Rules on reversing

[artme]

Been thinking a bit about this lately in view o a number of bingles and near missee I have witnessed.
A sI understand it the onus is on the reversing driver to make sure they can proceed safely. Stupid, really when you think about it.
The ability of the reversing driver to see learly is severely restricted an in many cases it is impossible to know when if it is safe to proceed safely. This is especially so these days with the number of 4WDs and vans that are around. Seeing past them when reversing is impossible.
The driver moving forward has an infinitely better view of what is going on. I suggest onus for safety should liein the hands of these drivers.

[Gingermick]

I would imagine that he fault for any accident would lay at the feet of the vehicle that hits the other. If the reversing driver hits a car it's his fault, but if a driver hits the side of a reversing car it is his fault. (You'll appreciate that the two his's are different people.)
I give way to reversing vehicles in carparks generally.
But then, I'm not in a hurry and dont suffer road rage. I dont suffer idiots in cars much either

[Big Shed]

The ability of the reversing driver to see learly is severely restricted an in many cases it is impossible to know when if it is safe to proceed safely. This is especially so these days with the number of 4WDs and vans that are around. Seeing past them when reversing is impossible.

I would suggest if you can't see where you are going you shouldn't be reversing, or indeed you shouldn't go in any direction if you can't see where you are going!

[munruben]

I would suggest if you can't see where you are going you shouldn't be reversing, or indeed you shouldn't go in any direction if you can't see where you are going!

What you are saying is correct in theory BS but unfortunately its not always possible when, as Arthur stated above, if you are parked beside a van that blocks your view and you need to back out of the parking space, what can you do other than reverse out of the spot slowly to give approaching vehicles time to warn you of their presence. If you have another person with you, of course it would be prudent to have them direct you out of the parking spot.Again, not always possible.
Maybe there is something to be said in favour of reversing cameras fitted to vehicles. I don't know what kind of an image they give you of the area behind the vehicle but would be great if they had a fish eye option that would allow one to see what was in the close vicinity all round when reversing under these kind of situations. You are right, you shouldn't go in either direction if you can't see where you are going but bear in mind, its not possible to see round corners but we do have to go round corners.

[malb]

Have adopted a policy of stopping short of people who are reversing out of angle parking, pedestrians wanting to cross at intersections or crossings etc, people trying to enter busy roads whenever it is safe to do so..

By stopping gently and about 4 or 5 m clear, I signify to the other people that I am aware of their existance, and making due allowance for their needs.

[Rossluck]

I would suggest if you can't see where you are going you shouldn't be reversing, or indeed you shouldn't go in any direction if you can't see where you are going!

I'd go along with this. If you can't see where you're going when reversing then you've got yourself into a bit of a pickle. Backing out blindly in the expectation that "forward drivers" will avoid you is clearly not the answer. We forward drivers don't like reversers. Reversers sit in cars for ages in car parks waiting for people to drive or walk past, then on come the reversing lights ....

Seriously, the onus has to be on the drivers reversing because you're moving from a stationary position into the path of a moving vehicle (i.e., for the parked car moving is an option whereas the forward car is already moving). I think, though, that in general practice we forward movers are fairly tolerant and we reluctantly let you out .

[munruben]

. If you can't see where you're going when reversing then you've got yourself into a bit of a pickle. Backing out blindly in the expectation that "forward drivers" will avoid you is clearly not the answer.....

Rossluck, you can't tell me that you have never been in a situation where you have parked nose to kerb and while you have been away from your vehicle, that you have never come back to your parking spot and found a trades van parked beside you and blocking your vison.OK so backing out blindly in the expectations that the "forward driver" is going to stop is not the answer. Please tell me then, what is the answer..SIt there for an hour while the van driver comes back to his van?
I, like everyone else here, realise the problem but what is the answer. I think its just one of those driving hazards that all drivers have to be aware of and take the necessary precautions to make the best of a bad situation that sometimes cannot be avoided.

[BobL]

Maybe there is something to be said in favour of reversing cameras fitted to vehicles. I don't know what kind of an image they give you of the area behind the vehicle but would be great if they had a fish eye option that would allow one to see what was in the close vicinity all round when reversing under these kind of situations. You are right, you shouldn't go in either direction if you can't see where you are going but bear in mind, its not possible to see round corners but we do have to go round corners.

I have two cameras fitted to the rear of my van. One can see from the towbar area out to about 2m from the back - very useful if a small child is standing right there!. The other sees from about 1.5 m out to about where I can see with the rear view mirror - this is very useful for parking. I have them wired to come on automatically when in reverse or I can use an override switch and have them on all the time. Neither camera see much to the side which is what side mirrors are for but that doesn't help if you are inside a blind alley.

