reversing around the corner

darling.x

I was going to post this in the learning to drive section but this question is aimed at people who has passed their driving test, so i won't.

Dis anyone feck up the reversing around the corner part or do it very badly and pass their driving test.

I'm useless at it, and my test is coming up, and my third instructor has let me down and can't take me. I don't have an instructor and my nerves are getting to me now. I've got so much to do. I'm finding it had to get a new instructor too. but i don't want to defer my test again either.

Alanstrainor

This probably would have been better off in Learning to Drive, but how and ever. What problems are you having exactly? And when is your test?
The best advise for this is, practise, practise and practise. It's probably the most difficult maoeuvre in the whole test, so you're not the only one having trouble with it.

Nonoperational

I doubt you can mess it up and pass. You'll have to do it OK. Not perfect just OK. Practise and you'll get it. You can judge how far out you are with practice, in my car keeping the kerb in line with the centre of the wiper on the passenger side kept me a nice distance away. If your struggling its better be too far out from the kerb than hitting it and getting stuck on it!

darling.x

I'm fiding it hard to:
reverse around the corner,
parking - i can park the majority of the times in between the white lines but not all the times,
reverse parking - i'm rubbish at it.

I need more practise at junctions in the town too - like roundabouts, traffic lights, yellow box junctions etc.

I need pretest lessons.

Theres a dual carriage way out beside the test centre - and will need some practise on that. that should be in the pretest lessons though.

I'm also finding it hard to get someone to sit in with me a few times a week. nobody will do it. Its risky but i've taken down the L plates, and getting out driving. i'm getting on fine on my own. I did a load of roundabout yesterday, not a bother.

darling.x

my test is in early nov. about six week time. Its in galway - out in ballybrit.

Alanstrainor

I wouldn't be worrying too much at the moment. You've got loads of time, i was thinking you had a week to your test. Well first off i'd try to get lessons asap as there is no better way to find out the things you're doing wrong. And as far as the reverse around the corner goes, what exactly is happening when you practise it that gives you concern?

Anan1

The secret is practise. Find a quiet corner with good visibility and keep doing it until you can do it in your sleep. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

Mr. Presentable

Agree with Anan1, get a friend to stand near a corner and practise, practise, practise.

You can have a poor reverse and still pass, so long as you don't mount the path (automatic fail), or have many other faults. The important things are observation and keeping the car fairly close (within about 2') to the corner. You can even deviate from that so long as you can bring the car back in fairly quickly after the corner.

darling.x

when reversing around the corner i go out far to much. i'm no where near the kerb. and when i try to straighten up i hit the kerb. maybe a picked a bad corner yesterday.

in the news today it said there was 1400 learners caught driving without someone and without displaying l plates. so what i'm doing is so risky.

Anan1

Try adjusting your pass. mirror so that you can see how far out from the kerb you are.

green123

i dont understand why this is part of the test anyway.
nobody reverses around corners in day to day driving,
far too dangerous
most would continue down the road to find somewhere easy to turn

BillyGoatGruff

When i did my test and it came to the reversing around the corner bit i put the car up on the curb. I stopped straight away and calmly moved forward and reversed for a second attempt. I had heard that mounting the curb was an automatic fail bit thankfully i passed:o

dubmick

I did it twice in my test, ballsed it up the first time and said to the tester would it be ok if I did it again. He let me do it again and I passed.

Hope this helps.

golden

Like anan1 said I adjusted my mirror to enable me to see the kerb when I was reversing I did this in the test and passed the test. Found it was a great help.

green123

some testers obviously agree that this is a ridiculous part of the test

jasonb

Definitely adjust the passenger mirror so that it points down more to help you see. Don't adjust the mirror so much that it points down and you can't see behind you, but even a little adjustment down makes a big difference!

J.

geoff29

golden wrote: »

Like anan1 said I adjusted my mirror to enable me to see the kerb when I was reversing I did this in the test and passed the test. Found it was a great help.

Same here, I adjusted the mirror so that it was pointing down at the kerb. then all you do is stare at the mirror, and keep looking about as you are instructed when you need to - but when the mirror is pointed down at the kerb - with a bit of practice it becomes quite easy and dare I say enjoyable to dictate all your steering on what you see in the mirror, and see just how close you can stay to the kerb.

Practice, Practice, Practice until it's the part of the test that you look forward to. First few times are always hard, as it just isn't something you do often - it doesn't feel second nature - but it is one of those things that practice will allow you to improve on.

