Reverse Round the Corner!

My test is in 2 weeks time and still cannot master reverse around the corner perfectly...

Does anybody have any tips on how to reverse around the corner perfectly? I don't really know how to judge the whole manouver. Sometimes when i'm on the new road i tend to be too close or too far out...

Anyone got any suggestions?

Fanx!

Reply 1

AT82

This was my biggest weakest area as well so you're not alone, I got really confused. My twisted logic was if I had enough tests I would be able to avoid it :biggrin:

Reply 2

rhythm_bandit

Use your mirrors to judge where you are. Practice makes perfect. Just make sure you don't spend to much time looking at the wing mirror during the driving test, otherwise you get minors for observation.

Reply 3

bullyfish

This was my biggest weakest area as well so you're not alone, I got really confused. My twisted logic was if I had enough tests I would be able to avoid it

sounds like great advice to me!

Reply 4

Turtle4288

Use the mirrors for about 20% of the time and check for hazards (turn your head RIGHT round each way) at least 3 times (once before starting, once when your turning into the other road, and once for luck :rolleyes:

)

And take it SLOOOWLY. You can't fail for that :wink:

Reply 5

AT82

bullyfish

sounds like great advice to me!

It was only a half joke, I can do it a lot of the times, if I was on my own I could, its just with an examiner in the car I know I will panic.

Reply 6

rhythm_bandit

My dad gave me a valium tablet before my driving test so I wouldn't panic. And it worked! It was just another boring drive to me. but I still managed to fail.

Reply 7

Ryan

I found this really easy, turning the road was my problem :frown:

Reply 8

united_1987

what my advice would be is that:

1) check mirrors before moving
2) begin moving at the same time check all over. llok in ur left mirror or right which ever ways your reversing and when you see the corner of the kerb appearing turn 1 1/2 of steering anticlockwise.
3) slowly ( i mean u only use your clutch for this. clutch control in important here. doesnt matter if it takes u and minute or two to do this manover) move around the corner.
4)once you see the kerb disappear begin to straighten out the steering wheel by turning 1 1/2 back clockwise. if need be so turn more or less at any stage as they dont mark you down for this.

Reply 9

Smokyjoe123

i wouldn't suggest necessarily learning a new way to do a task a couple of weeks before your test but this way is foolproof. listen or ignore - do whatever you want but this works everytime.

1. check all around as you reverse but look in your left hand mirror. and when you start to go away from the kerb, one turn left of the steering wheel.
2. again keep checking all around, but glance at left hand mirror as you go back as well, when you are getting too close to the kerb, one turn right of the steering wheel.
continue this method of correcting and recorrecting until u are in the correct position and u cannot go wrong.

Reply 10

Juno

I kept looking and making minor adjustments of the steering wheel as I went along.

Reply 11

Leigh

I also wouldn't suggest a new method so close to your test, I probably can't tell you any more than your instructor already has and he's obviously better at explaining than I am.

One point though: As long as you don't hit the curb and stay on your side of the road, I don't think you'd fail your test on it, so just be generous with space from the curb, take it slow and play it by ear; get too close? steer away. Get too far away? steer closer etc. The brute force method.

I intend to use AT82's patented "retake until you don't get examined on it" method for my parallel parking which is diabolical. Unfortunately I've already failed one test I didn't get tested on it in so have increased my chances of having to do it under test conditions!

Reply 12

Xenon

I used to love doing that. For some reason, I did that well within a few goes. It's mainly about observation and steering. If you see that you are moving away from the curb, steer in. I guess I liked it because if you steer accurately and just make sure that you are not too far from the curb, you'll be fine. When you are reversing round the corner, just follow the curb around. Then straighten up.

Reply 13

Jonathan

What I've been taught is

pull up at the kerb

do your full observation sweep for reversing (right shoulder, right door mirror, rear view mirror, left door mirror, left shoulder)

and move off from the handbrake (no accelerator).

As you do the manoeuvre, face backwards and watch the road behind you, but every car's length or so turn round briefly and check forwards and all three mirrors.

there are THREE points at which you do a full observation sweep - when you move off, before you start to turn (so as not to swing out into traffic) and as you straighten up in the side road. The rest of the time you watch backwards and check forwards every few metres as above.

I'm crap at doing it based on watching the kerb out the back alone, but I turn around to check the front *very* often so I can keep an eye slyly in the left door mirror and do the manoeuvre through that.

(sorry not relevant, but I'm a stickler - it's KERB please! A curb is the edge of a sidewalk at the side of the freeway. We have kerbs in Britain...)

Reply 14

Xenon

silverjonny

(sorry not relevant, but I'm a stickler - it's KERB please! A curb is the edge of a sidewalk at the side of the freeway. We have kerbs in Britain...)

Lol, never actually realised that. I don't seem to use the word 'kerb' that often.

Reply 15

Jonathan

heh, I don't suppose we do :smile:

Reply 16

ninman

The RRC is one of the harder manouveres no question. I found the hardest personally to be the Reverse park, but that was just me. When doing the manouvere set your wing mirror low, so that you can see the back tire. Don't use it to do the manouvere, just use it as a guide and have a glance in it every now and then. It will let you know if you are coming too close to the kerb, or if you are too far away. Other than that, just practice, practice, practice. Then practice some more and you'll soon get the hang of it.

Reply 17

scara

you could draw a dot on the back left passenger window (there is a particular place for this to go ask ur instructor where) reverse slowly and when the dot is lined up with the pointy where the kerb becomes straight again then you need to turn the wheel and go round the corner

you are alowed to use this on test as well....(i think)

Reply 18

electric_egg

Once you're actually round the corner don't straighten the wheel the second you look parallel with the kerb, or you'll actually veer off and move away.. Wait until it looks like you're going back towards the kerb, then straighten up QUICKLY!

Obviously this needs a bit of judgement cos if you leave it too late you'll hit the kerb. Aargh hope I'm not going to confuse you! Practise lots!

For me it was easiest to make sure the wing mirror was down so that I could see as much of the kerb as possible, then go very slowly, just on clutch control until I got one that went uphill...that was fun! and turning my head around loads to make sure it was obvious that I was observing!

Oh yeah - apparently the really vital obsevration is when you're actually sticking out into the main road - you have to make sure you look loads left and right and that point. good luck!