I can line up with my side mirror and back in almost just as quick as I can pull in, and then I don't have to potentially back into traffic and risk some asshole flying up on me without me expecting it or hitting a pedestrian.

Also, I drove ambulances for a long time. You always always always back emergency vehicles in. 1. To always be prepared to respond 2. Scene safety. It's absolutely drilled into our heads from day 1 of EMT school that you are able to leave a scene faster than you got there if something goes very wrong very quick.

So many years of backing an ambulance in to park everywhere I went and I don't even think about backing my tiny ass Honda into a spot now. It feels incredibly wrong not to.

Living in Japan for a couple of years made me this way.

I mostly pulling forward. Sometimes there is a smaller and packed parking lot, where the turn radius of my vehicle will not make it into a spot going forward. It could be done but I’d have to spend an extra 10 min to Austin powers my way into a spot going forward and then do it again backing out. In cases like that I find it much easier to have the turning point of my vehicle in the drive lane so I can have a better swing to line myself up and back in. It’s just better for everyone in that scenario.

Because self center assholes walk behind me when I am in the middle of backing out, then get mad because I almost hit them. All this from a handicap parking spot.

Practical reasons aside (visibility and ease of pulling out) I simply prefer it.

Passenger door to passenger door doubles the available space for your door to open on the driver's side. Especially important with kids you need to get in and out where you can't just slip through.

Because my HOA doesn't allow it so I do it anyway as a fuck you to them.

Tesla autopark backs the car in.

I already knew what the answer would be, and we have 20 people saying the same thing. But in my experience, the people who back into parking spots are among the worst parkers.

They save time pulling out, but they take ages to back in, generally speaking. Especially in a busy area where cars are lined up to find spots, you're waiting for every car in front of you to park before you can drive past them to the next spot.

You've got all these answers that include "it's easier" and "it's safer". Yet in the same posts they insult people who don't have the same opinion as them. I hate people that back in because it wastes my time waiting for them to maneuver when it's quicker to just pull forward.

When you're leaving a parking spot and backing out all the same logic applies that these bozos use to justify backing in, but it's more socially acceptable and doesn't require accuracy, which speeds up the process. People that HAVE to back into parking spots are control freaks.