It's one of many small decisions drivers make every day, but whether you reverse into a car park or drive straight in could impact safety.
Speaking to ABC Radio Brisbane Afternoons presenter Kat Feeney this week, Coastwide Driving School owner Ben Ward confirmed the beliefs of many drivers, while dashing the hopes of others.
He said while reversing into a busy shopping centre car park was indeed a way to show off your expertise behind the wheel, it was also a much safer option.
"Studies show it saves time," Mr Ward said.
"The logic behind it is if you're just looking at the one activity of going into the car park, it's quicker to drive straight in.
"But if you're looking at when you have to exit, it's a lot easier to merge back into the traffic when you're facing forward and people are more likely to let you in."
There was also a safety element to reversing in first.
Mr Ward said a car park was usually a "controlled space" with a car parked either side and no pedestrians, trolleys or children using the area.
"You're manoeuvring in at low speed so you have control," he said.
"When you're reversing out of the car park, you've got two way traffic, people pushing trolleys, kids running around."
Mine worker Chris agreed reversing in was the safer practice and said mine sites usually required reverse parking on site for this reason.
All about risk
But what about the inconvenience of accessing your boot to pack groceries away when reversed into a car park?
Mr Ward said there was "always a trade-off".
"It's your safety versus the convenience of packing your car and that becomes the decision you have to make," Mr Ward said.
"It's whether you feel safer in all that chaos at the back of the car in the parking lot or are ok for a couple of minutes of inconvenience to load the boot.
"I don't think it's a gender thing either, it's about that risk assessment and how people assess risk."
And on the topic of whether drivers use less fuel reversing into a car park because the vehicle is already warm and in motion?
Mr Ward said that theory was "a bit of a stretch".
"Yes the engine is warmer, and there is less wear and tear on your car, compared to restarting it and reversing out but it's such a small procedure, it's not going to make a difference to the life of the car," he said.
