Front End Parking vs. Concrete Bumpers

As a person who always backed into a parking space, the low front end was never a problem until we got a condo in south Florida . I was chastised for not parking front end in...."it is the law."
So now I very gingerly creep up to a point where I know my rear end isn't sticking out and I should be somewhere near the concrete wheel stop and park. Only once or twice have I had to go back and move the car forward a bit.

 

Just go real slow. And what scrapes underneath doesn't show anyway.
But I once backed into a spot over a curb, and a whole section got caught and peeled off the rear. It snapped back into place, leaving marginal creases. So it is important to pull away from the concrete real slow, in case a part of your car gets caught on the curb.

 

One of the "Super Cars", and I can't remember the model right now, but it's one of the top of the line, actually has a button to press that raises the front end for when the vehicle is leaving the track, going down a driveway. It's primarily designed to function best on a racetrack so it's incredibly low to the ground.

I wonder if something like that couldn't be transfered to "regular" automobiles. It would probably be cost prohibitive, but a "parking, curb, driveway" mode button that raised the front end to avoid damage would be "cool". As all cars get more gas efficient, lower to the ground and more aerodynamic seems parking lot curb scrapes and driveway damage becomes more and more prevalent.

Of course the first time I scraped my car because I forgot to hit the button, or didn't and thought I did, I'd be pretty upset.

 

Are these just a suggestion, or do you know if these can actually be screwed on some place on the Prius?

I can afford these more than a $200 back up sensor array, but these come in several styles and wondered if anyone actually tried to screw a set on?

 

with the short rear end of the prius, i just eye-ball it to make sure my front wheels are behind the front wheels of the car next to me. im never sticking out, and with that method, i stopped hitting parking blocks.

 

Just a thought, sadly one one has invented curbs here in the Delta yet, no side walks.

 

This doesn't answer the specific question you asked, but when I park at work, I have the same issue parking up against a wall. I turn on my headlights and watch as the light reflecting on the wall get smaller and smaller as I edge forward. When I can barely see the light on the wall, I know I am close enough.

 

I discovered a reference point to use, providing the curb is continuous, or adjacent parking curbs are parallel to the one you're approaching: the bottom of the driver side mirror. When I can see the curb under the mirror I'm about a foot away.

This depends on driver height so feel free to experiment.

 

As others have said, the front end of the Prius is fairly short, so I think the problem is mainly a matter of getting used to where the limit is.

In my old car, I had it dailed in so well that I could park behind my friend's pickup truck so close there would be barely an inch in-between. :evil:

 

I use the bottom of the mirror also as a guide for nose-in parking, but diagonal parking still causes me a bumper scrape once in awhile!

 

Not being able to see the bonnet is one of the few things I don't like about the Prius.

During close manoeuvres I find opening the driver window can help as you can see the side of the headlight as a reference point if you lean out slightly.

 

It actually doesn't seem like I hit nearly as often in the gen III as I did in my gen II. That may be because I'm just comfortable stopping shorter then before knowing that the car just doesn't stick out the back very far.

I really dislike people backing whatever they have into stalls. I think there should be a law against it. ...Just like people who have just got to hold up traffic in a parking lot for that special spot someone is leaving from when there are half a dozen spaces available fifty feet away. How lazy and inconsiderate of other drivers can you get?

 

Great tip!!! I am a new owner and went to practice parking in a school parking lot yesterday. I tried your tip and it works like a charm!!! Thank you!

 

I recommend that you never drive in Japan. Everybody parks butt first in Japan. I find it very funny when I visit. I don't think it is a law or conformity but the idea that it is safer to back into an empty stall than to back into a parking lot and hoping that there isn't an idiot speeding down the lane.

 

Why? Sometimes, due to the approach, it's faster to go in reverse. Maybe some people take too long doing it due of lack of practice. Maybe some people are not flexible enough to look backwards easily. I back up my driveway into the garage every day. It's a large double car garage but with 2 single-doors so I get plenty of practice.

 

Generally, it really is a lot safer to back into parking spaces rather than out of them, for the very reason that has been mentioned above. Its much harder to see other vehicles, and more importantly pedestrians walking down the lanes in the parking lot when you are trying to back OUT of a spot than when you are pulling forward out of a spot.

Backing into the spot is safer because you're much more obvious to those around you, but a couple walking down a parking lot lane involved in a conversation can easily miss your backup lights when you are backing out, and you can easily miss them and back over them.

Many times I myself have hopped out of the way of people backing out of spaces and had them drive off and never even notice that I was not only there, but had to jump out of the way of their car.

I always back into spaces.

 

I often just back in. The thing has horrendous viewability when backing up and it's much safer for me to eyeball a spot and then back into it so that on the way out I can just go forward instead of trying to back into the lane and hitting God knows how many people instead.