Have you ever stubbled upon a website, and gazed in awe at how certain textual content isn't actually text at all? Maybe you didn't know that H*T*ML was called H*T*ML for a reason.
Rather than simply creating a website in photoshop then splicing it into multiple images with zero regards for accessibility, SEO, performance, or usability, sane web developers take their time to convert textual content to text. It's a way of saying to the world, "I'm not going to rush things, I'm going to support users with accessibility needs and actually make this site indexable".
> I'm not sure visually-impaired individuals are the intended beneficiaries of this site...
I’m know you’re making a joke but I want to point out that only a small percentage of blind people have 0% vision and it’s important that we address accessibility on our sites for multiple types of users.
I always park like this because it's much easier. Not just to get out, but to get in.
Because your front wheels rotate, not the back wheels, it's much easier to get into proper position when parking backwards especially when you're between 2 other cars and the space is small.
I get what you are saying, but I find parkers who do this to be selfish or at least unaware of how their actions affect others. In my experience, it takes more time to fancy park, and much less to unpark. Whereas with normal parking, it’s much faster to park then unpark.
So, in a busy parking lot (classically a grocery store lot on Saturday) fancy parkers make others wait on them while they park. Normal parkers have to wait on others when they leave.
This assumes we are talking about what is known in the US as parallel parking, i.e. parking on a street and not parking in a parking lot. Parking lots are the norm in the US.
I don’t think we are. I’m talking about reversing into a parking space in a car park (parking lot). It’s generally accepted to be safer for the reasons I highlighted. That’s why I think calling it “selfish” is bizarre.
No, no, no. You completely missed the points here. And no, parking lots are not the "norm" in the US. Both parallel parking and parking lots are common in the US and in the UK as well.
I don’t get my time waiting for you to fancy park back. When I’m backing out, I have to wait until it’s clear to go. Fancy parkers parking get a mutex on their part of the row.
I park this way cause I'm daily driving a sports car that is really low and I don't want to risk hitting my front splitter on the curb or the wall. Backwards camera allows you to get close enough without hitting anything.
Op was talking about the front wheels pivoting. Rear wheels do not pivot. Furthermore, the quality is sometimes better on rear tires in a rear wheel drive car if the owner is trying to be frugal and save money when changing their tires. Similarly with front wheel drive drive train, owners will often opt to replace only their front tires as they will wear quicker. This is all due to the traction needed to start the car moving. Now, back to the crux of the question, why fancy park? Reversing and turning creates a wider turn radius, reduced control and greatly increases the size of the cars “blind spot”. A driver can opt to have their driving ability impacted while they safely enter an empty spot by reversing in or deal with the hustle and bustle of reversing into a busy parking lot. Despite the efficiency and obvious gains from “fancy parking” some people have parked forward their entire life and have honed their spacial sense around a certain car or truck making the switch impractical, at least until the purchase of their next vehicle!
Totally besides the point, but the real wheels on some cars actually do pivot! :)
On top of the Honda Prelude, there's also the Porsche 911 GT3, the BMW 7 Series, Audi Q7, Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32, R33, R34 had HICAS), Renault Laguna (only in some European markets), Acura RLX (P-AWS), Lexus GS and LS, Infiniti Q50 and Q60, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado, and then to round out the list, the Lamborghini Aventador and the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
Start by driving forward until you can see both sides of the parking space, drive to the middle of the road (so the centre line goes through the centre of your car).
Reverse in full lock.
Use your wing mirrors to get the side of your car parallel to the white lines.
Reverse parking (as it is known in the UK) is one of a number of tasks than can be tested in a UK driving test.
I reverse park 99pct of the time. I think it's safer to be able to see where you are going when getting out of a space, so you can more easily see other cars, children etc.
I think it also makes more sense with the steering mechanics, and I find it easier than going in nose first.
> I've been told that in the army (UK) its illegal to park forwards. They had so many accidents that they banned it.
I've parked in numerous UK army bases over the years (as a civilian) and have never been aware of this. There might be something specific for soldiers whose specific trade is driving but not in general car parks. Some younger soldiers join up without a license and pass a normal civilian driving test as part of their career progression (taught by civilian driving instructors IIRC).
My first employer had this rule — reverse parking only. If you parked the wrong way then reception would send you back out.
Their argument for it was basically the same as the Army’s — with so many people working for them it became significant enough where it prevented a tangible number of people getting injured.
The other argument was that if you were getting attacked / mugged you could get away faster!
Backup cameras are increasingly the norm as older vehicles go out of service. But as someone who was exposed to a variety of different rental vehicles last week, it's increasingly hard to know what features a given vehicle has exactly, which are enabled, and how to use them.
It's hard when you get a loaner car from the dealer and that car doesn't lock when you walk away.
It's a habit you quickly forget. You're just walking away waiting for the beep. No beep, you have to press the fob.
I do also hate when dealers advertise the backup camera as a security feature. It's mandatory, you don't advertise seatbelts or airbags (unless there are 37 like in a modern Mercedes).
It totally makes sense with the steering mechanics (assuming you have a normal car that is steered using its front wheels) but if there is a low wall or bollards at the back of the parking space and you don't have sensors or cameras or whatever then you (or at least I) can't easily reverse-park and so entering the parking space involves changing direction about six times, and leaving it involves changing direction about three times.
If there's a narrow parking space with a narrow aisle in front of it then forward-parking is basically impossible so you have to reverse-park, so it's a skill worth having.
The first time I ever "forward" parked was after I passed my test. In fact, the examiner guided me into the space before telling me I'd passed! I wonder how many others in the UK go through the same experience.
