I have to agree with Lowspark. I drive a SUV, a big one. I pull a trailer with it in the summer, and it's the only tow vehicle we now own. (So I don't get slammed as I have in the past for driving a gas hog!) That said, I wish I had the back up camera, which was not available when we bought it in 2005. I use my mirrors, I turn and look, but there are blind spots, as there are with ANY vehicle. We do have a back up camera in the motor home. What a God send! DH even added a side view camera, as the glass in the door is a frosted privacy glass. When you come to a diagonal intersection, you can NOT see from the driver's seat to check traffic coming from the right. Normally we are both in it so the other checks traffic, but there are times we need that side view camera, either when only one of us is in it, or when checking traffic at highway ramps. For some reason, people no longer think that they have to yeild when they are the ones entering the highway, they think we have to move over to let them on. Well, I have news for them. Some day they will be buying someone else a new vehicle. There are times you just can't be nice and move over for them! Especially driving a large vehicle, SUV or motorhome as examples. Those cameras are great! You might only use it once in a while, but that one time might save a life or a car,no matter how careful you are. Tami

Stuff happens. What defines you is how you deal with it. You have dealt with it and done everything right and no one was hurt. You're right, it's a good reminder to I had someone back into my car, get out of their truck and look, then pull away and leave. She left three dimples in my bumper. She didn't try to come find me, she didn't leave a note on my car, and she didn't give her contact info to the guy working in the parking lot. She didn't accept responsibility, she didn't apologize --she just left acting as if nothing had happened. That's what really made me angry.

I rarely notice vehicles of any kind backed into spaces so I paid attention while we were out running errands today. We were at Costco, Home Depot, the grocery stores, a large medical complex and went out to dinner before heading home. All total, I saw four vehicles backed into spaces and all were full size pickups, which is pretty much what I observe anytime I'm out. It makes me wonder if backing into a space is a regional practice not seen in my area or if most people tend to pull forward into a space when parking. Now, what really gets my goat is someone with a large full size pickup or SUV pulling a long trailer who takes up two+ spaces when they park due to the combined length of the vehicle/trailer. It's not the two+ spaces that bugs me; it's that they generally insist on parking near the store entrance and taking up two+ spaces with the butt end of their trailer blocking most of the lane between rows of spaces making it impossible for anyone trying to find a space to drive down the lane. These people are being rude and need to use the rarely used spaces at the edges of the parking lot so that they don't cause parking lot jams. Grrrrrrr... Edit to add that we own a full size 4x4 pickup, but always try to be polite about where and how we park. Hubby is good at backing into tight spaces, but I am a complete and dismal failure especially if any distance is involved.

Wow that is so scary! It's also a big problem with people going forward in those giant pick up trucks where they literally can't see over the hood to see if something small is in front of them. It's like why they put those arms that swing out in the front of school buses so toddlers will walk far enough away to be seen by the driver. We were in our truck towing a log splitter, stopped at a light. The guy behind us had a big pick up and stopped. But as he could no longer see the splitter over his hood, he crept forward while the light was still red and ran into it and us. Nothing happened on our end, but he acquired a dent in his bumper. His lesson to learn. I too am thankful for all the safety stuff that we have on our Subaru. (In my book, Subaru is the best car company ever.) Besides the back up camera, ours includes a "Vision Assist Rear Cross Traffic Alert" which is fabulous. It warns me way ahead of time if anyone/anything is behind me when my car is in reverse. Especially when backing out of a parking spot where you can't see because of the vehicles on either side, it has been so helpful. I've also been saved by the warning of getting too close to a car in front. And I use the side vehicle warning lights every time I go to change lanes. For highway driving, you can't beat eyesight...set the cruise control and it will slow you down as you approach a car in front and maintain a certain distance. Go around them and it returns to your preset speed. Another safety feature I love is the headlights turn with the car, so at night, when you're making, say, a left hand turn, the headlights turn left too so you can see where you're going. As I age, my reaction time and my vision isn't getting better, so having all the safety features is a real blessing.