In article >, QB3 says...
>
>It's a guy thing. Most of the people I see backing in are men. Women
>almost never do it.

Heh. Women do it too. We parallel park purty good, too! :-D

>
>It's a safety thing for me. Be it a driveway or a parking space, I have a
>much clearer view of the spot as I drive up to it, and I can then safely
>back into the space, right after I have observed it.
>
>When I am leaving, my observation of potential obstacles happens as I walk
>up to the vehicle and a few dozen seconds may pass before I actually drive
>out of the space. That's too much time, and animals and children have too
>great an opportunity to wander into the danger zone.

OK but explain to me if this is a guy thing - I'm talking about *walking* to
check things, as I do in the morning before I pull out as there are small boys
next door. (Come to think of it, this may be a big-garage-with-door-opener
thing) - I need to traverse from my house to my truck anyway. I'm not stuck in a
car seat. High, or low. Can peek around shrubs, too. More effective.

If I am to do that on arriving, I'd have to get out of my truck and walk around.
Not nearly so efficient.

>
>I live on a quiet street and don't normally have any vehicles behind me when
>I attempt to park. There are a lot of pedestrians in our neighborhood,
>though. The young ones are what I seek to avoid. The older ones usually
>know better than to walk behind a running vehicle when they can't see the
>driver's eyes in the mirror.
>
> My pickup truck and SUV have less visibility to the rear than most sedans.
>That reality demands back-in parking. I've been doing it for years, and it
>works for me. Lots of guys in our neighborhood do it. Something else may
>work for you.

Yep.

Banty