I often see signs for this in parking lots owned by many different towns, anywhere from railroad commuter to shopper parking.
My state mandates front and rear license places, so it can’t be so the plate is visible. And lots that don’t require any sort of parking sticker also require this, so it’s not so enforcement can verify the stickers as they drive by.
I’d think that it’s safer for cars to pull straight out of a slot than to back out, so presumably it’s not a safety issue.
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So they can read the license plate.
Many places do not have a front plate.
Your state requires front plates. Others don’t.
Every state requires rear plates. So the lot requires that all cars show their rear plates.
>My state mandates front and rear license places, so it can’t be so the plate is visible.
What about visitors from out-of-state? Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia do not require front plates*.
* List not validated for accuracy in 2025. Law changes may have occurred in some states.
It could just be they don’t like people who back in. It really could just be that.
I’ve seen this most often in angled parking, which is hard to back into and harder to pull out of without getting in everyone’s way.
Easier for parking violations bureau personnel to read all of the registration/inspection stickers on windshields if all cars parked in same direction
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Is this for angled parking?
I have seem this but really only for angled parking. The reason is the angle of approach requires you to go against traffic to both back into a spot and exit a spot so you are required to go head in as to prevent you from causing issues. Backing out of angled parking is the least obstructive way to exit into the direction of traffic vs pulling straight out across multiple additional meters to ensure clearance when you cut the wheel to join traffic.
If this isnt for angled parking its likely to enforce the ability for plater readers have easy access to view the plate and nothing more. You have people from out of state that come to your state surely. Only about half of states require front and rear plates.
Reasons I’ve heard:
hazards from people are more likely when parking (people getting in or out) and since you are pulling in your field of view is much better and it’s easier to spot people and especially kids. Backing in makes it harder to spot someone.
navigating into a parking spot is harder than backing into an open road so they’d rather people pull in (narrow space) and back out (wider space). This also makes it so cars are more consistenly aligned so you have less cars parked at an angle or with small gap on one side and large gap on other. This reduces door dings and whatnot.
not all cars have front plates, and even if all cars have front plates the rear plates are more uniform in placement and easier to read
for angled parking it’s truly the only way because of how the spots are aligned with the road. Otherwise you’re going “against traffic”
So that the back of your vehicle doesn’t stick out over the parking space blocking sidewalks or other parking spaces. People with large trucks tend to do this a lot, especially if they leave their trailer hitch attached.
Car exhausts. To keep the fumes away from dwellings/businesses.
They don’t like sooty stains from tailpipes on their wall.
A lot of traffic rules are about predictability. Why does the person on the right go first if two cars get to a four way stop at the same time? Because someone had to, and we just decided it would be right so everyone knows. You either have to back into or out of a parking spot and having some people backing in while others back out is less predictable because of the angle of the parking. They may not see each other and hit. If everyone heads in and backs out it’s easier to know what the other drivers are going to do and how they will turn, when they can’t see you, so it’s more predictable and safer. Everyone must back in could also work but then you would drive past the spot to back in and someone right behind you may not give you enough space thinking you were just driving to a different spot.
It’s one of several things. If the parking spaces are angled it’s basically impossible to back in and if you do you’ll be exiting the wrong direction. If they’re not angled it’s to preserve sidewalk access. If you have a truck and you back up until the rear wheels hit the parking stop it’s likely that your bed is overhanging the sidewalk blocking it’s use. If the parking is next to a building it could be to keep vehicle exhaust from collecting near the building (or under the roof) and annoying customers/public. Often motels have this rule for both these reasons.
Edit: Egregious typos
Edit 2: For maintained lots where the sidewalk or exhaust issue isn’t a concern it is almost certainly to be able to read license plates. Your state might issue front plates, but out of state drivers, who will definitely just pay the ticket instead of trying to fight it, may not have front plates.
Backing in has been proven to be safer than backing out:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847819308812?via%3Dihub
Since the actual data is pay walled
Huh, strange. I have only really seen it the other way around. Just so you can GTFO in case of an emergency.
