposite seems logical to me. It is obviously easier to drive into a parking spot nose first, as admitted by many who say that it takes more time to back into their driveway or parking spot thus delaying drivers around them. Thus it seems more reasonable to me to enter the tighter area the easy way (front first) and the more open area the harder way (backing up). I guess that the ideal way to do it would be to have pull-through spots.

If you think about this way, it is easier and safer to back into the driveway and pull out front first. You do this by observing the driveway as you pass by to put yourself into position to back in so you know where all of the obstacles are. This way when you leave you can see all of the new obstacles that have been placed in front of you. If you pulled in front first, obstacles may have been put behind you (trash cans, parked cars, bicycles, etc.) that you are unaware of when you leave and you could back into them. I have seen several vehicles hit from people backing out of their driveway and not realizing that their is a car parked on street across from their driveway because they get so used to the system that they just don't look anymore, but one day someone happens to park on the street opposite and bam. I always back into my driveway or garage. It just takes practice and learning how to use your mirrors. I almost hit a guy walking his dog down the street because I was backing out my truck after my wife had pulled it into the driveway. They wasn't there when I got into the truck but they were when I hit the end of the driveway and the street.

Did you mention a car? Try it with your bicycle, or mine.

I always combat park, unless snow predicted. Then I park so the windshield is downwind.

I see this frequently in the suburban homes in this region. Nice wide and flat driveways make either maneuver effortless.

I live on a busy city street and have a long narrow(8') driveway with 24" high concrete side walls near the entrance. The slightest error when backing into OR backing out of this driveway would cause severe vehicle damage from the concrete walls. ANY backup maneuver(in or out) on my street also risks damage & injury from the busy traffic.

My solution is a "turnaround" area so I can enter AND leave front first. The only downside is that I have to shovel a little more snow in the winter.

You say 'tomatoe', i say tomato

Diversity is what makes life interesting, if everyone drove in their drive way the same way, then that would just be boring.

On another note, my uncle and aunty are from Tassie, and are doing a house-swap in Reno, Nevada. I was talking to my uncle John the other day, and he says something like "bloody hell Dan, you wouldn't believe it, this place is messed up!, they do everything all wrong over here" and then he proceeded to go over a short-list of things Americans do different, I just laughed. Thats great! :) I have been to America, yeh its a bit different, but I liked it (driving on the other side takes some getting used to though). If his brain wasnt spinning at his his experiences in the U.S., then our conversation wouldn't have bought as big a smile to my face.

Man i'm glad to be alive!

Good day to you all!

I've noticed passengers visibly tense up, when I back my full size van into a narrow parking space. Due to the cab forward design, it's safer for me to pull out from a parking spot whenever practical, so I back into spaces, except when parking at the daycare (small children and parked cars are a dangerous combo) and when someone is behind me (since they would inevitably stop three feet (.9144 meters) from my back bumper, and the reverse lights coming on, would have no effect on the synapses in their brain).

Many of the drivers I observe are simply not very good at backing, something about being able to turn a vehicle while reversing eludes them, so they opt to back into the larger space of the road (as stated above). I was unaware until now that the majority of the people who make state's codes were unable to back up, too. But, I guess that makes sense, sadly.

Backing out of a driveway onto a street, my right-of-way is zero or less and I have a better view of idiots speeding on a residential street, when I am backing into my driveway, than when I am backing onto the street.

If I didn't know better, it would be easy to assume that the answer to your question is - people have difficulty texting while looking over their shoulder and they don't stop texting until they get to where they are going.

Bored with reality-TV? take some food and a lawn chair to a busy boat-ramp on a holiday weekend, dinner and a show!

Haha.....ramp rage!.....Definately an entertaining outing, they could do a TV show on that for sure!

Yeah, I really like the turds who pull their boat into the ramp area, then someone jumps out to go get the trailer.

How hard can it be to drop off the trailer driver at the pier to get the vehicle and then putter around until the missus is ready to back the trailer down the ramp?

