Head in Parking Only

Southern Ray · Sep 6, 2019

Big Tee's post below about the pickup's hitches brings back memories of my youth.
I grew up in a small farming community. At the crossroads there was a general store.
Very nice and well kept. You could buy anything from bubble gum to windmills.
In front of the store was a sign that read "Head in Parking Only." Not a homemade sign, but a highway style black lettering on white.
I was too young to drive and for years when I read the words I just never made the connection.
Even when I started driving I just pulled up to the curb and never gave it a second thought.
A few times I saw a pickup backed in, but they were loading sacks of parts or such and I guess they got a pass.
There was a gas pump. Many cars had the fill spot behind the license plate. You needed to back in.
Fast forward fifty some years, I have been driving a Chevy Silverado with an extended cab for the past fifteen years.
I have found it much safer to back into a parking slot and then pull out driving forward rather than backing out.
In every parking lot I look for a slot where I can drive out forward.
But in all my years of driving I have yet to see any such "Head in Parking Only" sign anywhere.
Has anyone else seen any such sign?

Ellis Kinney · Sep 6, 2019

I have. I grew up in rural Ky. where each town had a town square with no parallel parking and a one way counter clockwise trip around the square. All the parking spaces were head in at an angle. Ellis

jeffcat · Sep 6, 2019

Yes. Quite rare but you see those in older and small towns. Least my experience. You can see a couple in up state, NY. What gets me is people backing into a normal parking space. What is even stupider are the goofs who will back into a double head to head space where they could have just driven through to the other side. What is wrong with their brain??? I did ask one guy about three months ago why he backed into a space. His answer was "I always do". Then he just walked into the store. What.... ever.

MarkB_MI · Sep 6, 2019

It's not so uncommon in states that don't issue front license plates.

fastfarmall · Sep 6, 2019

Kinda reminds me as a teenager, my neighbor, had this old Desota, that he was proud of, fender skirts, foxtails,white walls, and things hanging on it, well at our local dance hall, as a teen,he backed in instead of head in parking, well about a 1/2 hour, into the dance, the city cop came in and got him and made him move his car! So much for trying to impress the girls!

504 · Sep 6, 2019

We always had a good car and one or two that ran but you did not want to take them across the state line(you might not make it back home). Dad always backed the El Camino in at night because the tranny would slip in reverse when it was cold. He drove it like that for five years,then we bought a another car and changed the 350 and the tranny. I had a 58 VW with no reverse and I always tried to back in with it.

markct · Sep 6, 2019

Usually the places I have seen these signs were places up against a building, I always assumed it was so exhaust fumes wouldn't enter the building from a running car as easily

markct · Sep 6, 2019

With a long truck in a narrow aisle parking lot it is much easier to back into a spot than swing into a spot forward

showcrop · Sep 6, 2019

I haven't seen any in a long time, but there used to be some in northern NH where the parking was supposed to be head in angle style but some people wanted to just pull up to the curb parallel so that they could just drive forward when leaving, and take up three spaces.

john in la · Sep 6, 2019

I only remember those signs where you street parked at a angle to the curb/sidewalk.

I know of companies today that only allow back in parking for safety.
If they catch you pulling into a parking spot they will remove your right to drive on their property.

K Effective · Sep 6, 2019

I know of companies today that only allow back in parking for safety.
If they catch you pulling into a parking spot they will remove your right to drive on their property.

At work, we are just the opposite. You must pull into every spot and back out. Ours are angled head in parking only, I guess.

Steve@Advance · Sep 6, 2019

Seems I've seen them before, can't remember just where.

I took it to mean head in as opposed to parallel parking.

We do work for a few oil and gas companies, supplying small "down the hole" parts.

When ever one of us has to go to their facility, one of the many rules is no head in parking!

You must back in to the parking space.

Reason is in case there were an emergency evacuation, it's faster to get away heading out than backing out.

It's a company wide rule, even though there is nothing at these facilities but warehouse and assembly, they have the same rules as the drilling sites.

oldsarge · Sep 6, 2019

HOW ??? with no reverse !!!!!!!

MtMan · Sep 6, 2019

Just maybe it was for the customers who drove a horse and buggy to the store.

john in la · Sep 6, 2019

[b:654c4848f0]Reason is in case there were an emergency evacuation, it's faster to get away heading out than backing out.[/b:654c4848f0]

Aint no oil company gona allow you to drive away during a emergency evacuation.

The reason I have been told was you can survey the surrounding area much better for pedestrians and other cars as you pull up to the parking spot so backing into the spot is safer than backing out of the spot.

Pete in MD · Sep 6, 2019

There's a lot of those signs at the ocean beach area on the Virginia side of Assateague National Seashore Park.

Steven-Id · Sep 6, 2019

Just earlier this week I was in Victor,Idaho. In the town of Victor you are required to back in. All of the lines are painted diagonally that way.