It's all neat and supreme until you are coming out of a grocery store with 9 bags and an XXXL pack of toilet paper and realize that your fancy-parked trunk is way over there, in the bushes.
My father mainly parks with the front out and so when I started driving I did the same. Then I got together with my wife and we had children and she has to remind me of this grocery problem constantly.
I'm going to go out on a limb and bet the vast majority of people do. For the typical person going to a supermarket with a car where they can see what is available and looks good just isn't a big task--especially because you usually have other errands to run in a given week.
I got a ticket once for backing into a parking spot in one of the various the parking garages in Santa Monica, blew my mind as a European. After some Googling there didn't seem to be any consensus as to why you're not allowed to.
My hypotheses: The ability to check license plates on out of state cars where they're not required to have a front plate? Who knows.
There are quite a few parking garages I've seen that have some sort of obstruction on a certain wall height (pipes, part of the next level, etc). In those cases backing up can be dangerous as drivers might not notice those obstructions with car sensors/camera being located much lower, thus causing collision damaging the car and the garage. Parking forward is safer because there is more visibility and front part of the car is typically lower than rear.
In Germany there are tons of signs that you should not park this way when it's close to a wall, probably because of the exhaust fumes. Sure, it's not a law but I suppose the tenants or shops won't be happy if you follow the signs. Actually interesting thing to think about with electric cars now :)
In the UK when there are parking spaces next to a building with windows that may be open then there is often a notice telling people not to reverse-park because of the exhaust fumes. (So presumably there is an implicit exception for electric vehicles!)
I'm not sure I've ever in my life heard of that. Though there are a fair number of states that don't require front license plates. (That said I'm not sure how many of those states don't issue two plates when someone is getting new ones.)
I'm pretty sure plenty of enthusiasts wont put on a front license plate if they don't have to by law, the Firebird I was driving at the time even had decorative covers[0] available to fill the slot the license plate would sit in. Looked pretty neat.
I live in a rear-plate-only state. You get one and only one.
If they only require one, why would they pay the expense for providing two? Especially as "two different cars driving around with the same license plate" is one of the things you have plates to prevent. If it were only about taxes, you'd have a prominent tax sticker and be done with it.
My state switched from 1 plate to 2 plates (admittedly a long time ago) and if you had an old single plate there was no requirement to "upgrade" immediately. I assume the same thing has happened elsewhere. I only upgraded when the car failed state inspection because the plate had become less readable.
We get fresh plates with every redesign - you might be able to steal a tax-year sticker from someone's mailbox, but after X years (think it's six) they're going to redesign and an old plate will be obvious. Regardless of how long you've had the old one, when the new design comes up, everyone (except those who pay extra for a "themed" plate, not just a custom set of letters/numbers) gets a new plate.
Reverse parking. It's mandatory on most mining sites that I have visited in Australia, for safety reasons. The miners love to slam it into reverse and crunch their gearbox as they back into a space. Not good for when you are going shopping and need to access the boot, however.
As someone who has just moved back to Australia after ~20 years in the USA, I was surprised to notice how many people reverse park here. It seems to be an ego thing , particularly when I notice how many people do it at the supermarket, where it has to be super inconvenient.
Just park according to the intended use of the car. Are you shopping for furniture or other items which may require storing them in the boot during transit? Park headlights first. Is the parking space too tight? Park so that your driver's side is next to the neighbor's driver's side (tough luck if they're both facing opposite directions, but this is rare).
In a large parking lot, I usually try to pull through so I'm facing out if I can. But I'll back in if that's not an option and it's either a tight fit or I know I'll probably be leaving at the same time as a lot of other people, e.g. theater letting out.
"Is the parking space too tight? Park so that your driver's side is next to the neighbor's driver's side "
Finally! Another person who has this same rule!
Another one:
"If there is a column (ie you're in a parking garage) park as close to it as possible. The dead space behind the column gives you plenty of space to use the door and it frees up space on the other side"
I like how I can still tell if the layout of the page was done using tables just by looking at it. Brings back memories of my junior years.
Anyway, I didn't know my method of parking in narrow spaces is considered "fancy".
The parking spots in front of my apartment are three slabs of concrete, with a total width of 10.5m (34.5ft).
There's grass on both sides, so if everyone cooperates, you can fit five cars fully on the concrete - usually with one from somewhere in the middle parked in the "fancy" position so as to take advantage of the fact that two drivers share the same gap to enter.
You need to roll out of there to seat a child though.
Was assigned as ofroad driver during my military service. There I learned that what is called fancy parking should be the rule. When you have to leave (maybe in a hurry) you are set to go.
Since back then that has become my standard way of parking. It's also easier to park "back first" in constrained parking situations.
>It's also easier to park "back first" in constrained parking situations.
Not that I park in garages much but every once in a great while, I find myself in a situation when I just pull in forward where I'm not literally parked in but do have to inch the car out with very little clearance and a whole lot of back and forth turning.
Reverse parking is the suggested way to park a car by my employer in Norway for safety reasons. So yes, I reverse park every day at work to be compliant.
We also have a lot of diagonal parking. Probably not a majority, but very common in areas where you want one-way traffic flow like fast food. Those are almost impossible to back into, since you have to turn the car against the flow of traffic to get into it, and then reverse the process when you want to get out of the spot.
Rather than simply creating a website in photoshop then splicing it into multiple images with zero regards for accessibility, SEO, performance, or usability, sane web developers take their time to convert textual content to text. It's a way of saying to the world, "I'm not going to rush things, I'm going to support users with accessibility needs and actually make this site indexable".
It's all in a day's work for a web developer.
[Learn more](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML)