Do you back into your driveway?

"Paul Hovnanian P.E." > wrote
> One car, yes. I have a narrow two car garage and its easier to get the
> drivers door open if it swings toward the center of the garage.

I'm curious: anyone have a two-car garage that they back one
car into, and front-end the other so that the driver doors are in
the center? This gives more room for the doors to swing open
and eases (at least for the driver) entry/exit. I do this sometimes
in crowded parking lots/garages when spaces are limited (or
some a$%^&* has taken more than his share - of course I'm
equally likely to park right next to them and block their door).

Floyd

Kevin Spencer wrote:
> I wanted to get some opinions about my behavior. I recently
> moved into a house (I'm house-sitting for a few years) and
> I have never had my own driveway before this move. I find
> myself always backing into the driveway now when I park, so when
> it's time for me to go anywhere, I can pull out forward, and
> I won't have to worry about backing into a small child or
> another vehicle.
>
> I have noticed that most others always pull forward into their
> driveways, in fact one neighbor did actually ask me if I
> "was planning to go to a fire" .... in a friendly way.
> Does anyone else back in to the driveway .... or am I
> unusual?

Probably a bit unusual, but there is nothing generally wrong with it.

My wife used to back into our driveway so that the driver's side door
would be on the center of the drive. It was narrow enough that people
getting out on one side would have to step on the lawn - she didn't
like stepping on the lawn in her work shoes (heels, etc). Since the
drive faced south, backing in kept the sun from beating in on the
through the back window and cooking our kid's car seat. She kept a sun
shade in the front window. We have recently moved, and I sold my boat,
so she has room to park in the garage now.

My company has a policy telling anyone driving a company vehicle to use
what they call "planned parking." Part of that is, when possible, to
park in such a way that backing will not be required when arriving or
leaving. When backing cannot be avoided, we recommend that it be done
on arrival, not departure. The idea is that when you back into a
paking space, you can usually visually clear it from the drivers seat
before parking when you arrive. And when leaving, it is easier to see
traffic hazards you may be pulling into when going foward rather than
backing.

"fbloogyudsr" > wrote in message
...
> "Paul Hovnanian P.E." > wrote
>> One car, yes. I have a narrow two car garage and its easier to get the
>> drivers door open if it swings toward the center of the garage.
>
> I'm curious: anyone have a two-car garage that they back one
> car into, and front-end the other so that the driver doors are in
> the center? This gives more room for the doors to swing open
> and eases (at least for the driver) entry/exit. I do this sometimes
> in crowded parking lots/garages when spaces are limited (or
> some a$%^&* has taken more than his share - of course I'm
> equally likely to park right next to them and block their door).

Same here. In my two car garage, I pull in and the wife backs in. This
leaves the tailgate of my SUV accessible for loading/unloading. we've
gotten pretty good at hugging the garage walls.

Kevin Spencer wrote:

> I wanted to get some opinions about my behavior. I recently
> moved into a house (I'm house-sitting for a few years) and
> I have never had my own driveway before this move. I find
> myself always backing into the driveway now when I park, so when
> it's time for me to go anywhere, I can pull out forward, and
> I won't have to worry about backing into a small child or
> another vehicle.

I back into my driveway and garage(s) exclusively. When I'm ready to
enter the VERY BUSY street I live on, I simply look left and right and
then let out the clutch and go when clear. If I try to back out of the
spot, it's like a roll of the dice cause I don't have a overall clear
field of observation of coming cars when I'm looking over my shoulders.

When I visit my parents, I back into their long driveway. Same thing as
above, my field of observation via peering over the shoulder is much
more limited than looking ahead when driving the car straight out of
their driveway. In fact, some years ago, after bringing the parents car
into the driveway via reversing it into the driveway, my parents, after
years and years of driving front-end-first into their driveway, so liked
driving straight out of the driveway cause I had made it possible by
backing their car into their driveway, that they now EXCLUSIVELY back
their car into the driveway.

When in parking lots I back into the parking spot (well except for the
angled spots which are clearly made for front-end-first parking). No
worrying about cars approaching as I try to back out.


