WEBVTT - What's the Best Way To Park?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Christian Sager here. Whether it's cooking an egg, skinning

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<v Speaker 1>a cat, or building an underground bunker to prepare for

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<v Speaker 1>end times, there is usually more than one way to

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<v Speaker 1>do most things. When it comes to driving a car.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, motorists tend to have some wildly varying ideas

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<v Speaker 1>about how to best get from point A to point B.

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<v Speaker 1>That's not to mention timeless driving debates over how to

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<v Speaker 1>occupy the far left lane on a highway, when to

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<v Speaker 1>turn on your lights, or if you should pull over

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<v Speaker 1>for a funeral procession. Then there's the question of what

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<v Speaker 1>to do when you want to stop driving and leave

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<v Speaker 1>your car somewhere. Many motorists are united in their strict

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<v Speaker 1>aversion to parallel parking, but how to navigate other spots

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<v Speaker 1>is still a source of some debate. Is it better

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<v Speaker 1>to turn headfirst into a parking space or to take

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<v Speaker 1>the time to park backed in facing out in what

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<v Speaker 1>some refer to as battle parking. Buckle up for the answer.

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<v Speaker 1>For both safety and efficiency purposes, the experts say it

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<v Speaker 1>is usually best to back into a parking space. That's

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<v Speaker 1>because having a wide field of vision is more important

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<v Speaker 1>when you're pulling out of a parking space than it

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<v Speaker 1>is when you're pulling in. Katherine Peterman, an architect who

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<v Speaker 1>has helped design parking lots across the United States, told

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<v Speaker 1>us that when you back in, it's into a defined

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<v Speaker 1>space where people aren't likely to be, but when you

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<v Speaker 1>pull out of a parking space, you're pulling into traffic

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<v Speaker 1>and possibly into pedestrians. Sure, technological advances like rear side

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<v Speaker 1>cameras and those sensors that make beeping noises when you

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<v Speaker 1>get too close to a person or another car, they

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<v Speaker 1>can help make backing out easier, but the effect those

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<v Speaker 1>cameras have had on reducing accidents has been gradual at best.

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<v Speaker 1>Peterman and Vanessa so Lisby, a spokesperson for the International

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<v Speaker 1>Parking Institute, say that it's because backing out is still

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<v Speaker 1>not as easy as driving out head first, and both

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledge that backing into a parking space is often easier

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<v Speaker 1>said than done. New or inexperienced drivers may feel uncomfortable

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<v Speaker 1>trying to negotiate a prime space backwards. The rest of

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<v Speaker 1>us may simply feel pressure or you know, hear the

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<v Speaker 1>shrieking horns from traffic as it piles up during the process,

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<v Speaker 1>as backing in can take a few more seconds than

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<v Speaker 1>pulling in front fender first. That's why Peterman recommends that

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<v Speaker 1>drivers look for spots where the space in front of

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<v Speaker 1>you is also open, so you can pull through. But

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<v Speaker 1>convincing folks to back that thing up is going to

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<v Speaker 1>take some time. That's especially true as smartphones, smart dashboards,

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<v Speaker 1>and other technological advances within cars compete for drivers time

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<v Speaker 1>and attention, and while the experts may say it's the

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<v Speaker 1>way to go, not everyone is so quick to adopt

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<v Speaker 1>the practice. Today's episode was written by Chris Opfer, produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tristan McNeil, and For more on this and other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit us at how stuff works dot com.