Reverse in a straight line

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.

Where it is tested

Turkey's practical exam asks for a straight reverse of 25 metres (Ministry of National Education, Özel Motorlu Taşıt Sürücüleri Kursları Yönetmeliği, article 34). California's behind-the-wheel test scores backing in a straight line for about three vehicle lengths, finishing within 3 feet of the kerb, with at most one correction (California DMV, driver performance evaluation). France and Italy also use a straight reverse as an exercise (marche arrière en ligne droite, retromarcia diritto); we have not found a distance for them. The drill here uses the Turkish 25 metres and the Californian 3 feet.

Reference points

Park a hand span from the kerb with the car straight. Look all round, then select reverse and look through the back window, not only the mirrors. Creep back at walking pace and keep the gap to the kerb the same by looking at the kerb in the left mirror. If the car drifts, turn the wheel a small amount and then straighten it: the back of the car goes the way the wheel turns. Check behind again at the half way point and stop when you have gone about 25 metres.

Common faults

Minor and serious follow the simulator's marking, which copies the examiner's grading. Serious: touching the kerb or crossing the centre line. Fix: small corrections early, rather than one big one late. Serious: reversing without all-round observation. Fix: both shoulders, the rear window and the blind spot before the car moves, then keep looking. Minor, then serious: too many corrections (three, then six here). Fix: look at the kerb, not the bonnet, and use less wheel. Serious: finishing more than 91 cm from the kerb. Fix: hold the same gap all the way, starting a hand span out.

If it goes wrong

Stop. Look all round. Pull forward a few metres to straighten up and start again. Never carry on hoping, and give way to anyone who walks across behind you.

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. Steering only takes the pedals and gears off you, the way an instructor does on the first lesson: a mark on the wheel shows when to turn and how far. 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. 1You will reverse in a straight line for about 25 metres without leaving your lane. Look all round first, then select reverse.
2. 2Reverse gear. Look through the back window, not just the mirrors, and keep the car a hand span from the kerb.
3. 3Creep back and keep the gap to the kerb the same. If the car drifts, make a small correction: the back of the car goes the way the wheel turns.
4. 4Halfway. Keep looking back, and check the road behind you again.
5. 5That is far enough. Stop here and tap Finished.

Common questions