A Beginner’s Guide to Backing in a Car

I have a confession: I lived for 42 years without knowing how to back a car into a parking spot. Like everyone who has some kind of life problem, I don’t blame myself; rather I blame the world I live in. You see, I was lucky enough to live most of my life in areas where I didn’t have to drive OR where parking was ample and spacious enough that, if I did drive, there was always a parking spot available where I could simply just pull in, front first. But now that I live in a country with much less space and parking, backing in has become a necessity. And while there are many online guides for how to do this, I’ve found that they’ve all been a bit short of useful, for various reasons. So if you want something done right … 

Definition

So let’s get the definition straight. “Backing in” is also known as “reverse-bay parking,” “parking in reverse,” and probably some other things too that I’m too lazy to look up. It consists of moving into a parking space backwards: with the back of your car leading the way instead of the front.

Why Backing In is Important

This might not be as evident as it first seems. I always thought the big advantage to backing in is that you end up with your front facing out, so it’s easier to leave the parking space. But I always figured that it was easier to back out than back in, so never gave it much thought. 

Well, I was wrong. That was only a side advantage of backing in. The main reason is a bit more complicated, and deals with physics, and turning radiuses, and all that. But all you need to know is this: It’s really hard to pull into a parking space front-first if there are cars on either side of it. You need a lot of room to be able to sweep in a big arc and approach the space almost head on, or else you’ll hit one car or the other. But you can back in to pretty much any parking space as long as it’s as wide as your car. Don’t ask me why, that’s just how it is.

Why This Guide?

When I was learning to back in, all of the guides sounded something like this: “Make sure your car is about 5 feet away from the cars on your right. Pull forward until the bumper of the car that’s two in front of the space you want to back into is in the little triangle part of your rear window. Next …” 

Okay, I can’t remember all that when I’m trying to avoid hitting parked cars/pedestrians, and the car behind me is waiting whilst the driver is glowering. Additionally, the reference points can be a little different according to your vehicle’s turning radius. This guide will (hopefully) give you a simple method for backing in almost any car. 

Now, it might not be pretty–you probably won’t be able to back in in a single attempt. You might have to do a bit of maneuvering. Also, it might be tricky to park if there’s a car parked immediately next to your lane (which sounds weird, but happens more than you’d think in some countries). But this will give you the basics.

Parking on the Right or on the Left?

When you back in, it makes a little bit of difference which side the driver’s seat is on. In every country I’ve driven in, the driver’s seat is on the left side of the car, and people drive on the right side of the road. So to avoid confusion, that’s going to be how I phrase this guide. If you live in a place where it’s the opposite, well, just swap “left” and “right.” 

Now, it’s a bit trickier to park when the parking space is on your right. That’s because those few meters between you and the right side of the car can do a lot to mess with your spatial perception. And the bad news is that, since you drive on the right side of the street, guess which side you’ll be parking on the majority of the time?

The good news is that, with this guide, it won’t be too hard to figure out. And once you can park on the right, parking on the left will be that much easier.

The Guide

Okay, here we go. First, let’s set the scenario. Below is a picture of the place you want to park. Your car is, of course, the red one. I’ve labeled the front and back as reference points.  

1. Turn on your right turn signal to let people know you’re going to park. In some countries, they turn on their emergency flashers instead. Optional: Turn on rapper Juvenile’s 1999 hit “Back that Azz Up.”

2. As in the picture below, drive forward until your rear bumper is lined up with the left side of car B. It might be a little difficult to gauge where, exactly, your rear bumper is, since you’ll be sitting with your back to it, separated by literal tons of steel, glass, and upholstery, but give it your best guess. Make sure to look out your right windows to get a better estimate.

*Note: This position is not, actually, ideal for backing in in a single attempt. The reason I’m recommending this position is because I find it helpful for breaking down the process in an easy-to-understand system.

*Note 2: When gauging your distance, it’s better to not go far enough, than to go too far forward. If you go too far forward, backing in  will put you on a collision course with the front bumper of Car B. That’s not the end of the world, but it will mean that you’ll have to go back to your starting position, back up a little bit, and start the whole process over.

