America is often described as a nation of stark divides, and I’d like to propose another one, this time on wheels: those who pull into a parking spot versus those who back in. For decades, the unspoken rule was simple: find an open space and pull your car straight in, just like everyone else. But recently, a noticeable shift has occurred in our parking lots nationwide.
You’ve likely seen it at your local supermarket or pharmacy. Amidst a sea of head-in parked cars, a growing number are now backed into their spots, facing outwards like getaway drivers poised for a quick escape. For some, myself included, this practice can be a bit irksome. However, William Van Tassel, the manager of driver training programs for AAA, has confirmed this trend and suggests it’s a direct result of their updated guidelines. ‘We started promoting this around 2020,’ he noted, referring to curriculum distributed to driving instructors across the U.S. From a safety standpoint, Mr. Van Tassel, a 59-year-old Orlando resident who personally backs his Porsche Cayman into spaces, believes it’s generally a good idea.
Listen to this article with reporter commentary.
My personal theory suggests that this preference for backing in stems from a subconscious response to societal anxiety, much like instinctively scouting emergency exits in a movie theater. In an era of heightened concerns, being able to quickly exit a parking space offers a small, but significant, sense of security. Companies like Imminent Threat Solutions, which focuses on ‘prevailing against all threats,’ even endorse ‘tactical parking’ (backing in) for rapid evasion. They encourage drivers to ‘war-game it’: ‘What if I was being chased?’
Yet, there might be more practical, everyday reasons at play. Years ago, Matthew Dicks, a schoolteacher in West Hartford, Connecticut, observed a colleague consistently backing into her spot every morning, despite the extra effort. When he finally asked her why, her answer was stark: ‘She hated her job. She just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible at the end of the day.’ Initially finding the idea ‘ridiculous,’ Mr. Dicks decided to experiment for a week. He quickly realized that ‘backing up is always harder than driving forward.’ He also highlighted that standard parking spaces (7.5 to 8.5 feet wide) are considerably narrower than highway lanes (12 feet), making reversing into a spot potentially more hazardous. Furthermore, Mr. Dicks argues that backing in is simply inconsiderate, forcing other drivers to wait and causing unnecessary congestion in busy lots. His conclusion from his 2016 blog post was clear: ‘Stop backing into parking spots. It makes no sense.’ He continues to receive monthly emails from ‘angry backer-inners’ defending their stance.
I often find myself employing a ‘lazy man’s’ version of backing in: I seek out two consecutive open spots and ‘pull through’ so I’m facing forward, avoiding any reversing altogether. Still, like Mr. Dicks, I find the act of reversing into a spot awkward, which led me to wonder about the typical ‘backer-inner.’ Was it mostly men showing off, as my wife suspected? Or were they identifiable by their vehicles, perhaps large American work trucks? I conducted a small field study in the suburbs north of New York City. At the Ardsley Diner in Ardsley, N.Y., I observed Antonio Mateo, 49, backing his maroon SUV into a space. He was picking up breakfast and explained, ‘I get out quickly.’ Eighteen miles further north, at a Home Goods in Mount Kisco, 5 out of 38 full parking spots (about 13%) were backed in. The cars varied widely, from a Chevrolet Trax to a Ford F-150 to a Mercedes-Benz GLK350. Mirna Martinez, 55, the owner of the Mercedes SUV, started backing in a decade ago and couldn’t recall why, but it’s now a habit. Her reasoning echoed Mateo’s: ‘Convenience. It’s easier to get in and go.’
A clear profile began to emerge: not one based on gender or car make, but on a specific mindset. Back-in parkers seem to prefer tackling the more challenging maneuver upfront, prioritizing a quicker departure. Some, I discovered, are even mandated to back in. Luke MacGregor, 44, an engineer in New Brunswick, Canada, explained, ‘Our corporate policy is to back in at industrial sites like power plants and refineries. The idea is that if an evacuation is necessary, everyone can leave faster.’ Interestingly, Mr. MacGregor’s 81-year-old mother, Sandra Phinney, also appears to back in, but she actually pulls through into a second spot like me, as craning her neck to reverse is painful. ‘It’s much easier to drive straight out,’ she stated.
And safer, according to AAA’s Mr. Van Tassel. He referenced a 2020 study from the journal Transportation Research which indicated that the traditional ‘pull-in, back-out’ method carries a higher risk of crashes. Since pedestrians are more likely to be in the main lanes rather than directly in a parking spot, backing into the less-populated space is considered safer. This finding significantly influenced AAA’s updated recommendation. Given this new ‘doctrine,’ it’s highly probable that backing into spaces will become even more widespread. However, I remain unconvinced and can’t bring myself to adopt the practice, nor do I fully accept the safety argument. Since 2018, all new vehicles sold in the U.S. have been federally mandated to include backup cameras, which greatly assist in safely reversing out of a spot. Mr. Dicks stands firmly with me in this camp, making it his personal mission to persuade friends and acquaintances against backing in. Recounting a recent trip to Boston with a friend, he described intervening as his friend prepared to back into a spot: ‘I said, ‘No! What are you doing?’ He tells me, ‘I thought we could save time, get out quicker.’ What are we going to save? One second in a day?’ And with that, his friend pulled in headfirst. (Audio produced by Jack D’Isidoro.)