Steven

jeffcat · Sep 6, 2019

Naaaaa...I have the extralong the XL Ford Expedition monster truck. Never have any parking trouble. And I can back up a four wheel farm wagon. Grin

At the market several years ago a guy pulled into a handicap space with plenty of space all around. He took his left fender all of the way down a white car in the adjoining space from the rear all of the way to the front. ScrEeeeeeeeee. I have no idea what his problem was.

Bruce from Can. · Sep 7, 2019

It is mandatory for local township employees to back township vehicles into parking spots only. Failure to obey this rule can lead to financial penalty, and after several offences dismissal. The reason is of course, insurance. The auto insurance company that covers the township says most parking lot fender benders happen when a driver is backing out of a parking spot, and another car enters the lot and drives behind the parked vehicle, not realizing it is about to back up.

tractorsam · Sep 7, 2019

We have no front license plates here. I?ve seen similar signs where they are monitoring the parking.

Also I work on a lot of mining sites and they are mostly back in parking. The idea being when a vehicle moves from stationary it should always be forwards first.

r.w.b. · Sep 7, 2019

1 thing pull in n if some who cant drive will do less damage,usually you can drive to body shop baack in might find somebody rammed your radiator

DIM · Sep 7, 2019

Cars have more over hang on the back than the front Therefore if you pull in you block less sidewalk

Steve@Advance · Sep 7, 2019

John, that's what the "safety coordinator" told me, it was for quick get away.

Now he might have meant at quitting time though!

He also told me that I had to walk to the other end of the shop and use the personnel door instead of walking under the overhead door, as it would likely fall on me and kill me!

And stay inside the yellow lines, hard hat, safety glasses, steel shoes, visitor badge, sign in, sign out, why you here?, when you leaving?, who you with?...

But when the money got tight, guess who was the first to go!

Yep, Barney was not a popular employee.

Tony in SD · Sep 7, 2019

Yes I have seen those signs many places. I drive a F350 crew cab 8 ft bed, so I back in every change I get. And I?m careful where I park because sometimes the little cars can make difficult to get out.

1948CaseVAI · Sep 7, 2019

We have head in parking signs on city parking lots where tickets are issued for being there too long. It is so the people writing the tickets can see the vehicle tag - we do not have front plates.

Jeremy in DE · Sep 7, 2019

(quoted from post at 21:16:05 09/06/19) But in all my years of driving I have yet to see any such "Head in Parking Only" sign anywhere.
Has anyone else seen any such sign?

Quite common in some municipalities I've been in recently, though rarely or never seen in others.

When used, the reason is often for parking enforcement. (Maybe a two hour limit, or their modern parking "meter" systems, etc) This is done by licence plate. If all vehicles are head-in the enforcement official can just go right down the line and see/read all the plates. (No front plates in my state or some of the nearby ones.) While on a trip recently I saw several back-in vehicles get ticketed.

Not saying any of this is good/bad/wise/foolish, just sharing how things are in my neck of the woods.

rdandersom · Sep 7, 2019

Supposedly Bell Canada paid for a study back in the 70's on what driving practices their employees should be using. Bell vehicles have been parked facing out since then. Your brain is supposed to be in "driving mode" when you are backing in and you have a better idea of what is around you. The flags in the little sockets and 4 orange pylons each and every time they go for coffee is probably overkill. I try to back into parking spots if I can even at home. Part of that comes from long experience with under maintained vehicles needing to be boosted when you least expect it.

Steamboat · Sep 7, 2019

My Dad taught me many years ag to "Head your horses for home." That means you will do much less damage backing into a parking space than backing out. Also.... I will second that thought about Ma Bell telling employees to back in.

K Effective · Sep 7, 2019

My Dad taught me many years ag to "Head your horses for home." That means you will do much less damage backing into a parking space than backing out.

My Grandpa once told me "Don't put your equipment in a place where you can't pull out quickly without losing your load." I'm not sure he was talking about parking the car.

Two Dogs · Sep 7, 2019

I always back in if possible. I learned at an early age to back my motorcycle in if the parking space slanted downward. Do you know how embarrassing it is to ask a stranger to help you get your M/C pushed back to the street? TDF

Mike M · Sep 7, 2019

Well I remember in the 1980's in the town of Wooster Ohio if you backed into the down town parking spots you could get a ticket ! And I do not think the had any signs saying not to do it either. Now since they remodeled the center of town a lot of those parking spots are gone.

RN · Sep 7, 2019

Head in for angle parking, some for the no front license states. I tend to back into parking spaces unless diagonals. Lots of professional drivers, emergency service drivers do the same from training- easier and safer to drive forward leaving parking spot especially if emergency call as if a EMT, firefighter. Foe delivery work- back doors at sidewalk area easier and safer than unloading/loading in street traffic. One other reason some people may recall- getting out of red neck bars close to closing time or when bottles start flying, blood on floor and shots fired- time to GIT! before police cars block driveway. RN

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