Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Avoid Using Reverse

The easiest example of this is in a parking lot at the mall or grocery store. It will save a small bit of gas if you pull through the parking space so your vehicle faces out. When you leave, simply pull forward and you're off. This won’t save you hundreds of dollars by any means, but it's an important part of being fuel-conscious in your driving habits.

Why is backing up so bad? Think about it this way: Do you enjoy creeping around parking lots in first gear? Of course not, and low gears make the worst use of fuel. Not only does reverse get poor fuel economy, but you’re often covering the same territory when you use it.

For example, backing up and pulling forward is twice the driving of just pulling out of the parking space and driving away. This may seem insignificant, but over the course of a year, better driving practices will add up.

Related:
More Gas-Saving Moments of the Day (KickingTires)

Comments

Thankyou for posting this tidbit. It's already a nightmare in some parking lots with the housewives not being able to back up their mega beast SUVs. Why dont you start with the more obvious parking lot gas saving tips first, like not sitting and idling in front of the store. Perhaps you could mention the one where mom leaves the kids in the running car so they can have A/C and watch TV lest she have to deal with her own kids in the store. There's also the one where people try to play NASCAR in the lot to get to that elusive space that's like one of the only 3 or 4 hundred still available. No, avoiding backing up for 15 feet is going to save us all - at least until accidents go up.

ok. why do this? you will back up either in or out, but you will do it anyway. unless the car the spot in front of you is empty, this advice doesn't count.

and what is better? not reversing or just getting the first spot so people won't have to waste gas on looking for the best spot?

park far away from the store so that:

1. you get some exercise walking at least a little bit; lose some weight; save even more gas when your car is 100 pounds lighter

2. you don't have to waste time finding a spot while all the lazy people are idling their engines waiting for that "elusive space" mentioned in the first anon post

3. you can park in a convenient manner so as to leave without reversing. btw switching gears is not entirely without wear on the trans either

Juan, simply look for a space where there is a space in front of the space that you first pull into. Don't stop there, keep going and park in the spot that is in front of the space you pulled through. Then when you are ready to leave, just go forward or go into your turn depending on the spot. This isn't rock science.
I do agree with about people driving everywhere for 10 minutes, going down the same aisles to find that empty space that is close. Someone very close to me does this every time he parks.

Juan Carlos,

Just simply pick the furthermost spot from any building.
a. You are more than likely to have a spot you can just pull forward into and does not need to back out from it when you leave.
b. The walk to and from the building is at least some exercise.
c. You are least likely need to look for empty spots there.

Just some parking formulae I use when parking in college.

And one more advantage:
d. Your car will less likely get door dings!

Guys, if you want to see some parking idiots, come to California! Yeah, we've all the high tech companies and whatnot, but come to driving/parking, I'm embarrased to say that most are idiots! (Forunately, I didn't learn my driving in this State.)

(1) MOST don't know how to back in.
(2) When they head in, even if the spot in front of them is empty (exactly what this post is about, so that they can just "head out" when exit, rather than "backing out"), they WON'T go into the empty spot in front.
(3) What makes this worst is that, EVEN IF THE FRONT SPOT IS EMPTY when they are leaving, instead of just go into D (or 1st gear) and exit "head out" (and rest assure, I'm not talking 'bou busy parking times, when other cars are trying to park; I'm talking 'bou very few traffic in the parking lot), most will BACK OUT of their spots. I've seen several bangs onto other vehicles because of such an excellent parking/driving style.

Ahhh,

Another brilliant advice from cars.com "experts". This is one of the dumbest things I read. By the way this is punishable by law and is considered reckless driving in parking lot (saw a person getting ticket for this with my own eyes). Get informed before giving brilliant advices like this.

"reckless driving"?

How so?

This practice of pulling into the forward empty spot can be risky in anything other than a fairly empty lot as a driver may be pulling in that same spot from the other direction. Not sure who legally has precedence.
This is certainly not advisable for angled parking lots, which essentially create one-way driving lanes (and nitwits ignore). When leaving, smaller vehicles can turn into the proper direction; larger ones would have to dangerously drive against the flow.
In most situations, I think the risk outweighs the gain.

This does not take into consideration a lot of factors in the parking lot itself, is dangerous, and in some areas illegal. RE: gas efficiency, backing out might put you into a better position to get to the exit. Pulling through might make you have to drive around to where you were or further to get to the exit.