The engineering answer is that generally, a car with front wheel steering should always pull in to spaces forwards. (If you have a rear wheel drive vehicle, like a forklift, you'd want to pull in backwards most times.)
[pause inserted while everyone flames out about this...]
There are no absolutes in life, so depending on the situation, (access to vehicle compartments, sight lines, weather, street one is pulling on to, etc.) the answer may be different - or different on different days.
BTW - This rationale is the same for parking spaces. Standard parking spaces are designed by engineers for cars to pull in straight, which allows them to be smaller - cramming more cars in to a lot.
The reason behind all of this is the steering/wheel geometry. The rear wheels (on a front wheel steering vehicle) take corners much more tightly:
In the extreme situation, (parking space) a normal "backed-in" car has to pull out of the space further (and in to traffic more) before the rear fenders/corners can clear the space as the rear wheels make a tighter corner coming out. For a "pulled-in" car, the car doesn't need to pull out in traffic as far when coming out because that problematic tight rear turn starts happening once the rear is out of the space. (This also reduces the need to do a 3 point turn.)
Of course, for a garage, this issue isn't as severe if there is a long driveway leading up to the garage. However, the rear swinging thing may come in to play at the end of the driveway, depending on how much space there is, how much you love your mailbox, etc.
I don't recommend believing everything on the internet, but this stuff can be calculated:
If you are like me and gave up complex geometry a long time ago, the concept can be tested with a toy car with steering. (It's a lot easier than risking the fenders of a real car!)
The engineering answer is that generally, a car with front wheel steering should always pull in to spaces forwards. (If you have a rear wheel drive vehicle, like a forklift, you'd want to pull in backwards most times.)
[pause inserted while everyone flames out about this...]
There are no absolutes in life, so depending on the situation, (access to vehicle compartments, sight lines, weather, street one is pulling on to, etc.) the answer may be different - or different on different days.
BTW - This rationale is the same for parking spaces. Standard parking spaces are designed by engineers for cars to pull in straight, which allows them to be smaller - cramming more cars in to a lot.
The reason behind all of this is the steering/wheel geometry. The rear wheels (on a front wheel steering vehicle) take corners much more tightly:
In the extreme situation, (parking space) a normal "backed-in" car has to pull out of the space further (and in to traffic more) before the rear fenders/corners can clear the space as the rear wheels make a tighter corner coming out. For a "pulled-in" car, the car doesn't need to pull out in traffic as far when coming out because that problematic tight rear turn starts happening once the rear is out of the space. (This also reduces the need to do a 3 point turn.)
Of course, for a garage, this issue isn't as severe if there is a long driveway leading up to the garage. However, the rear swinging thing may come in to play at the end of the driveway, depending on how much space there is, how much you love your mailbox, etc.
I don't recommend believing everything on the internet, but this stuff can be calculated:
If you are like me and gave up complex geometry a long time ago, the concept can be tested with a toy car with steering. (It's a lot easier than risking the fenders of a real car!)
Exactly what I was thinking.