1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hi brain Stuff. 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Lorn vog obam here with a classic episode from our 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: former host, Christian Sagar. Driving and parking are activities that 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: bring out opinions in many people. But does science have 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: anything to say about the best practices for parking? Christian 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: has the answer, Hey, brain Stuff, Christian Sagar here. Whether 7 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: it's cooking an egg, skinning a cat, or building an 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: underground bunker to prepare for end times, there is usually 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: more than one way to do most things. When it 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: comes to driving a car. For example, motorists tend to 11 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: have some wildly varying ideas about how to best get 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: from point A to point B. That's not to mention 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: timeless driving debates over how to occupy the far left 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: lane on a highway, when to turn on your lights, 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: or if you should pull over for a funeral procession. 16 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: Then there's the question of what to do when you 17 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: want to stop driving and leave your car somewhere. Many 18 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: motorists are united in their strict aversion to parallel parking, 19 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: but how to navigate other spots is still a source 20 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: of some debate. Is it better to turn headfirst into 21 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: a parking space, or to take the time to park 22 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: backed in facing out, in what some refer to as 23 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: battle parking. Buckle up for the answer. For both safety 24 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: and efficiency purposes, the experts say it is usually best 25 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: to back into a parking space. That's because having a 26 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: wide field of vision is more important when you're pulling 27 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: out of a parking space than it is when you're 28 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: pulling in. Katherine Peterman, an architect who has helped design 29 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: parking lots across the United States, told us that when 30 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: you back in, it's into a defined space where people 31 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: aren't likely to be, but when you pull out of 32 00:01:55,240 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: a parking space, you're pulling into traffic and possibly into pedestrians. Sure, 33 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: technological advances like rear side cameras in those sensors that 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: make beeping noises when you get too close to a 35 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: person or another car, they can help make backing out easier, 36 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: but the effect those cameras have had on reducing accidents 37 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: has been gradual at best. Peterman and Vanessa Soulsby, a 38 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 1: spokesperson for the International Parking Institute, say that it's because 39 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: backing out is still not as easy as driving out 40 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: head first, and both acknowledge that backing into a parking 41 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: space is often easier said than done. New or inexperienced 42 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: drivers may feel uncomfortable trying to negotiate a prime space backwards. 43 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: The rest of us may simply feel pressure or you know, 44 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: hear the shrieking horns from traffic as it piles up 45 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: during the process. As backing in can take a few 46 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: more seconds than pulling in front fender first. That's why 47 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: Peterman recommends that drivers look for spots where the space 48 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: in front of you is also open so you can 49 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,679 Speaker 1: pull through. But convincing folks to back that thing up 50 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: is going to take some time. That's especially true as smartphones, 51 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: smart dashboards, and other technological advances within cars compete for 52 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: driver's time and attention, and while the experts may say 53 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: it's the way to go, not everyone is so quick 54 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:28,839 Speaker 1: to adopt the practice. Today's episode was written by Chris 55 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,639 Speaker 1: Opper and produced by Dylan Fagan and Tyler Clang. For 56 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: more and listen lots of other topics, visit how stuff 57 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. 58 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 59 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.