You do go backwards one way or the other. So from which side do you eat your egg?

Depends on the situation. I drive forward on to the parking space in front of my house but my house is a small terraced property so the drive is not a lot wider than the car. I only reverse in if I have something to load or unload from the back of the car. When I reverse in it means that I exit the car straight into the bushes that separate my drive from the neighbours, on the other side, the driveway extends across both houses.

It helps that the road I live in is quiet with no through traffic so reversing into the road is not a problem.

I tried it once. It's much trickier backing up the driveway and through the garage door. And when it's time to leave, the exhaust fumes fill the garage. I decided it was a bad idea.

Good thinking.

It's easier to back out hung over than to back in drunk.

Really, for me, the garage is too dark compared to the outside making it hard to see what or who might be in the way. On top of that the dust from the gravel road covering the windows and mirrors makes it even worse.

When I was a teenager, I had an old truck with a crappy starter and no money for repairs. I always backed in so I could push start it if I had to.

Measure the distance from car door to cold beer then decide which way is closer.

The state code is for public parking. In a lot of situations the trunk of the car will over hang the curb farther then the front. Which other then blocking the sidewalk you may hit someone walking on it. You have a better view pulling in head first and can see pedestrians. When pulling forward to back in the car behind may pull forward with you now the spot is blocked. Or he may take the spot for himself. He can't read your mind so it will reduce road rage as a regulation.

In a home setting where you own the property there is in most places no regulation on this. Most the people traveling the road are your neighbors. They know you live there and will give you the time and space to back in.

So after awhile the pulling head first into any parking space becomes a habit. A good habit. As Lyn commented on the pedestrian you may hit in you own driveway maybe your own child.

When leaving you were already out of the car standing up you have a better view of any obstructions.

Only in Maryland with some bureaucrat come up with that thinking. Well, I can think of a few more states than that.

However, as a pedestrian I have personally had more incursions from cars backing out of a space than I have seen anyone backing into a space.

Head in or heads out; either way you look at it, backing up is inherently more dangerous than going forward, and large vehicles like vans and SUVs are even more tricky.

? Bureaucrats thinking ? More like politics and getting votes from a citizens watch dog group and store owners.

What is most important is that everyone who drives the vehicle plays by the same rules. For example, my wife backed the car out of the garage this morning, which under other circumstances would have been okay, but I had backed it in the night before.

Heh, heh. Though, you better not start a 'women drivers' thread or Sue will show up with a harrrumph to put us back in our places.

OK, here goes. Both my wife and I back into the driveway under most circumstances. (tactical parking) Much quicker and safer to pull out into the street rather than back out. I feel the same for public parking when the situation permits. Sometimes it doesn't.

The thing that my wife does that annoys me, is she leaves the transmission in reverse after backing in. I tell her she should put it in the gear she intends to use the next time she leaves i.e. first. Even after backing into our trailer while trying to leave one day, she still persists.

Your wife is right, but she may not realize why.

If you leave a transmission in gear while parking, reverse is a better choice for a few good reasons.

1. It is the lowest geared selection and provides the most torque to keep the wheels from creeping.

2. Any stress incurred while parking is in the reverse gear assembly and not on the forward drive assembly, which minimizes possible damage to to gears critical to forward driving.

Newer vehicles require the clutch to be engaged before starting the car. I make it a habit to also put the gearbox in neutral at the same time so that I am always in a known state when the clutch is released.

That's odd.

1. On the manuals I've driven the reverse ratio is between 1st and 2nd. If you're in a situation where your car might creep you should apply the parking brake. (...if you don't always.)

2. If your 1st gear stops working due to damage you can always start in 2nd with a bit of finesse. If reverse stops working and you're parked front-in or find yourself in a dead end then you're up the proverbial creek without an R-paddle.

How new? I have a 2003 Hyundai that has no interlock on the starter. I was surprised as I am accustomed to having a neutral switch. But of course that was on older cars.

