Reverse out of a bay

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 the hard half

You cannot see the aisle until the tail clears the cars on either side, and people walk behind parked cars without looking. So the whole manoeuvre is slow, straight at first, and all about stopping the moment something appears.

Reference points

Reverse gear, then look all round. Reverse straight back, slowly, with the wheel straight while you are still between the cars. Stop when your front wheels are just past the end of the bay lines. Full lock to the left and creep back: the front swings right, so watch that corner and the car beside you. About a third of the way round, stop, select drive and go to full lock to the right. When you are lined up with the aisle, straighten the wheel and drive off slowly.

Common faults

Minor and serious follow the simulator's marking, which copies the examiner's grading. Serious: swinging the tail before it has cleared the cars beside you, or swinging the front into the next car. Fix: wait until the front wheels are just past the bay lines, then take the lock. Serious: reversing with no all-round check. Fix: both shoulders, the rear and the blind spot before you move. Serious: keeping on moving when someone crosses close behind you. Fix: stop at once and wait until they have passed. Minor: reversing faster than walking pace (over 4 mph here). Fix: creep on the clutch with your foot over the brake. Serious: finishing outside the target, more than 35 cm off or more than 12 degrees out of line with the aisle. Fix: straighten the wheel as you come into line. Minor, then serious: too many corrections (three, then six here). Fix: one clean back, one clean forward.

If it goes wrong

Stop. If anyone or anything appears behind you, stay stopped until it has passed and look again. If the front is swinging towards the car beside you, stop, drive forward a little to straighten and reverse again with less lock. Going back in and having another go is better than a scrape.

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. 1You parked nose-in. Reverse gear, then look all round: people walk behind parked cars without looking.
2. 2Reverse straight back, slowly. Keep the wheel straight while you are still between the cars.
3. 3Stop when your front wheels are just past the end of the bay lines.
4. 4Full lock to the left and creep back. The front swings right: watch that corner and the car beside you.
5. 5About a third of the way round. Stop, select drive and go to full lock to the right.
6. 6Lined up with the aisle. Straighten the wheel and drive off slowly.
7. 7You're out and facing the way out. Stop here and tap Finished.

Common questions