Click the photo above for a quick video that was played in Times Square in March

This weblog has been rolling around in my mind for several years now. I notice this trend everywhere I go and although I am a senior citizen, nothing has baffled me as much as people backing into parking spaces. Now they do it in droves. (Note: is there another way to use the word ‘droves’ without the word ‘in’ before it?) Asking for a friend.

Before I go another further and you think less of me for being prejudiced about the concept of backing in, I have to share than I am an expert. In our garage we have a wheelchair ramp, and the only way a passenger can get from the car to the house is if I back the car into the garage. I have a clearance of a couple of inches between my path and the trash barrels, and the back of the car and the ramp, so it is an act of precision every time. Yes occasionally I bump a side mirror or two, but most of the time I am impressive enough to get a comment from my wife on this particular thing I do well.

Years ago when I lived in Memphis, a kitchen manager who has long passed away, had a soft spot for married women and he told me he backed into his space at the No Tell Motel so he could make a quick getaway if someone showed up.

But backing in at the supermarket?

• Maybe people like the camera in the back and it gives them confidence?
• Maybe people like to show off?
• Maybe people like to stop all the traffic behind them?

Sometimes I see an entire row of cars backed into spots, and of course, there are always a couple of extended bed pickup trucks with their hood halfway into the driveway.

I surveyed readers a few months ago in preparation for this weblog, and got a couple of comments in favor of backing into parking spaces that follow, but I remain unconvinced.

THOUGHTS IN FAVOR OF BACKING IN

From Jim in Florida: I don’t drive big trucks, but I do back into spaces.

You have to either back in or back out, and it is easier to just pull out than back out — even with the newfangled rear cameras.

At work I backed my car in so my warm engine wasn’t close to the wall, and less chance for little critters to crawl into my engine bay on a cold winter morning — so they could be “snug as a bug in a rug”.

From Joe in Massachusetts: I think it’s easier for trucks to back in because nothing in their background will move when they do so they know their obstacles.

Backing out of a spot the driver might not see oncoming cars or people but if they back in their sight line in pretty much in line with whatever is around them pulling out of the spot.

From Linda in Massachusetts: I like backing into spots because my car is a piece of junk and sometimes it might need a jumpstart.

THOUGHTS OPPOSED TO BACKING IN

Voting on the other side of this argument was a former client in the United Kingdom (originally from Cincinnati), who sent me three emails on the subject, reproduced here in their entirety:

Email Number 1: Backing in or reverse parking as they call it in the UK is one of my driving pet peeves. In the UK, they actually test you on it as part of your driving test! If you can’t reverse park you will fail. Of course given that everyone over here has to learn how to do it to get a license, they all feel obliged to reverse in and show off their skills every chance they get. 

Personally, I find it incredibly rude – rather than quickly and efficiently pulling into the spot and letting traffic move smoothly through the parking lot, you decide that everyone else should wait while you back into the spot. Typical of the ‘me first’ attitude in today’s society. Yes, it makes it easier to get out of the space, but again it all comes down to whether you prioritise your own personal convenience or the greater good of not blocking off the whole traffic flow while you make 5 attempts to reverse into a spot! I think I should stop there as I have firmly entered “get off my lawn” territory.

Email Number 2: As if on cue the universe has given me the most outrageous backing in story to share with you today. This morning as I was pulling in to a parking lot the car ahead of me slowly passed three empty spots in a row, stopped and rather than simply put on the turn signal (the standard sign in England that you are about to reverse into a spot) put on his hazard lights to make sure that the whole parking lot knew that in spite of it being 11:30 AM on a Saturday morning at a very busy city parking lot this was his big chance to finally back into a spot. 

As if he had been waiting his whole life for three empty spots to give him the courage to try. Now you may wonder what it was about this that made me feel the need to send you a second e-mail on backing in. Well, this row of 3 empty parking spots was in a single file row of spots with traffic lanes on both the front and back of the spot. I will let you visualize that for a moment. Yes, that is right, all you need to do is pull straight into the spot and when you return to your car you can drive out straight ahead. 

But on the busiest shopping day of the week, at the busiest time of day when the lunch crowd is all arriving, this genius decided he needed to get in some backing in practice. As a kid growing up in the 70s, I took delight in the various urban legends that circulated at the time including big foot, the loch ness monster and UFOs. I can tell you for certain now that one of those urban legends, spontaneous human combustion, is definitely a myth, because if there was any truth to it, after this morning’s experience I would now be a small pile of ash in my car!

Email Number 3: Ed. Just wanted to send you a picture of the parking spots where backing in should get your license revoked.

I agree with Chris, and I want to publicly thank him for writing a third of this weblog and saving me some time and effort. (Thanks also to Jim, Linda and Joe for their contributions).

We are huge Deana Carter Fans since the 1990's and my son has connected with her 26 times at Meet and Greets or backstage after a show. (Check out this Weblog for more).

The photo on the left below was taken many years ago in Nashville at a fan club party, and we recreated it last month at TD Garden in Boston before the 'Blake Sheldon Friends and Heros' show.

I think everyone still looks pretty good.