Reversing and parking
Reverse park at side of road on the left (parallel park)
Technique
- SLOW car / brisk steering.
- Full observations before each movement, and regular checks throughout.
- Try to avoid dry steering otherwise it is easy to forget how much steering you have applied.
- Judgement – avoid touching kerb (even if it is dropped kerb at entrance to a house).
Procedure
- Pull up alongside and close to donor vehicle. Adjust left mirror downwards if you wish and open driver’s window (easier to listen for approaching vehicles/people).
- Nudge in reverse until end of donor car appears in left rear door window.
- Whisk steering wheel one complete turn (360 degrees) to left.
- When car is at approx. 45 degree angle, whisk right to straighten steering.
- Nudge straight towards kerb until back wheel is close to kerb (front door handle may appear to rest on top of kerb - the exact marker will vary depending on your seating position). Whisk full right lock.
- As car becomes parallel with kerb, whisk left to straighten.
- If necessary, nudge forward to correct/straighten.
- Handbrake, neutral, readjust mirror and breathe.
Reverse park at side of road on the right (parallel park)
- If it is not a one-way street, check that it is legal to park against the flow of traffic (marked bays/daytime etc)
- The procedure is much the same as above - just mirroring the steering
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Reverse park into a bay on the left
Technique
- SLOW car / brisk steering.
- Full observations before each movement.
- Judgement – try to avoid crossing lines with tyres, aiming to park centrally between them. When practising, imagine there are cars parked on both sides of your target bay – that way, you will be less bothered by cars when they are actually there.
Procedure
- Pull up with your target bay roughly in line with the rear door of the car.
- Adjust left mirror down if you wish and open driver’s window (it’s good to hear what is going on around the car).
- Nudge the car out to the right - whisk full lock for this.
- At about 45 degrees, stop as you see your target bay in the left door mirror. Whisk steering to straighten as you stop.
- Reverse, steering the car into the bay as you go.
- When car is parallel to bay lines, whisk right to straighten.
- Re-align if necessary by driving out of the bay and shimmy across to left or right as appropriate.
- As you are entering bay, use your mirrors (or look out of your window – stick your head out) to check position is close to white line.
- Do a final check all round, including whether you have reversed fully into the bay.
- Handbrake, neutral & readjust left mirror if necessary.
Reverse park into a bay on the right
- Similar procedure as above, with mirrored steering. Starting position should be on the right, close to the bays.
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Bay Park – drive in, reverse out
Technique
- SLOW car / brisk steering.
- Full observations before each movement.
- Judgement – try to avoid crossing lines with tyres, aiming to park centrally between them. When practising, imagine there are cars parked on both sides of your target bay - that way, you will be less bothered by cars when they are actually there.
Procedure
- Approach parking area SLOWLY while identifying your target bay.
- For bay on right, position well to left on approach; for bay on left, position well to right on approach.
- Steer into the bay, turning through as small a radius as you can (steer late and loads!)
- Nudge into bay, straightening wheels as car becomes parallel with bay lines.
- If parking between two cars, you may need to straighten wheels about half way in, nudge towards corner of bay, then reapply steering. Straighten to finish.
- Check position. If necessary, reverse out of bay then shimmy left or right as you drive in again.
- Handbrake, neutral & smile
