Reverse around a corner tutorial
How to perform reverse around a corner / left reverse manoeuvre
During the test, the Examiner will ask you to park up on the left on more than one occasion. It will be to assure him that you can park safely and legally and in a way that isn’t going to inconvenience others. Also it may be that he is going to ask you to perform a manoeuvre.
Three key skills are needed in order to successfully complete the left reverse / reverse around a corner manoeuvre. These are:
Accuracy – ensuring you do not touch the curb or mount the pavement
Control – keeping a slow car. Think of a slow walking pace. Whilst keeping the car slow, steering must be brisk.
Observation – all round effective observation throughout the manoeuvre.
A. The Examiner will ask you to park up on the left. Ensure you look in the appropriate mirrors (main mirror, left mirror) and indicate if necessary (If any cars, bikes etc are approaching from any direction, then apply the indicators). Once parked, cancel the indicators if you applied them. Ensure that you don’t park opposite somebody’s driveway on the left.
B. When you are ready to perform the reverse around a corner manoeuvre, look in the appropriate mirrors as you do if moving off from a parked position (Main and right mirror), and check your blind spot to the right. As you drive opposite the road you are reversing into, look into your main and left mirror and indicate if necessary.
Park up on the left around 2 to 3 car lengths past the corner leaving about a steering wheel width distance away from the curb. Parking too close will increase your chances of hitting the curb. Again, avoid stopping opposite a driveway on the left. Once stopped, select reverse gear and apply the handbrake if needed.
C. Before you start to move the car, take a good look around to ensure there are no approaching vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists nearby. If so, wait till they pass. You now need to reverse back to your point of turn. this is where the rear of your car is level with the bend of the road you are reversing into. To help you understand where this is, look out the rear passenger side window and wait for the corner to come into view, or using the left mirror, wait till all the straight curb has disappeared so that you can just see the corner of the road in the mirror.
Ensure you use appropriate observations throughout the manoeuvre. When you reach the point of turn, steer to the left one complete turn of the wheel. Using your left mirror, ensure that the corner of the road you’re revering round stays in view in the mirror adjusting the steering if the curb gets too close or too far away. Observations at this point are essential as the front of your car will be at an angle into the road.
D. Once you round the corner and become parallel with the curb, straighten the wheels. Reverse back to around 4 car lengths away from the corner or when the examiner asks you to stop. Ensure that at no point you hit the curb or end up on the other side of the road. Throughout the entire manoeuvre, keep looking around for approaching vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians and stop in necessary. Keeping your car slow using clutch control is important.
Once stopped, the examiner will ask you to carry on ahead. Ensure that before you move off, check your main and right mirror and the blind spot to your right. Also look in the relevant mirrors and indicate which direction you are taking.
Print the reverse around a corner / left reverse PDF tutorial