Observations from
my weekly wanderings, usually in Northern Virginia (NOVA).
Prepare for a
life-changing post.
But first –
something more important than my tongue in cheek essay. My subject line is a
paraphrase from a speech by basketball coach Jim Valvano. It was his acceptance
speech for the inaugural edition of the ESPY Awards, Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Coach V was dying when he gave this speech, in fact he would die less than two
months later. It is one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard.
It also happens to
be V Week right now for the V Foundation – a non-profit raising money for
cancer research.
But all of that,
albeit far more important, has nothing to do with this life-changing post. I
just borrowed a line from Coach V’s speech – Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!
And altered it a
bit to – Don’t back up, don’t ever back up.
More precisely, don’t
back into a parking space. I’ll tell you why.
Perpendicular
parking: When the parking spaces are configured like this:
It does not make
sense to back into these parking spaces, yet I notice many people do. I presume
their thinking goes something like this – Hey,
if I back in now, I can just zip right out later. It seems to makes sense –
but it doesn’t; it still involves backing up, one way or the other, and the
truth is, it is MUCH easier to back OUT from between two cars, than it is to
back IN.
There is one
circumstance when it makes sense to back in. If you are going to rob the joint,
then you may back in to facilitate a speedy get away. But really? Think about a
get-away driver.
Other than the
robbery scenario it just doesn’t make sense to back in, so – don’t back up,
don’t ever back up.
This doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t pull through if the opposite spot is open. This makes perfect
sense as it eliminates backing up altogether. Go for it.
And really, if you
want to back in – feel free. It’s not logical; it doesn’t make sense, but
whatevs.
Diagonal parking
however, there is a definite RIGHT and WRONG in this scenario:
This configuration
is intended to be one-way traffic, and absolutely NOT to be backed into. You
pull in frontwards – easy, and back out – easy. And if the opposite spot is
open DO NOT pull through, because when you pull out, you will be going the
wrong way down a one-way row. Don’t do it.
Parallel parking: The
one scenario when you should back in. When parallel parking BETWEEN two cars,
you should pull past the spot, and back in. It absolutely does not work if you try to go in frontwards. It has to do with wheels turning at the front
of the car, and physics, and geometry. Backing in is correct, pulling in
frontwards is incorrect and won’t turn out well. Of course, if there are several
spaces open, you can pull in frontwards and move up to the foremost spot. Go
for it.
NOVA this week is
just a writing exercise. You are, of course, free to ignore my indisputable
logic.
Park and let park.
But if it’s raining
or snowing – PLEASE drive with your headlights on. It helps you BE SEEN, even
if it doesn’t help you see.
.
Archie Goodwin, in one of the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout, states that he always backs into parking spaces so that he can make a smooth and speedy exit if things go wrong suddenly. My rule of thumb is, if you're not Archie Goodwin, you don't need to do this, you're just wasting everyone's time as you finagle your way into a space that you could have pulled into easily if you hadn't felt like showing off.
ReplyDeleteYep...you and Ruthiella both make a point I meant to, but forgot. It just wastes others time.
DeleteOh man THANK YOU! I hate it when people back into parking spaces.... I always thing they are just showing off their mad skills at handling an automobile. Because where I live, it is always someone in a HUGE TRUCK doing this.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you...I felt I was being a little fussy, but I'm apparently not the only one this annoys.
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