A month or two ago I was invited to a networking event and a line in the invite stopping me in my tracks.
It said ‘Please note that XX operates a reverse parking only policy in their car park.’ Well quick as a flash, obstinate as I am, I thought well I operate a driving forwards into car parking spaces only policy so I’m not going. and I didn’t.
However, since then I visited a client in London this week (thankfully I went on the train and didn’t drive) but my client always collects me and take me to their offices. As we arrived they explained that they had just introduced such a policy. I rolled my eyes and told them the story of the above missed networking event.
As we got to the meeting room one of the other attendees explained that they had chosen to ignore the new policy and the debate began.
The client explained the reasoning:
- Reverse parking is about making the environment safer when the driver leaves the parking space. When reverse parking, a driver is going into a known space with no vehicle and pedestrian traffic where as backing out of a parking space means going out into unknown and changing traffic.
- Figures quoted on the Geotab website show that reverse parking could save lives – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that “267 people are killed and 15,000 injured each year by drivers who back into them, usually in driveways or parking lots.” Unfortunately, most often it is children and elderly people who are killed in backover crashes.
- There was another reason but in all honesty I’ve forgotten it
So this is why I’m doing a u-turn on my forward parking policy, because someone took the time to communicate the reasons why to me.
Communication is so important and without that background knowledge it just sounded like a strange whim implemented by an organisation. Now that I understand the reasoning I’ll do it, I guess that shows that:
- I don’t just follow the rules if I don’t understand them
- I question things
- I can have my mind changed
- I can reverse park, I just tend to avoid it
Another week of learning!
Charlotte's Sidekick Blog 