The Student Room Group

Reversing into a driveway - indicators

Hello. I am wondering what's the best way to use your indicators in the following situation.

Here is a picture to give you a better idea: http://oi66.tinypic.com/17ygc8.jpg
You are driving a long delivery van and need to reverse into a narrow driveway. There's heavy traffic in both directions and you'll need to use the oncoming lane (the arrow in the picture shows the intended path of your van).

If I indicate left, people behind me will think I am stopping or going to reverse from my position. In both cases, they will try to pass me on the right as soon as the oncoming lane is clear. Also if I indicate left, people in the oncoming lane won't know that I need to use their lane and won't leave a gap for me if their lane comes to a stop.

If I indicate right, people behind me might not realise that I want to turn/reverse to the left and might drive close up to me, leaving no space for me to finish the manoeuvre.

If I put my hazards on, people will think I stopped there to make a delivery and try to overtake me immediately.

What I usually do: Even though I am turning left, I never indicate left because of the reasons mentioned above. As I approach the driveway I indicate right so that no one tries to pass me on the right and so that the oncoming traffic knows I need to use their lane. As soon as there's a gap in the oncoming traffic, I put my hazards on, move forwards slowly so that people behind me have time to realise that I am going to reverse, then reverse down the driveway (unless someone behind me sticks their bumper on my tail).

What do you think is the best way to show my intentions?

Also, what would you do in a similar situation where there would only be traffic behind you (the oncoming lane would be clear)? Now right indicator could make people behind you think that you want to park on the opposite side of the road = they will often tailgate you and prevent you from reversing ... Left indicator or hazard lights = they will start overtaking you immediately = you won't be able to use the oncoming lane).

Thank you in advance for your opinions.
Reply 1
I think it's fair to say that if you make it obvious of your intentions, other cars should hold back - of course, the world we live in is never perfect, so this probably won't happen.

If I were to be driving in this scenario, I'd slow towards the junction, indicating left; I am turning left, regardless of whether I reverse in or drive in forward. If you bring the vehicle to a slow stop, wait for the oncoming lane to clear up, and move into it, traffic will slow down - at that point you can put your reverse gear in and everyone will understand.

I agree it's a confusing situation for other drivers, but anyone who plays up over it is a d**k. They wouldn't be complaining if they were expecting an important delivery :wink:
Reply 2
Indicate left. I wouldn't drive onto the other side of the road like that to do it though. It might make it easier for you to see what you are doing but could be confusing to those behind you, and once you give them that gap they might start driving through it.
Reply 3
Original post by IWMTom
I think it's fair to say that if you make it obvious of your intentions, other cars should hold back - of course, the world we live in is never perfect, so this probably won't happen.

If I were to be driving in this scenario, I'd slow towards the junction, indicating left; I am turning left, regardless of whether I reverse in or drive in forward. If you bring the vehicle to a slow stop, wait for the oncoming lane to clear up, and move into it, traffic will slow down - at that point you can put your reverse gear in and everyone will understand.

I agree it's a confusing situation for other drivers, but anyone who plays up over it is a d**k. They wouldn't be complaining if they were expecting an important delivery :wink:


Thank you for your answer. I was in a similar situation today again. This driveway was just next to a mini-roundabout and I am sure if I had indicated left, people behind me would have thought that I was simply going to turn left on the mini-roundabout.
Reply 4
Original post by Talon
Indicate left. I wouldn't drive onto the other side of the road like that to do it though. It might make it easier for you to see what you are doing but could be confusing to those behind you, and once you give them that gap they might start driving through it.

Imagine that lane is about the same width as your vehicle. You wouldn't be able to do that with a long vehicle.
Reply 5
Ideally, you should not force other vehicles on the road to stop.

Safest course of action is to indicate left and stop just before the driveway. Wait for traffic around you to pass you and clear. When there is a pause in the traffic in both directions (enough for a slow-moving pedestrian to cross the road), then swing out past the driveway at your 45° angle and back in before more traffic gets close.
Just do what every other van driver does and pop the hazards on. The hazard lights are the universal signal of the van driver to say "I'm about to drive like a dick and get in everyone's way, proceed with caution!".
Reply 7
Original post by Advisor
Ideally, you should not force other vehicles on the road to stop.

Safest course of action is to indicate left and stop just before the driveway. Wait for traffic around you to pass you and clear. When there is a pause in the traffic in both directions (enough for a slow-moving pedestrian to cross the road), then swing out past the driveway at your 45° angle and back in before more traffic gets close.

Ideally, there would be no heavy traffic. However, I am talking about a busy road that's jammed for the better part of the day. Waiting for a pause in the traffic in both directions at 7 o'clock in the morning would literally mean waiting for over 18 hours (at 1 o'clock at night the traffic eases a little bit).
The real question is; why do you need to use the other lane?

Indicate left to show you're pulling over, pull over just after the driveway and reverse in. There's no need to use the other lane
Reply 9
Original post by TheMcSame
The real question is; why do you need to use the other lane?

