5 ms·

Valets park cars all day long. And they back in. When you are parking, you have much more visibility of oncoming traffic, and the other drivers see you more cl

by jaxn 4y ago

Valets park cars all day long. And they back in. When you are parking, you have much more visibility of oncoming traffic, and the other drivers see you more clearly too. When backing out, you have less visibility and are less visible. It’s a terrible article. But backing in is absolutely the safer option.

michaelteter 4y ago
Obviously in terms of pedestrian safety, you're more likely to hit a pedestrian in the open/drive area of the lot rather than in a spot. So backing in is indeed safer for pedestrians. But for just about every other reason, it is impractical. Also, valets are more practiced and often are parking in areas where only they are placing and moving cars. So it's a more uniform, controlled environment. The cars are probably lined up better, making it easier to get in, and the other cars are probably not moving at the time since only the valets move them occasionally.
- avianlyric 4y ago
  > But for just about every other reason, it is impractical. Personally find backing in much easier that the opposite. You have far more control and manoeuvrability at low speeds when your turning wheels are at the “back” of a vehicle rather than the front. It takes very little time to get used to using mirrors etc when reversing, and then becomes trivial to put cars into all manner of awkward spots that simply impossible to get into when driving forwards.
  - adql 4y ago
    I remember few times when I just got into driving I was so proud of myself when backing in into a tight spot... then figuring out it was for nothing coz I can't get out of the car
  - michaelteter 4y ago
    I agree about what you say, but it completely ignores the point you replied to. You can't practically reverse into a spot when someone drives too closely behind you and prevents you from reversing, or when someone noses into that spot that you appear to have just driven past.
- lr4444lr 4y ago
  Correct: so since you're more likely to hit a pedestrian in the open area, you want more visibility when entering it on your intended departure from the lot, which is what you get if you had backed in.
smeej 4y ago
Valets back in because their customers don't care how long it takes them to park the car. They've already gone inside and are about their business. They only care how long it takes the valet to retrieve the car. Their tips depend on retrieving cars quickly. They also have captive lots no one else is driving in, and a system for navigating them that the other valets understand, removing ALL the other complicating factors that cause people to think it might be safer to head in. You can't extrapolate from their situation to everyone's just because they "park cars all day."

by jaxn 4y ago

michaelteter 4y ago

Obviously in terms of pedestrian safety, you're more likely to hit a pedestrian in the open/drive area of the lot rather than in a spot. So backing in is indeed safer for pedestrians. But for just about every other reason, it is impractical. Also, valets are more practiced and often are parking in areas where only they are placing and moving cars. So it's a more uniform, controlled environment. The cars are probably lined up better, making it easier to get in, and the other cars are probably not moving at the time since only the valets move them occasionally.

avianlyric 4y ago
> But for just about every other reason, it is impractical. Personally find backing in much easier that the opposite. You have far more control and manoeuvrability at low speeds when your turning wheels are at the “back” of a vehicle rather than the front. It takes very little time to get used to using mirrors etc when reversing, and then becomes trivial to put cars into all manner of awkward spots that simply impossible to get into when driving forwards.
- adql 4y ago
  I remember few times when I just got into driving I was so proud of myself when backing in into a tight spot... then figuring out it was for nothing coz I can't get out of the car
- michaelteter 4y ago
  I agree about what you say, but it completely ignores the point you replied to. You can't practically reverse into a spot when someone drives too closely behind you and prevents you from reversing, or when someone noses into that spot that you appear to have just driven past.
lr4444lr 4y ago
Correct: so since you're more likely to hit a pedestrian in the open area, you want more visibility when entering it on your intended departure from the lot, which is what you get if you had backed in.

smeej 4y ago

Valets back in because their customers don't care how long it takes them to park the car. They've already gone inside and are about their business. They only care how long it takes the valet to retrieve the car. Their tips depend on retrieving cars quickly. They also have captive lots no one else is driving in, and a system for navigating them that the other valets understand, removing ALL the other complicating factors that cause people to think it might be safer to head in. You can't extrapolate from their situation to everyone's just because they "park cars all day."