The other thing to use are fish eye mirrors mounted on the rear. These are useful but not foolproof as objects at a distance can be quite small and hard to see.

The other thing about reversing cameras is the image they produce are not the same as a rear view mirror. My screen is mounted just above the rear view mirror so they can be seen simultaneously. The camera images can be flipped to be mirror images but to me it looks dumb to have the screen image showing as a mirror image - it's a screen after all - not a mirror so I have it showing a true image. This can be very confusing to some people and could for example lead one to veer in the wrong direction - ie straight into the path of a chasing vehicle. I'm now used to it but I worry about when other people use my van.

And BTW nothing works very well at night!

[munruben]

Thanks for that Bob

[Rossluck]

Rossluck, you can't tell me that you have never been in a situation where you have parked nose to kerb and while you have been away from your vehicle, that you have never come back to your parking spot and found a trades van parked beside you and blocking your vison.OK so backing out blindly in the expectations that the "forward driver" is going to stop is not the answer. Please tell me then, what is the answer..SIt there for an hour while the van driver comes back to his van?
I, like everyone else here, realise the problem but what is the answer. I think its just one of those driving hazards that all drivers have to be aware of and take the necessary precautions to make the best of a bad situation that sometimes cannot be avoided.

I was only having a bit of a joke, John. But technically speaking the onus has to be on one party to give way, and it'd be ludicrous to allow reversing people to have the right of way to come thrusting out into the pathway of travelling vehicles. The way it is now, the people reversing have to exercise caution knowing that if they back into someone they're in trouble. It just won't work the other way around. Every time you drove through a car park some idiot would come flying blindly out of his or her perfectly safe spot next to a van or 4WD to force you to brake. But if you back out slowly and cautiously, you can usually encourage the forward drivers to let you out (not that you people deserve to come out. Because you like to hide in your cars, we like to drive around and around carparks so we can keep you in )

I agree with what you wrote here: "I think its just one of those driving hazards that all drivers have to be aware of and take the necessary precautions to make the best of a bad situation that sometimes cannot be avoided".

[DavidG]

The old adage " Do unto others"

[Sturdee]

There is no easy way sometimes unless you park in such a way that you can drive out of a carpark spot without reversing, eg drive through to the front or reverse into the carpark spot. For many years I drove a car with very limited reverse gears and I was always able to park in such a way.

BTW the Vic law requires a reversing driver to give way to everything, not only all other cars but cyclists and pedestrians as well. So in the event of any accident the reversing driver will always be legally at fault.


Peter.

[joe greiner]

I've adopted a practise similar to malb's, i.e. creeping backwards in steps to alert others. This works reasonably well at supermarkets with diagonal or perpendicular parking, as I need to park nose in for loading access to the rear.

For most other situations, I try to park nose out so I have better control when un-parking. I took up this method years ago, when I resided in a small townhouse development with a central parking lot; the parking lot was also the "playground," and I didn't want a tricycle wrapped around the bumper. Backing into the parking space can be an adventure, though, unless I can make my intentions obvious, e.g. use of turn signals. Block traffic both ways if necessary.

In Oosa, large trucks and buses are required to have back-up alarms, usually a small rotary hammer inside a bell-shaped hubcap; at higher forward speed, the hammer resides outward. Sounding the horn in brief toots seems to be a workable substitute for smaller vehicles.

I'm of two minds about flipping the camera image. I always use outside mirrors when reversing, so I'd prefer the image to be flipped for consistency. That's just the way I learned to reverse, especially with a trailer: for straight travel, just turn the top of the steering wheel toward the mirror image; nice to have the option when/if I install cameras.

In any event, Murphy (Murphy's Law) is my constant companion, but not my loyal friend.

Joe

[Dingo Dog]

Reverse into the parking/parked area first, then you can see when you drive out. Its the way I park everywhere as I have a 4X4 ute with a canopy. Same goes in my driveway, I reverse up the driveway on mirrors. Read somewhere years ago about it was illegal to reverse out onto a road from your property, as I live on a bend in the road I nearly got cleaned up by a big truck one day so from that day forward I reverse up the driveway or into parking spaces so I have a clear view of what is happening in front of me.

D D

[Ashore]

DD a good point espically in shoping center car parks ......but unfortunately here in NSW there are places that require and are posted nose to curb and if you don't fine ,,, the stupidity of the government it should always be rear to curb for the reasons stated by DD