Indicate left to show you're pulling over, pull over just after the driveway and reverse in. There's no need to use the other lane

Does the following picture make it easier for you to understand why?

http://oi67.tinypic.com/nffevk.jpg
Original post by Dunno123
Does the following picture make it easier for you to understand why?

http://oi67.tinypic.com/nffevk.jpg


It makes more sense given the scenario, the first one has you driving over onto the other side. This one is just swinging out. That being said... I'm still struggling to see why this is such a big issue. If the road is big enough for you to be worried about others overtaking straight away when you put your hazards on, surely this road is of a decent size, meaning even a LWB van shouldn't cause any significant issues for oncoming traffic. The narrow drive should be of little issue, get the angle right and it'll go in fine.

Frankly, if it's such a big issue for you, you'd be better off parking the van elsewhere and put it in the drive when it isn't busy. That's assuming it's a van for personal use.

If it's not for personal use it's a nonissue. Park on the kerb and make the delivery then be on your way.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by WoodyMKC
Just do what every other van driver does and pop the hazards on. The hazard lights are the universal signal of the van driver to say "I'm about to drive like a dick and get in everyone's way, proceed with caution!".


many a true word spoken in Jest ...

if you absolutely must reverse into this driveway without a banksman and the traffic is such that you aren;t going to havea clear space then Bold Positioning to take control of the entire road is an option .

the thing is Bold Positioning is rarely taught to none emergency services drivers / people doing IAM /ROADA as you don't need it to pass your DSA test
Original post by TheMcSame
The real question is; why do you need to use the other lane?

Indicate left to show you're pulling over, pull over just after the driveway and reverse in. There's no need to use the other lane


every driven a LWB van never mind a XLWB ?

two words

' cut in '
Original post by zippyRN
many a true word spoken in Jest ...

if you absolutely must reverse into this driveway without a banksman and the traffic is such that you aren;t going to havea clear space then Bold Positioning to take control of the entire road is an option .

the thing is Bold Positioning is rarely taught to none emergency services drivers / people doing IAM /ROADA as you don't need it to pass your DSA test


I suppose as well we have to consider that people in this thread are either going to be very young and still pretty new to driving and still at that stage where they're nervous about pissing people off, or the ones that have a bit more experience are just providing the "ideal" which is great and all but... well, I've been driving about 4 years now, so not an eternity by any stretch, but the longer I drive I tend not to give a s*** that Mr Impatient doesn't wanna wait 10 seconds while I use a bit of road space to perform a manoeuver more safely. In fact, if you're taking up all the space then approaching traffic can see that well in advance and they're less likely to hit you.
Been driving for 14 years, and used to drive long wheel base vans although I don't have any enhanced driving quals. I can't comment on the highway code advise as I genuinely don't know.

Personally if I was in this OPs situation I would do exactly as above, hazards on and block the road - it might seem like driving like a d*ck but smaller vehicles will have to comply due to your size and larger vehicle drivers (vans, lorries etc) will understand and give way.

Be confident, be forceful and stay calm but most importantly be observant - the number of times I've had to swing right to take a tight left turn (indicating left) and had some muppet in a small car/bike/motorbike etc try and cut up the inside was too may times to count.

People might get wound up but there's not much other choice, a friendly wave to say thanks afterwards soothes a lot of ruffled feathers.
Original post by zippyRN
every driven a LWB van never mind a XLWB ?

two words

' cut in '


Again, see my last post. If it's too much for the OP they should just park the van elsewhere if it's for personal use.

If they're making a delivery there's no need to park on the driveway, they can just park up on the kerb, make the delivery and go on their way.
Reply 16
Original post by TheMcSame
Again, see my last post. If it's too much for the OP they should just park the van elsewhere if it's for personal use.

If they're making a delivery there's no need to park on the driveway, they can just park up on the kerb, make the delivery and go on their way.


Judging by the image in the OP, when they say driveway I believe OP means something like this:



A tight road for several houses. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but this certainly seems like what they mean.
Reply 17
Thank you all for your answers. Especially WoodyMKC & virgil1, I've only been driving a long van for about half a year and this always works best.

TheMcSame: It's a delivery van I'm talking about, yes. Sometimes there are places where you don't have a possibility to park anywhere else than in the driveway, but you probably know this.

IWMTom: Where is the tight road? Do you mean that bit on the right side next to the bush? Either way, I didn't refer to any particular driveway, but what I had in mind is probably something like this: http://oi67.tinypic.com/nzho5v.jpg
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by Dunno123
Thank you all for your answers. Especially WoodyMKC & virgil1, I've only been driving a long van for about half a year and this always works best.

TheMcSame: It's a delivery van I'm talking about, yes. Sometimes there are places where you don't have a possibility to park anywhere else than in the driveway, but you probably know this.

IWMTom: Where is the tight road? Do you mean that bit on the right side next to the bush? Either way, I didn't refer to any particular driveway, but what I had in mind is probably something like this: http://oi67.tinypic.com/nzho5v.jpg


Oh right.. your original post made it seem as though by driveway you meant a narrow road for a few houses.. you actually meant a literal single driveway. Why dont you just stop outside the house? :')
Reply 19
Original post by IWMTom
Oh right.. your original post made it seem as though by driveway you meant a narrow road for a few houses.. you actually meant a literal single driveway. Why dont you just stop outside the house? :':wink:

I don't like to stop on that double red line.

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