Reversing around a corner:

The examiner will stop you at the side of the road and give you the following instruction:

Examiner's instruction:
"I now want you to pull up just past the next side turning on the left, stop, and reverse back into it, keeping reasonably close to the kerb. Please reverse into the side turning for about 3 car lengths or until I ask you to stop."

How to do it: (Please also see the manoeuvres-general page)
It is best to do this manoeuvre in three stages, take your time and stop frequently to check your position and do the necessary all-round observation.

For tight corners, which are tighter than the turning circle of the car: Reverse until you have lined up the back of the car with the end of the wall, or garden fence. Or something that is about level to the point that the kerb begins to curve around the corner. This is your turn point. Stop.

Look all around before you turn. This is the most important observation point as the front of your car will swing out towards the middle of the road as soon as you begin to move. As you reverse turn quickly on to full lock left. Look in the top-left-hand mirror (an additional mirror in our car), or set down your left hand door mirror, as you go around the corner to determine your distance from the kerb.

Stop halfway around to observe up and down the major road - check over your left shoulder again before continuing.

Stop when you are parallel to the kerb of the side road. This point is best judged by lining up the centre point of the rear screen using the interior mirror. You should be lined up with the middle of a parked car behind you in the side road. Then straighten the wheels, you can do this whilst stationary if necessary. Count the number of turns as you straighten (one-and-a-half turns back to centre from full-lock).

Then to keep the car straight, KEEP the centre point of the rear screen (silver sticker) lined-up with the parked car behind (Note: we have a marker in the centre of the rear screen).

For large corners you will need to make more corrections and use smaller steering movements. Try to follow the kerb around, keeping the same distance all the way. Use the left-hand door mirror. Correct as soon as you notice any change in your distance from the kerb. The sooner you make a correction the better. Correct by steering the way you want to go. To go towards the kerb, steer towards the kerb (photo below):

Stop halfway around to observe up and down the major road - check over your left shoulder again before continuing.

As you clear the curve stop, and then use the centre screen marker to straighten up as on the tight corners. Take all round observation at all stop points. Remember to keep looking over your left shoulder as much as possible. You can shunt forwards at least twice to correct or re-align if you are unsure.

If you do the manoeuvre in stages you can always go back to the point where it was last correct. You should be looking over your shoulder – out of the rear window at least half of the time when reversing.

How it may happen on your test:

"The examiner has just told me to pull up on the left just before the next turning on the left. So I immediately check my mirrors twice to make sure that he has seen me do it. There is the turning, but there is a parked car just before it, and double yellow lines. The examiner adds that I should go past the parked car, but stop before the turning and not to worry about the yellow lines. It's a bit awkward to stop here but that's what he said to do. I'll just have to pull in very slowly, almost stopping next to the car so that I can turn in accurately in front of it. OK, I've managed to park quite close to the kerb, considering how tight it is. He now says that he wants me to pull up just past the next turning, stop, then reverse back into it, keeping reasonably close to the kerb. Then to drive into the side road for about 3 car lengths, or until he tells me to stop.

I check my mirrors again and check my right blindspot. All's clear so I pull away slowly being careful not to swing out away from the kerb too much, because I'll only have to pull back in again the other side of the turning. I look into the side road as I go past, and there are no obstructions. I am going to pull up about one car length past the turning so that I can see it behind me when I stop. I can see also that it is a tight corner so I will need to use full-lock to get around it when I reverse.

I check my mirrors again and pull up gently. I apply the handbrake, and look all around to make sure there is no approaching traffic. Into reverse, check behind over my left shoulder and move backwards. Quick glances in my side mirror to determine when the back of the car is at the turn point. I can see now that the back wheel is at the point that the yellow line begins to curve. I prefer to use the contour of the yellow line if I can (it's easier to see than the kerb itself sometimes). Double check my turn point by looking out the side window and seeing if the back of the car lines up with the end of the garden wall. It does, so I'm fine. Now I need to check carefully all around again before I turn. This is the most dangerous point, because the front swings out. I must exaggerate the observation so the examiner sees me doing it.

All's clear. No it's not! There's a car coming! Stop. Let him go past. Oh no, he's waiting. What shall I do? OK, he's going past now. If he had waited I could have continued.

Looking over my left shoulder out the back window again to check it's clear behind. Begin to move. Check the left door mirror; the kerb is looking a bit close. I'll straighten the wheel slightly. Looking good now - I'm clear of the kerb. Check out the back window, over my left shoulder again. I can see the kerb is now straight in the main left side door mirror. Time to use the rear screen centre marker. Look in the interior mirror. The centre marker lines up with the middle of the car behind. Stop.

Now I can straighten the wheels. I am not sure how much they are turned though. I'll put them back onto full lock left, then count back one and a half turns. They're straight now. I'll just move back a fraction to make sure that the wheels are actually straight. Good, centre marker still on the car behind, must get it dead centre, on the middle of car behind's numberplate. I'll just keep going back with the marker lined-up. Check behind again over my shoulder. Check the left door mirror. I am a bit far from the kerb, so I'll steer towards the kerb. I've just got to remember that to go towards the kerb I need to steer towards the kerb! It's a bit closer now. I'll just line up the rear screen centre marker again to get parallel to the kerb. Check out the back window again. I'm 3 car lengths back now. Stop. Handbrake and neutral to finish. Excellent!"