If you have a very large not very neat lawn, as I do, you can pull in, and turn before pulling out. Considering what the local handy man with his pickup and snow plow does to that part of the lawn each winter, there is no need to worry over a few tracks in the lawn.

However on the real issue, I expect it has to do with American impatience. When we get home it is time to get into the house and open a cold one. Can't be bothered turning in the street to back in. The English, on the other hand, are more patient and more apt to think this thing through.

I wouldn't back into a garage since it is harder to do than front in but more so because of the exhaust fumes which stink up the garage and eventually get into the house.

Most angled parking in the US is predicated on "front in" otherwise the angles would be in the opposite direction. Since many states only require a rear license plate and not also a front plate, it probably is a matter of law that you park head in so your plate is observable from the street as a patrol car passes by. It won't be long before the police have scanners where they can drive by, read your plate and put on a wheel lock if they find outstanding past due tickets.

They already have them. Also used to ID stolen cars so they can stake out the car and arrest the person as they attempt to leave with the stolen car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGY1CD9y_4

We have these in Arizona on many police vehicles.

We also have ordinances against backing in because the single license plate is in the rear.

And, since we all carry guns here, we just shoot offensive drivers, and take them out of play.

We have these in VA and in DC as well....and they drive arould LOOKING for people driving or parked that the system will hit on.

passingtongreen I noticed at the power and gas utilities the company vehicles are all backed up to be parked. I believe their insurance carrier has determined that this is a better way to avoid accidents when backing out of park.

Many utility companies in Indiana / Illinois require the employees to place a cone in front and behind the vehicle when parking. This forces them to walk around to visually check blind spots before moving the van/truck.

Its not for insurance reasons....it because it allows a faster exit in case of a hostile work situation. They teach you to park where you can pull through and be ready to exit without ever having to back up. And where nobody can block you in easily.

I've been through those courses for a Utility company which shall remain unamed a number of times over the years..

Here in Ontario trucks have their plate validation stickers on the front so the police can check them when they're backed up to a dock. The law used to extend to pick-ups, SUV's and vans as well until SUV's became popular, then they started issuing stickers that said "personal use" to put on the front plate so you could put the validation sticker on the back plate and park front in.

I back in because I find it easier to maneuver the front end of the vehicle when it isn't trapped between a wall and a fence. The back end doesn't swing nearly as much. (That's also why lift-trucks have rear steering.) Maybe because I was a truck driver years ago.

I laugh when I see a 'front parker' stuck at the mall because because the vehicles around them changed while they were shopping and they don't (think they) have enough room to back up so the front of their car clears the ones beside them. Then they wheedle back and forth two, three, even four times to get out.

I think it has to do with the fact you drive on the wrong side of the road in the UK and we drive on the right side.

We cause traffic backing out of our driveway..you cause traffic to back into yours...

Its all a wash in the end WHEN you cause the traffic. Before or after.

I used to live in Bristol UK, and I and all my neighbours used to drive in, and back out unless there was a reason to do otherwise, such as unloading.

I really don't know where this idea comes from.

Check Google maps satellite views over some residential areas.

Dave

Do what you are comfortable with.

People pull into and park forward because it is easier. Backing up is more risky, simply because that is not where your steering control is at. It is safer to back out onto the street because it is more open. However, the opposite is true if your vision is blocked. There is no definite rule for this, however when people back into a parking place where the traffic is meant to go in one direction and they have to pull out against the traffic in a park lot, like at the grocery store, those people are just idiots, they are pulling out against traffic. Forklifts, the steering is in the back, they are safer to drive backwards because of that feature. YOU DO WHAT IS SAFE. You pulling in forward into a confined space and back out into a more open space.

Saying "you guys are wrong because you all do it like this..." is a wrong and arrogant. If you're doing it because everyone else does it that way is just as stupid if everyone is just going with the flow and don't want to stand out even though the action is being copied.

I don't think it was always that way.

Coming off the farm where the driveways are long, it may have been a habit that started way back. And never changed.

But, there are times that I started to back in.......when I remember, which is few and far between.

