I'm used to this habit of when reversing, before the car stops, I will engage the drive gear, the ride will then do something like ticking in the wheels, before I finally press the throttle. NB its automatic transmission

It is a bad habit. When you shift from reverse to drive while the car is still moving, you put that much force on the drivetrain. The inertial energy of the car's movement is converted by the torque converter into heat, as are loads placed on other parts of the drivetrain. While you can probably get away with doing this forever without a transmission failure, you might not be so lucky, so why take the risk? That extra 1-2 secs it would take for the car to come tons complete stop will not cost u anything.

also its an added stress on the gear mounts

elektra80: It is a bad habit. When you shift from reverse to drive while the car is still moving, you put that much force on the drivetrain. The inertial energy of the car's movement is converted by the torque converter into heat, as are loads placed on other parts of the drivetrain. While you can probably get away with doing this forever without a transmission failure, you might not be so lucky, so why take the risk? That extra 1-2 secs it would take for the car to come tons complete stop will not cost u anything.

also its an added stress on the gear mounts

Thanks brother. I appreciate