>
>
> I have noticed that most others always pull forward into their
> driveways, in fact one neighbor did actually ask me if I
> "was planning to go to a fire" .... in a friendly way.
> Does anyone else back in to the driveway .... or am I
> unusual?
>
> Kevin Spencer

In article >, SlipperySlope >
wrote:

> Kevin Spencer wrote:
>
> > I wanted to get some opinions about my behavior. I recently
> > moved into a house (I'm house-sitting for a few years) and
> > I have never had my own driveway before this move. I find
> > myself always backing into the driveway now when I park, so when
> > it's time for me to go anywhere, I can pull out forward, and
> > I won't have to worry about backing into a small child or
> > another vehicle.
>
> I back into my driveway and garage(s) exclusively. When I'm ready to
> enter the VERY BUSY street I live on, I simply look left and right and
> then let out the clutch and go when clear. If I try to back out of the
> spot, it's like a roll of the dice cause I don't have a overall clear
> field of observation of coming cars when I'm looking over my shoulders.
>
> When I visit my parents, I back into their long driveway. Same thing as
> above, my field of observation via peering over the shoulder is much
> more limited than looking ahead when driving the car straight out of
> their driveway. In fact, some years ago, after bringing the parents car
> into the driveway via reversing it into the driveway, my parents, after
> years and years of driving front-end-first into their driveway, so liked
> driving straight out of the driveway cause I had made it possible by
> backing their car into their driveway, that they now EXCLUSIVELY back
> their car into the driveway.
>
> When in parking lots I back into the parking spot (well except for the
> angled spots which are clearly made for front-end-first parking). No
> worrying about cars approaching as I try to back out.
>
>
> >
> >
> > I have noticed that most others always pull forward into their
> > driveways, in fact one neighbor did actually ask me if I
> > "was planning to go to a fire" .... in a friendly way.
> > Does anyone else back in to the driveway .... or am I
> > unusual?
> >
> > Kevin Spencer

wow, but that's a horrible pet peeve

I front in *AND* front out of my driveway! All you need is a circular
driveway.

Banty > wrote in
:

> In article >, hubcap says...
>>
>>Banty > writes:
>>>>>Either way, there's a
>>>>>possibility of backing into something.. when backing in, or backing
>>>>>out!
>>
>>I think it is easiest to make sure you don't run over the kitties
>>by pulling straight in... you can more easily pay attention to
>>whether or not they run in front of you.
>>
>>Later, when leaving, you can look around for them, look to see
>>if they're under the car, and be pretty sure they're nowhere around
>>before you back out. If you fool around with the keys or something in
>>the car, you should get back out and check to see where the kitties
>>are to make sure it is still clear.
>>
>>Sounds like a lot of trouble, but my kitties are unrunover as of yet.
>>
>>-Mike
>
> Me too. Kitties and kiddies both
>
> It's a good point, though. When *leaving* my house, I have an easy
> opportunity to see if there is any kittie or kiddie activity around
> the driveway or sidewalk or street. Then I can 'afford' the lower
> visibility I would have while backing out.
>
> On the other hand, when I *arrive*, I can only see what I can see from
> the vantage point of my driver's seat in the street. For that I'd
> rather have the visibility to drive fowards into the driveway.
>
> Although - my current setup allows me to back towards my backyard to
> turn towards the street while leaving through my driveway, so I can
> drive forwards either coming or going. If I lived on a busy street,
> I'd put in a circular driveway if I at all could.
>
> Banty
>
>

You could put in a side pad (a 'T') to allow backing into that(90deg turn)
and then drive forward to exit the driveway.
It would also allow extra parking when needed.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

wrote in
ups.com:

> I front in *AND* front out of my driveway! All you need is a circular
> driveway.
>
>

Or a turn-around pad. (a "Tee" pad)
Drive in forward,and back into the Tee-pad(90deg turn) to drive out
forwards.
It even gives you extra parking when necessary.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 10:23:41 -0700, "fbloogyudsr"
> wrote:

>"Paul Hovnanian P.E." > wrote
>> One car, yes. I have a narrow two car garage and its easier to get the
>> drivers door open if it swings toward the center of the garage.
>
>I'm curious: anyone have a two-car garage that they back one
>car into, and front-end the other so that the driver doors are in

Yes.

It allows me to park both vehicles towards the outside, leaving a
larger center area to open the doors.

> Dennis M wrote
>
> A larger city close to me is now trying to pass a law
> preventing people from keeping their tarp-covered boats
> parked in their front yards, claiming it's too much of
> an eyesore. Usually, the only ones doing this are those
> who don't have the option of storing it behind their
> house or in a garage.

That's been the law in my home town in metro Detroit
for years, you have to store your boat or camper in
the garage and if it don't fit, then it will have to
go to a storage facility.

This is to prevent people from parking their gigantic
yacht or humongous camper in their driveway or backyard
364 days a year, making the neighborhood look like a
storage lot.

Of course if you're on good terms with your neighbors
and your boat/camper isn't that big, you can get away
with it.