Backing In
The act of backing in a vehicle into a parking space (backing in) drives me crazy. More precisely, seeing others who have backed into parking spaces drives me crazy. This topic is the perfect example of the kind of obsessional thoughts that inspired me to create this blog. When I’m in a parking lot, and I see cars that have been backed in, I cannot fathom why. It is so much easier to just pull into a spot. When pulling in, you can line up the wheels equidistant between the parking space lines. Then, when it is time to leave, you just have to keep the steering wheel straight and back right out. To back in, you have to pull past the spot, look over your shoulder, keep checking your mirrors, and maneuver your vehicle into the spot. You can’t see lines, and most of the time, drivers never park straight. I hear the argument that the driver wants to do the ‘difficult’ work up front, so when it is time to leave, they can make a quick and easy get away. WTF?! Did you just rob a bank? Just put the car in reverse, keep the wheel straight, and back out!
What’s it to me? Why the heck should I care if somebody backs in there damn car? Nobody is forcing me to back in. Yes, why do I care? I don’t know. It just bugs the bejesus out of me. Every day I go to work, and I see cars that have been backed in, and the same monologue is repeats in my head: “Why did you back in? What could you have possibly gained by backing in? Who taught you this odd behavior?” My stomach gets tied into a knot, and my blood starts to boil. If I was to analyze my angry reaction to such a benign act as backing in a vehicle, I would probably surmise that this misplaced anger is a diversion and distraction by my unconscious mind to keep me from dealing with troubling issues buried deep within my psyche. Nah! Just really think that backing in is tantamount to treason.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are some legitimate reasons to back in.
- You need to unload cargo from your trunk/hatch into your garage.
- You are attending a sporting event, and if you don’t back in when you arrive, nobody is going to let you back out afterward, when the parking garage/lot is packed with drunk fans driving their F-150s back to the homestead.
- You just drove past a spot in a crowded parking lot, and it would be more of a hassle to back up past the spot to pull in, so you just back up right into the spot.
- Your girlfriend thinks guys that back in to parking spots are cool.
Other than the above, there are no reasons to back in. For all that is good and holy, please, please stop backing in. Oh, and by the way, make sure that you don’t park on the lines, park crooked, and for God’s sake, when you’re in the spot, turn the steering wheel so that your tires are straight. It is imperative that you follow these rules. Any deviation could cause the delicate balance of the universe to become undone.
December 26th, 2009 - 21:26
I don’t back I’m myself and it does bother me when I see it as well. My father in law is backer but I think it has to do with his Navy background. For those brief moments backing in they feel like a ship captain pulling into port, or a pilot just in from flying halfway round the globe pulling into the gate. So, yes, it’s most grown men acting like little boys acting like the grown men they wish they were or had been.
Or maybe it’s that you can see oncoming traffic better on the pullout?