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DorWey Driving School  - The Reverse Manoeuvres

Below you will find notes that apply generally to all the reverse manoeuvres. At the foot of the page you will find links to take you to the individual pages.

There are three reverse manoeuvres to learn for the driving test.

On the test you will be expected to carry out two of these manoeuvres. The examiner will expect a high general standard but his main priority will be with the safety of the manoeuvre. If you get so absorbed in the manoeuvre that you don't notice other road users and cause them problems, then you will probably receive a serious or dangerous fault, and fail.

Try to carry out the manoeuvres as though you were doing them as a driver, rather than someone taking a test. For example, if you had already passed your test and you were carrying out a reverse manoeuvre and you thought that the car was going to hit a kerb - you would simply go forwards to adjust the steering and then reverse back again. (Far better this way than damaging your car and/or threatening pedestrians!) The examiner is looking for this common sense approach to driving. If you do have to correct a reverse manoeuvre, as described above, then you will just pick up one minor driving fault. (Of course you can't keep going backwards and forwards until finally you get it right!)

NB When I use term 'OBS' in the notes; I am talking about all round observations including blind spots! You should also bear in mind that, because your brain is extremely busy, you will most likely think that you are carrying out these manoeuvres quite rapidly - but you will probably be taking a lot longer than you realise. My point being that other road users can get close to you before you realise it! Keep looking for these other road users because they make a habit of ruining driving tests!

Please remember that when you carry out an observation you are looking for other road users that you may cause a problem to. Also remember that they can arrive swiftly and unexpectedly. Look up and down the road, if there are junctions nearby keep an eye on them. Look for cars emerging from drives, look for activity around parked cars - if you see people climbing aboard or smoke coming from the exhaust then they may be on the move as soon as you take your eyes off them. Remember to take care of pedestrians - i.e. don't drive towards them - and that people on two-wheels can be difficult to spot.

You don't want to spend more time in the middle of the road than is necessary so, although the observations should be thorough, don't spend too much time on them. Use a quick efficient look-around. You are looking for developing hazards so filter out buildings and trees, etc. If you take too long things may be developing in the areas that you have already checked - and then you may move off just at the wrong moment!

As you approach your stopping point at the beginning of the manoeuvre, look around. If you are lucky enough to find that the road is clear, don't linger. If the handbrake isn't required (and it quite often isn't) stop on the footbrake - get the car into gear - another quick look all around and then - if it is still safe - get on with it. Get the car out of the difficult zone and into the easy zone! It will be a lot easier for you than having other drivers hanging around, less chance of things going wrong and you wont be causing problems to others! The same applies for turning points. If there is no one around - get the car moving and out of the way of other road users.

During the observation phases don't fall into the trap of just swinging your head blindly around to please the examiner - they are trained to recognise pantomime when they see it, and you may well not see that bus coming towards you!

Reminders:

1. Dry steering is not good for the car and is considered bad practice.

2. Keep the speed down and the observations high.

3. Most of the speed control is done with clutch pedal. When you do have to use the brake make sure that the clutch is below bite point or the car will be fighting against itself.

4. The 'reverse observation' starts over the right shoulder and finishes through the rear window, over your left shoulder.

5. When reversing you should be looking mainly through the rear window.

6. If the weather is dry consider opening a window so you may hear approaching traffic - even if you don't spot it.

7. If you do have other drivers waiting for you - keep calm. They will have held people up when they were learning to drive so now it is the time for them to be tolerant.

Finally - You should only move if you are not going to cause another road user any problems, so be prepared to wait. A rough rule-of-thumb could be: If vehicles close too are moving - then stay still. If vehicles close too have stopped - then consider moving. But keep your beady eye on them, they can soon get impatient with waiting and move off again.

Below you will find notes & diagrams for the three manoeuvres. I am assuming that you will have had the initial briefing for each manoeuvre from me and that you are using these notes to consolidate what you already know. 

Download and print the diagrams and notes to help you understand the manoeuvres. Try to visualise yourself carrying out the manoeuvres as you sit in your chair at home.

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