3. 
   A. Shift into reverse.
   B. Turn your steering wheel all the way to the right.
   C. Slowly begin backing up. 
   D. At this point, look out your right rear window to keep an eye on Car B. Make sure you can see the left front corner of the car (in other words, the entire front of Car B.) This lets you know without a doubt that you’re not going to hit it. 

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Although I’ve told you to look out your right rear window, that’s only the main focus of your attention. However, during the entire parking process, you should always be looking in all directions periodically to make sure there are no people walking, cavorting, traipsing, or cha-cha-ing around your vehicle. Always have your head on a swivel!

At this point, the situation should look like this:

The good news: You’re done worrying about Car B. The bad news: the trickiest part is next. The good news about the bad news: It’s still not that hard. Let’s break it down.

4. Look at your left side mirror as you back up. (Again, while doing so, always take time to look around you, especially your rear-view mirror, to make sure no one is hanging around your car.) At this point, you’ll probably only see about half of Car A’s front. You might not even be able to see it all. This can be a bit unsettling, but don’t worry. Slowly keep backing up. Little by little, Car A’s left front will come into view.

Now this is the part that takes a bit of spatial judgment. You see, at this point, your car is on a collision course with Car A. If you keep backing up, you’ll likely hit it. Don’t worry. Keep backing up until you feel like the back bumper of your car is starting to get close to the front bumper of Car A. Definitely err on the side of caution, here. It’s worse to go too far (and hit Car A) then to not go far enough. 

Here’s what the situation will probably look like about now:

5. 
   A. Shift the car into drive.
   B. Turn the wheel all the way to the left.
   C. Slowly pull forward. Eventually, your car will straighten out and look a little like this:

And at this point you’re almost home free!

Except, depending on how cautious you were with backing up previously, and how close the opposite row of cars is, you might not have enough room to straighten out. Your situation will look more like this:

No prob, Bob. Just repeat steps 4 and 5 until you’re in the position you want. It might take a little time, and you might feel a bit silly moving back and forth, but you just need enough room to make incremental movements, and soon you’ll be straightened out.

6. Once you’re straightened out, the hardest part is over, but you’re not out of the woods, yet. You have to back in without hitting either Car A or Car B. And how can you be expected to do that, if you don’t have eyes in the back of your head? Sure, you have the rear-view mirror, but that only reveals so much.

Well, that’s what those side mirrors are for. Use ‘em. Use both side mirrors to keep your eye on the sides of your car as you back up. At a certain point, you’ll be almost all the way in (make your own off-color joke here) and can see both cars to your sides, so you probably won’t even need to use your mirrors anymore. At this point, it’s just a matter of making sure you don’t go back too far and hit something behind you. 

7. Congratulations, you’ve done it!

A few other tips:

1. It’s not as intuitive as it seems. The physics of a car’s turning radius are different from a lot of other things we might back up, like bicycles, R.C. cars, and “dat azz.” So if you feel like you’re in some weird alternate world where things don’t back up like they should, you’re not alone.
   
2. Really crank that steering wheel! I find that it’s best to bring the car to a full stop before turning the wheel. My natural habit is to turn while moving, and when you add forward (or backward, as the case may be) motion to turning, it really complicates the turning radius.
   
3. Use them side mirrors! They’re not just for changing lanes, they’re also for reverse-bay parking. 
   
4. Safety first. Sometimes you can get so caught up in worrying about hitting other cars, that you forget to check for pedestrians. 
   
5. Practice if you feel uncomfortable. Go out late at night to a parking lot where you won’t have to worry about people driving around and causing you undue stress while you’re practicing. Or go to a parking lot with few cars–Nickelback concerts are a great opportunity for this. You might need to bring a couple of boxes, traffic cones, etc. If there aren’t any cars, it’s surprisingly easy to lose track of which space you’re aiming for, and placing some markers around your target can help keep your orientation.

The End!

And that’s how it’s done. Again, keep in mind that this is sort of an amateur’s guide. As you practice this technique, you’ll get more and more used to judging the space, distance, turning radius of your vehicle, etc. Good luck!