Angled bay park

Watch it, then drive it

1. 1

   Watch the official video

   DVSA's short guide to the four manoeuvre skills the examiner looks for.

   

   From the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on YouTube. Free to watch.

   More videos on YouTube↗
2. 2

   Drive it with the coach

   Guided mode puts the reference points on screen and stops you the moment you drift.

   Practise this in the simulator
3. 3

   Test yourself

   Test mode says nothing and marks you in the examiner's words. Three clean runs in a row and it is learnt.

What is marked here

Not on the driving test, so there is no examiner's box. The simulator marks it the way it marks the test manoeuvres: control, observation and accuracy, with the same grades. A clip of the kerb or a rough finish is minor; touching something or finishing outside the target is serious.

Why it is easier than a square bay

The bays lean at 60 degrees to the aisle, towards the way you are already going. You turn through 60 degrees instead of 90, so the car swings in less and the front corner has more room. The catch is turning too soon and finishing on the line.

Reference points

Drive down the middle of the one-way aisle at walking pace. Start the turn when the end of the second line before your bay is level with your rear wheel. Full lock to the left, then creep forward. Halfway round, your nearside mirror shows the corner of the car beside your bay: that is the tight one. When the car is in line with the bay, straighten the wheel, drive in slowly and stop with the whole car inside the lines.

Common faults

Minor and serious follow the simulator's marking, which copies the examiner's grading. Serious: clipping or touching the car beside the bay. Fix: watch the nearside mirror through the turn and start from the second line. Minor: turning in too early and finishing on the line. Fix: wait for the reference point and stay in the middle of the aisle. Serious: finishing outside the lines, more than 35 cm off centre or more than 12 degrees out. Fix: straighten the wheel as the bay lines come square. Serious: not looking before you turn. Fix: a look for people and cars walking between the rows before every move. Minor, then serious: too many corrections (three, then six here). Fix: one clean move in, no wriggling.

If it goes wrong

Stop before anything touches. Look behind, reverse straight back out of the bay, straighten up in the aisle and start again from the second line. Do not try to fix a crooked car by pulling the wheel while you are still moving into the bay.

How you practise it here

Watch drives it for you with the commentary running, so you see the whole thing once before you touch anything. Guided puts the reference points on screen and stops you the moment you drift. Test says nothing and marks you in the words the examiner uses. Three clean Test runs in a row counts as learned, and it comes back two days, a week and three weeks later so it is still there on the day.

Step by step

These are the words the simulator says to you, in order, the same commentary you would get from the passenger seat.

1. 1Walking pace down the one-way aisle, in the middle of the lane. The bays are angled, so you only turn in part of the way.
2. 2Stop when the end of the second line before your bay is level with your rear wheel.
3. 3Full lock to the left, then creep forward. Check the bay and the cars beside it first.
4. 4Halfway round. Watch your nearside mirror: the corner of the car beside your bay is the tight one.
5. 5In line with the bay. Straighten the wheel and drive in slowly.
6. 6Wheels straight. Stop with the whole car inside the lines.
7. 7That's the bay. Stop here and tap Finished. In real life you would reverse out with a good look both ways.

Common questions