> I was taught in drivers training (in the US) that if you are able to pull through a parking space so the front of your car is parked towards the road, you should.

My girlfriend and I call that "pulling through" and fist-bump with excitement when we can pull through a parking spot into another so the car's front faces the path of travel eliminating the need to back out. (Almost all parking by us is parallel parking on the street, so it isn't often.)