Mastering the art of driving is a vital life skill, but it’s far from simple with numerous elements to grasp.
One particular challenge for learner drivers is parking, and reverse parking into a bay can be particularly daunting. Being able to drive into a bay is one of the three manoeuvres that examiners may select during a practical driving test, making it essential for learners to master driving into a bay, reversing out and in, and driving out.
Reversing poses a significant hurdle for novices as they must look back while controlling the front-mounted steering wheels. To help learners, a driving instructor shared an easy trick on social media to help remember the correct steering direction when reversing.
The TikTok account @drivingtestsuccessl2d, known for its practical driving tips, official DVSA guidance, and advice from certified driving instructors (ADIs), featured a video where an instructor shows how to reverse park. In the clip, she remarks: “Reversing. It feels like a really difficult task but it’s pretty straightforward.”
The professional instructor emphasises that the key is to steer in the direction you want the rear of the car to go. She further clarifies: “For example, here I want to reverse left into my parking space and so I turn the steering wheel left and here I want to turn right into my space and so I turn the steering wheel right.”
The driving instructor reiterated that whichever direction you want the back of the vehicle to move is the same direction you should turn the steering wheel. Many drivers bring their cars along for their weekly grocery trips, and supermarkets generally provide car parks, meaning motorists must be capable of reversing into designated parking bays before entering the shop to buy their groceries.
According to Scrap Car Network, reversing into a parking bay ranks among the most challenging manoeuvres for beginner drivers. The organisation elaborates on its website: “One of the primary reasons that so many people find it challenging to reverse park into a bay is because it requires precise spatial awareness and depth perception.
“Unlike parallel parking, where the focus is on fitting between two vehicles, reverse parking into a bay requires you to accurately judge the distance from both sides of the parking space. Additionally, the limited visibility while reversing can make it challenging to align the vehicle properly within the bay.”
Drivers need excellent spatial awareness, especially when other vehicles occupy the adjacent parking spaces. The TikTok video from Drivingtestsuccessl2d has proven useful for those struggling with reverse parking, with one viewer commenting: “Finally someone explained it to me thank you.”
Another person said: “Thank you, it can get confusing when looking backwards.” A third viewer noted: “So helpful [I’ve] been struggling.”