How to Reverse Car Easily - Complete Guide

When it comes to a driving test, the reverse park is always a sweaty-palmed one. Even after you have passed, the ordeal of trying to squeeze into a gap between two cars while impatient motorists pile up behind you can make the best of us nervous. Reverse parking isn’t the biggest test of your driving ability though, it doesn’t matter if you can are the best reverse parker in the world if you forget to indicate before parking, you will fail your test comprehensively. 

The reverse park is one of the necessary manoeuvers during a driving test, and it gets probably an undeserved dreaded reputation as being extremely hard. Though if you don’t get nervous and approach it calmly, it shouldn’t be that hard. You should be able to pass the test even if your reverse isn’t the most perfect unless you manage to hit something or drive up the kerb. Here are some tips that should help you during the test and will work fine in real-life driving conditions as well.

1. Find a suitable space that you can safely get your car into.

2. Slow down, indicate left, check your left blind spot and pull up alongside the car you are parking behind (you can keep your indicator on          throughout the manoeuvre.

3. When you pull up alongside the car you are parking behind, make sure there is about one meter between your car and the car next to you.

4. Position the car so your car's left passenger side mirror is in line with the driver side mirror of the car next to you.

5. Shift your car into reverse gear, check all mirrors and blind spots.

6.Turn the steering wheel anti-clockwise, and slowly begin to reverse your car. Continue to check the left passenger side mirror and the front      left corner of your car while you are reversing to ensure you keep a safe distance between your car and the car in front.

7. Continue reversing at an angle until your rear tyre (facing the kerb) is nearly as close as required to the kerb (this is roughly 30cm). If your      tyre hits the kerb, this means you’ve gone too far. Put the car back into drive and move forward a few feet and try again. Also, the rear            end of your car should be around 30cm away from the front of the car behind you.

8. As you finish reversing in, turn your steering wheel clockwise to straighten your front wheels.

9. Finally, inch forward (making sure your front wheels are straight) to complete the parallel park. 

The final turning point may need a little more finesse through trial and error, but once you have established the point it’ll never need changing and will become easier each time. You should also do everything at a walking pace to allow sufficient time to use each of the turning points precisely. A helpful tip, try to learn reverse parking with only one car first rather than trying between two cars, and once it becomes easier, you can move on to nailing the reverse park between two cars.