Like an earlier poster. Live for the moment. And it easier backing out, because you can see if any neihborhood kids are playing.

When I was growing up, I always wanted one like Batman.

It was, I don't know what you call it. A "Lazy Susan"?. You drive onto it and the rotates 180 degrees and you drive off it.

Some day,......Robin.....Some day.

car turntable

thats it.......in my garage.

I think it is easier to drive forward into a driveway than stopping, checking and backing. When backing out of a driveway, you follow the same path going in as going out. There can be instances, like in heavy traffic, where backing is not possible. An alley between two buildings is an example. If the driveway is inclined, backing up an incline is not as easy as going forward. Going forward would always be preferred in an unknown situation.

I have one vehicle that I ALWAYS back in, and one that I ALWAYS nose in. The reasoning is simple, it's all due to the geometry of my fence/driveway and the turning radius of the vehicle. I have to pull up alongside my fence to get out and open it, then back in or pull in depending on the vehicle. The Jeep is backed in, and the Honda is pulled in front first. Meh...

I do both! I have two vehicles: a high-top van and a compact sedan.

I park one nose in, in the right space so the car is at the edge of the parking space.

I park the other nose facing out, again with the right side at the far side edge of the two car parking space. Thus with either machine, the driver doors open into the center space between them.

Parking in this manner maximizes the space between the two cars and allows for easier entry and egress.

The motorcycles easily fit between both four wheeled machines and can be ridden out without a problem although the big bike tends to wake up the glass breakage sensor on the hi-top's alarm system!

L.J.

I can't imagine backing into my garage when it's almost impossible to see what's behind the vehicle. Backing into the driveway from the street would be more dangerous to your kids than backing out into the street, because they are much more likely to be there when you come home from work than when you leave. They shouldn't be in the street in the first place.

I have a question for the English: Why do you drive in a parkway and park in a driveway?

In my neighbourhood the kids are more likely to be riding or running along the sidewalk before AND after school. In the afternoon I can see them as I'm driving along the road before I back in but in the morning I can't see them until I clear the hedge, which is a lot sooner if I'm driving forward.

In many cases at shopping centers in the USA you are practically forced to park "head in" since there probably is someone right on your tail or coming down the isle trying to get the same parking spot so you have to zing right in to beat them out.

There is also the consideration that when you are leaving or perhaps even part way through your shopping you will want to open your trunk (or boot) in order to put your packages in there out of sight in order to continue with further shopping or to go home if you have some one in the backseat.

When you get home with all those packages or bags of groceries you certainly aren't going to back into your garage and make it difficult if not impossible to remove same. Even in the driveway you can't pull up as far in if you need to access your trunk (boot).

At places like Home Depot, Lowes and Wal-Mart, there are two parking places "in series" between isles. I like to drive through to the last one so that I can drive out forward when I leave. But I don't do that if I am getting a big load like lumber in my truck or a lot of groceries in my mini-van, because you load up from the isle. In those cases you have no choice but to back up unless the other spot is free in front of you. If I have a load of lumber then I would back up in my driveway to unload, but stop before the garage door in most cases.

Many people around me put the groceries in the rear well of a mini-van since they stand up better and can't slide around as much. A load of wood , fences etc. since you generally have to put the seats down and load into the rear means front in parking would be better. As to unloading I guess if it's going into the garage you're probably correct. However, if you have a short driveway or are close by a side walk as it often would be in cities and urban areas, then you could be blocking the sidewalk or be part way into the street if you backed in and left enough space to unload long pieces of limber that you wanted elsewhere than your garage.

It's still worth a holiday vacation to find out more!

Living on the old A43 going out of town towards Kettering I nearly always drive front first into the drive to get out of the traffic stream..

My mother's friend, years ago, stopped outside in order to reverse into the same drive.

A daydreaming young woman, having just broken up with her boyfriend, plowed into the rear of the car resulting in a broken knee for the old lady ( who suffered from a hands off GP who prescribed Ibrufen for 14 years. When he died his replacement ordered an Xray hence discovering the break).