Alanstrainor

The best piece of advise i got for this manoeuvre was to do it with only 2 turns of the steering wheel, one to get you around the corner, one to straighten up. Often learner drivers feel the need to turn the wheel numerous times left and right to try and achieve the best course. But in reality it only serves to complicate the manoeuvre. Be smooth with your turning and follow the curb and then straighten up. If you find you are going to wide, start again and turn more, you'll get it, and try as many corners as possible to learn how to gauge each corner.
As has been said, there best possible thing to do is practice until you can do it in your sleep. And dont worry if on test day you feel you make a mess of it, i remember going through the same thing as you OP, and practiced it day and night, but during the test i made a mess of it, but just kept on going and never threw in the towel.

BoardsRanger

green123 wrote: »

i dont understand why this is part of the test anyway.
nobody reverses around corners in day to day driving,
far too dangerous
most would continue down the road to find somewhere easy to turn

true - but in the test i think its purpose is to assess car control and awareness. and its fairly similar to reversing into a car parking space- which alot of "individuals" cant do!

Alanstrainor

green123 wrote: »

i dont understand why this is part of the test anyway.
nobody reverses around corners in day to day driving,
far too dangerous
most would continue down the road to find somewhere easy to turn

It's simple really. It demonstrates your ability to control the car in reverse, you do use the skills used in this manoeuvre daily, reversing in to/out of your parking space. It's a lot safer to use a corner rather than a car park for test purposes. I dont see why it has to be dangerous either, so long as you're reversing into a minor road, and use the skills needed and displayed in this manoeuvre.

djdeclan

As far as I can make out the "Reversing around the corner" test is set to test both your driving ability in relation to actually reversing around a corner (which I do quite often when I'm going home from work), parking (its the only part of the test where you reverse bar the turn about) and also your observation.
The observation part is where most people fall down, the actual reversing part is easy once you have practised it enough and are used to the size of your car, but not looking over both shoulders, in the mirrors etc is what catches a lot of people out.
Keep practising, go out at night into a housing estate when its quiet and just keep doing it over and over using different corners.. you might feel like a bit of a muppet but you will get so good at it after a while that you could do it with your eyes closed (not a good idea to try this out in the test!) then after you have mastered the actual manouver practise doing it while looking in the mirrors, over the shoulders etc..
No bother to ye!

Keith C

I rubbed the curb as I was completeing the reverse, said "****, can i do it again" instructer laughed at my reaction and said i was grand as I had more or less completed it.
Passed the test anyway with 3 minor faults, none to do with reversing around corner.

Third_Echelon

I passed my test on the first go in May of this year.... I'm not sure if I got marked down for the reverse around the corner or not.

I reversed around the corner no problems. Nailed it. Started into the straight bit (tester asked me to reverse as far as the first drive-way) and a car comes up behind me starts flashing lights and pumping the horn (f**ker. It was quite obvious I was doing my test)... Anyway, I didn't get as far as the drive-way.

The tester asks me to let the car go, by turning around the corner. He then asks me to reverse around the corner again!!!!

On the second go I clipped the kerb slightly... I thought that I failed at that point. Got back to the centre and he told me I had passed...

So I don't think hitting the kerb is an automatic fail. Probably mounting the kerb completely may influence a fail, but clipping it slightly I don't think so..

Alanstrainor

Hitting the curb is not an automatic fail, it's a common misconception. You may not even get marked down for it in a test, although it would depend on the exact situation. "mounting" the curb on the other hand is a grade 3 fault( auto. fail) By mounting the curb i mean the car/wheel ends up on the curb. Most important thing is, when doing your test, never to throw in the towel, forget any mistake you make immediately and move on.

tba

like all elements in the test it is about taking your time and not going mental, generous movement of the wheel to start with, followed by a pause half way through, (thats right a full stop). Then as you come around the corner straighten the wheel slowly so that when it reaches 12 o clock your back wheel is a foot out from the kerb.

then continue straight back , hopefully you will be in line(if not a simple two maneover turn will be nessesary) don't twist the wheel like a mad sailor!

two wheel movements

close to the kerb at all times

observation all over the shop all the time

take your time and pause if you need to

remember to fix the mirror after if you have changed it.

its a complicated thing but not impossible to learn and no outside force can affect you so practice is the key

Wishbone Ash

Apologies for being pedantic but it's simply known as the 'reversing manoeuvre' and it is done on a bend rather than a corner.