AAA is now recommending drivers park their car in a specific way and it'll divide opinion

The AAA (American Automobile Association) has done a 180 – pun intended – and is now recommending a parking technique that not everyone loves.

The recommendation is backed by data, but many drivers seem to have an aversion to it.

Ironically, there are safety elements at play in both cases.

But, unsurprisingly, the AAA is mostly focusing on the one that’s measurable.

Should you drive in and back out, or back in and drive out?

In a way, this debate is like a two-party situation where one party absolutely can’t stand the other.

The American Automobile Association’s new recommendation is fueling a trend that’s already on the rise.

Now more than ever, people are backing into spaces when they arrive so they can drive out more easily when they leave.

People who opt for this ‘parking technique’ call it a tactical choice.

By backing in when you arrive, it means you’re in full control of the maneuver right away, and you don’t have to worry about it later.

Translated, if you reverse park next to a MINI Cooper when you arrive, you won’t have to worry about it if the MINI has been replaced by a giant Ford F-350 when you leave.

However, people who are against it argue that this leads to road rage incidents, because it means other drivers have to wait while you back into the parking space.

Why the AAA says this parking technique is still the way to go

The American Automobile Association decided to focus on the element it can measure and count: accident rate.

Statistics show that backing in first and driving out later reduces the risk of accidents, and so the extra hassle is worth it.

Also, while nose-in parking is still obviously faster, the fact that vehicles are now fitted with accurate sensors and cameras makes the maneuver significantly easier than it would’ve been just five or 10 years ago.

Both ‘parties’ have a point, but it’s understandable that the AAA decided to focus on the safety-first approach.

The only alternative we can think of requires buying a Top Gear-style Salfa Romeab.

Around 20 years ago, James May on Top Gear drove a car that had two front ends.

At the front, you had an Alfa Romeo 164, and then at the (other) front, the car was a Saab 9000.

May called it the Salfa Romeab.

Well, with a Salfa Romeab, you can drive in and drive out without having to use the rearview mirror once.

There are ‘only’ 242 million licensed drivers in the US, so all you have to do is build 242 million Salfa Romeabs, and you’d solve the AAA qualm.

Below: May’s Salfa Romeab first appears on screen at minute 0:23

What the AAA says

We got in touch with the AAA and they confirmed that the data is clear on this front.

Perhaps even more than we thought.

“A 2020 study by Dr. Daniel Findley and others studied this specific issue and examined both the pull in/back out and the back in/pull out approaches to parking in 90 degree/perpendicular spaces, over a five year period,” Dr. William Van Tassel, AAA’s senior driver training manager, told Supercar Blondie.

“The team found substantial benefits to backing in/pulling out, compared to pulling in/backing out. Specifically, the study confirmed that backing out caused 90 percent of the accidents.”

The AAA also added that modern technology plays a key role, but it could be a double-edged sword.

“At least one study found that rearview cameras prevented almost 1 in 6 police-reported crashes. However, a substantial concern with such technologies is the risk of Behavioral Adaptation by the driver, where they choose to drive in a riskier manner and/or come to over-rely on specific technologies,” the Dr. Van Tassel warned.