12-31-2012, 08:50 AM
I'm a 30+ year firefighter and have always parked "pointed out". But more so for two safety reasons... personal, and vehicle. If someone is following you on foot, and you've parked "head-first", you are likely to have your back turned to a 'follower' as you open your door... and can be overpowered and pushed into the vehicle. A vehicle facing out will turn you at least where you are able to see what's coming from left or right. For your vehicle, you're at a disadvantage when backing-out: You are looking backwards, limiting what you see; then think about how far you have to pull-out before you can actually see oncoming cars: If you're already pointing out towards the lane, you'll see the oncoming traffic much, much sooner. Which way does traffic enter a busy highway? Backwards would be suicide. But backing-in requires a driver experienced enough to safely avoid people and objects, and in a 'timely' manner. That seems to stop most drivers. And it's best if there's no other traffic close-by: People are not used to other drivers backing-in to parking spaces; they can easily pull-up so close that they block you from backing-up, or even "steal" the space you intended to back into. If you try this maneuver while there's other traffic nearby, you're not being considerate of others.