Reverse around a corner

What the tester is looking at

Control, observation and where the car ends up. Control is steering and speed while reversing, and keeping an even distance from the kerb without touching it. Observation is what you check before you move and as the back of the car swings into the side road, including pedestrians who step out behind you. Position is finishing straight, a reasonable distance in, and close to the kerb.

Where the car swings

On a left-hand corner the back of the car goes into the side road first, and the front wing swings out across the main road. That is why the observation matters as much as the steering: you are looking over your left shoulder at the kerb and still need to know what is passing the front. The simulator uses one fixed car, a 4.04 m hatchback with a 2.49 m wheelbase, and a 6 m side road, so the reference points you learn stay the same every time.

How it is marked

The RSA's tester guidelines grade driving faults 1 to 3. A Grade 3 fault fails the test, and so does a build-up of Grade 2 faults; Grade 1 faults do not fail on their own. The RSA does not publish centimetre limits for manoeuvres, so the distances used in the simulator are practice targets of our own, not official numbers.

How you practise it here

Watch drives it for you with the commentary running, so you see the whole thing once before you touch anything. Guided puts the reference points on screen and stops you the moment you drift. Test says nothing and marks you the way a driving tester would, by what you touched and what you looked at. Speeds in the simulator show in km/h.

Step by step

These are the words the simulator says to you, in order, like a passenger who has done it before.

1. 1Drive on past the side road on your left, keeping a steady distance from the kerb. Check your mirrors.
2. 2Stop just past the corner, a little way out from the kerb. Look at the side road and make sure it is clear.
3. 3Reverse gear. Look all round, mainly over your left shoulder, and watch for pedestrians in the side road.
4. 4Reverse slowly and steer left. The back of the car swings into the side road, so keep looking behind you.
5. 5Half way round. Keep an even gap from the kerb and watch the front wing swing out into the road.
6. 6Straighten the wheels and carry on back in a straight line, close to the kerb.
7. 7About three car lengths along the road. Keep the same gap from the kerb, without touching it.
8. 8Stop there. You are straight and close to the kerb. Tap Finished.

Common questions