I don’t know where you are, but I encountered this in a particular place, and the reason was security. It would be easier for cars parking with the head facing the street to make an escape.
You are going to see a lot of comments about safety were redditors claim that backing in is safer. And for good drivers in a controlled environment it very well might be (although for good drivers in a controlled environment there probably isn’t a difference safety wise)
But their are 2 good answers why nose in is the better and safer way to park.
The primary being, like many traffic laws… predictability. When driving through a parking lot or alongside parked cars, drivers and pedestrians expect cars to back out of spots. We also have reverse lights on cars, so you can see when a car is in reverse and moving or more importantly getting ready to move. What we don’t expect is for cars to suddenly move forward out of parking spots. By backing out, other vehicles and pedestrians expect it and get a warning/notice via reverse lights that the vehicle is going to be moving.
Second and this mainly applies to parking that boarders buildings/sidewalks… it points the cars exhaust and trunk/back away from buildings and pedestrians. When people back in they tend to back over the parking space and intrude onto the pedestrian areas. It also prevents people from blocking the pedestrian egress to load the trunks of their vehicles. It also points the exhaust away which can kill plants, cause pedestrian discomfort, and discolor buildings and other structures.
I lived at an apartment complex once that had this rule. The stated reason was that they wanted to avoid car exhaust damaging the plants growing at the end of the spots.
Head first always the way. Loath the butt first parkers
I noticed that in Japan everyone backs into space.
This n residential parking like in apartments or condos, it’s usually to keep exhaust fumes from going into windows.
So you’re the ass hole blocking traffic while taking 5 min to back in when you could have taken 5 seconds to pull in head first?
You’re faster and more accurate with your vehicle moving forward so you can pull into the tiny parking space faster going forward than in reverse. When exiting the parking space you don’t need as much accuracy since the road is much bigger than the parking space so it makes more sense to reverse out
I honestly think you’re more likely to hit a car backing INTO a parking spot rather than backing OUT OF a spot. Reversing is difficult no matter when you’re doing it, but when you back into a spot, there’s very little room for error. However, when you back out of a spot, there’s comparatively MUCH more room to maneuver, so you don’t have to be nearly as precise. I’m sure you could make the argument that an accident coming out of a spot would be more severe, because the other car could also be moving. This could be true, but if the other car is watching, they could also be more likely to move out of the way. (If you’re backing into a spot, even if someone is sitting in a car in a neighboring spot and watching you, there’s not much they can do if you’re about to back into them except honk at you).
The article was reviewed but the study wasn’t? I give up. You have no idea what you are talking about. Have fun.
People will argue that it’s safer but only if you’re ridiculously good at it is it quicker. Backing out isn’t unsafe unless you’re a numpty who simply guns it without bothering to see what’s going on. Don’t get me started on the long bed pickup trucks with hitches that stick out
At the college I went to they created a no backing rule when they got automated plate readers. They used to use stickers for parking passes, the new system just puts your plate in a database. A car with a reader drives by and checks the database to see if you are allowed to park.
You probably have to look at each situation as there could be different reasons, but in some places the problem with backing in is overhang. For example, if there is a sidewalk, especially pickups, backed in will overhang and block the walkway.
Because front in parking is faster, and with everyone having backup cameras, it’s also safer.
Not to mention the fact that backing OUT of a narrow space is easier than backing into one.
I would think a lot of it too is that it’s super hard to judge distances when backing in, so you’d hit the wall or block the adjacent sidewalk much easier. PLUS, most cars are fairly similar in their distance from bumper to front wheel, but rear wheel to back bumper differs more.
Usually the renewal sticker is only on the back plate. They want to see if they can give you a ticket just by driving by.
Before the mid 1980s, most cars were rear wheel drive. When they were in parking gear, the rear wheels wouldn’t move, so they were harder to tow when they were backed in (If there was something illegal on your car, like expired plates).