Why Reverse Parking is A Safe Option
Research has shown that a lot of hazards happen in parking lots. A lot of factors contribute to these hazards. They range from carelessly parked cars, poorly marked parking space and even overcrowded parking lots. You can read on how to prevent hazards at a parking lot here.
Drivers need to be careful and vigilant at the parking lot. Some facts show that parking lot collisions are very common. They even reveal that driving at a lower speed does not reduce this collision. This happens because some drivers are usually distracted in the parking lot. Some might be driving out and texting at the same time. Drivers should pay attention to signs, the road and avoid their phones till they are parked. They should also use their seatbelts till they get down from the car.
In trying to prevent parking lot collisions, the reverse of parking is also a safe option. It can serve as a simple way to reduce the risk of collisions.
What does reverse parking mean?
Reverse parking means backing into a parking space so you can drive forward out of the space after. It is an easy way to prevent parking lot collisions. However, it is also a common means through which other road users get into accidents.
A Study of 2015 vehicle non-occupant accidents, carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in America found that 12,000 vehicle nonoccupants (eg. pedestrians or cyclists) were injured by vehicles backing up, and 284 were killed. This class of crashes, non-traffic, was limited to incidents occurring outside public traffic ways, typically driveways and parking facilities.
As a result, it was ruled that vehicles that weighed over 10,000 pounds had to be equipped with camera-based rear visibility technology. This has helped reduce accidents caused by reversing.
There are different myths associated with reverse parking.
Some of them include:
Reverse parking disrupts traffic more than forward parking. Reverse parking may disrupt traffic flow, however, the other option, backing out of a parking space is also disruptive and dangerous. It is also encouraged to enter the flow of oncoming traffic with the front of your vehicle, rather than backing the traffic.
Reverse parking is not safe: first, the main purpose of reverse parking is to ensure that it is safe for the driver to get out of the parking lot. This means that the driver can observe the surroundings and easily come out of the driving lot.
Reverse parking is a safe option when parking. Fleet safety experts have warned drivers against forward parking. The reason behind this is that parking forward puts pedestrians at risk.
The easy way to reverse parking is to locate two vacant spaces and drive through one of the spaces before parking in the other. Thus, the vehicle both enters and exits the parking space without ever backing up.
You might argue that most vehicles are equipped with rear-end cameras to detect the movement of other cars and pedestrians. The truth is no system is 100 per cent effective but for safety reasons, it is safer and better to do the reverse parking.
Quote of the day:
"The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goals, The tragedy of life lies in having no goals to reach" - Benjamin Mays
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Jun 20, 2021