Back-in to parking spaces

Yesterday's NYT article complaining about people backing into parking spots got me thinking. 

I back in to parking spots because

1. Your situational awareness of nearby cars and people is greater as you arrive, and your field of view is unobstructed by neighboring cars
2. Your windshield and mirrors are less likely to have condensation as you arrive, so you have a better view of surroundings when doing the backing up
3. The rear of the vehicle usually has higher clearance so you're less likely to damage a bumper against a high curb 
4. Accidents happen more often when backing out of a parking lot than pulling forward 

The NYT reporter in the article below did little more than observational research, and thinks

"In a nation of rampant gun violence, backing in so you can quickly get out provides a sense of security."

But it's not because of tactical escape routes, it's because of accident data, and AAA has recommended backing in to a parking spot on arrival, per "updated guidelines. "We started promoting this around 2020"

There's not much science on this topic, but here's one analysis. 

"The analysis from this study implies that the pull-in/back-out parking maneuver is more likely to result in a collision...90% of North Carolina's parking-related fatal and serious injuries occurred during a back-out maneuver" [however, I'm not clear if this study compensated for the higher proportion of cars that back out which would skew the data towards crashes when backing out ]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847819308812

Even when you normalize the data—comparing one "backing out" exit to one "driving out forward" exit—driving out forward is still significantly safer. 

Studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that "back-over" accidents (hitting a person) are almost exclusively tied to exiting a spot in reverse.  Ref ref 

This article suggests ways to minimize the risk of accidents when backing up, including turning down the radio and opening your window. 

There is also the "state of mind" aspect:

Pulling In: You are usually focused on the task of parking.

Backing Out: You are often transitioning into "trip mode"—checking GPS, adjusting the radio, or looking at traffic—which increases the likelihood of a distraction-related error.

Elderly drivers are particularly at risk of causing "back over" accidents because of their decreased neck and torso mobility to look over their shoulder, decreased visual acuity and longer recovery from glare [cataracts], and decreased cognitive ability to multi-task, and their higher rate of "pedal misapplication"