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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are practising with your Parents or relatives please make sure that you display " L " plates. The person accompanying you must be at least 21 and have held their licence for 3 years. You must also be insured to drive the car. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1. Control - The Car needs to be under control use clutch control to keep the car moving very slowly ( walking pace no faster) 2. Observation - All round effective observation is what's needed look mostly behind you out of the rear window when reversing but be aware of everything else around you by regularly checking all around. (including your blind spot - right shoulder) 3. Accuracy - basically making sure that you put the car in between the lines on the bay park and are close enough to the kerb on the parallel park or reverse corner and don't hit the kerb etc..( remember if a manoeuvre goes wrong it's OK to make a correction, even if it means going forwards) - Just maintain GOOD CONTROL and EFFECTIVE OBSERVATIONS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The examiner will make sure that it is safe to carry out the manoeuvre, there is no need for checking the mirrors before hand. When given the signal keep a tight grip on the steering wheel and press the brake firmly progressively pushing harder and harder to bring the car to a quick stop. Just before you stop don't forget to press the clutch as well to avoid stalling!! Once you have stopped apply the handbrake and select neutral. Normally at this point the examiner will say something like " Thank you very much I wont ask you to do that again, please drive on when you're ready" At this point select first gear look over both shoulders and if safe drive on. You must check both shoulders ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout you test you will be asked to " pull up at a convenient / safe place on the left" - The examiner will be expecting to see you use your mirrors before you make any decision and act accordingly minimising any impact on other drivers and making your intentions as obvious as possible. When you pull away you may have to use one of the following techniques: Remember POM - Preperation - Observation - Move Once the car is prepared check your mirrors, if you are satisfied that it is safe to continue apply a signal if appropriate, finally check your blind spot and release the handbrake to pull away.
Downhill - Moving downhill you can make the appropriate observations, Signal, then release the handbrake allow the car to start rolling forwards and you can control the speed of the roll by using the footbrake. Once moving you need to apply the gas and release the clutch. It's OK to roll forwards because you are in control of the car and moving in the right direction ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you steer, the front corner of the car will swing out into the road. You must check your right blind spot especially at this point. I would suggest at this point you pause and have a good look around. Most corners require about 1 whole turn of the wheel so this is the best starting point. As you go around the corner look out of the side and rear windows to assess whether the car is staying parallel to the kerb or if is drifting away or getting too close. The door mirror is also very useful for checking this (see pictures) but be careful to not look for too long in the mirrors, just regular, quick glances, most of the observation should be out of the back window as this is the direction you are travelling in. If the car starts to drift too far from the kerb you will need to steer more towards the kerb (left) if you're getting too close then you will need to take off some of your steering (steer right). If you are getting really close it may be neccessary to completely straighten the wheels to avoid hitting the kerb. You will than need to re-apply the steering to the right to continue steering around the corner. If you find your self either too close to the kerb so that you can't continue or drifting too wide (so that you would have to swing out too wide into the road to correct) it is OK to select 1st gear look around thoroughly and carefully drive forwards to make a correction just be sure to look around thoroughly first. Then you should be able to re-try the part that went wrong.( you will incur a driver fault on your test for this)
look out the rear window. Reverse back for three to four car lengths or until told to stop. Throughout this manoeuvre you should be keeping a constant lookout all around for approaching traffic. When other vehicles get close you need to stop and make eye contact with the driver. hopefully you will be able to stop and let the vehicle pass, (you could consider using your brake lights and indicator as a signal to other drivers that you intend to stop and wait). if that isn't possible you can always move forward to the starting position and then you will have to restart the manouevre. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the rear of your car starts to pass the back of the parked car, steer left. the front will start to swing out so you need to look over you right shoulder at this point Steer left by 1 full turn of the wheel
Continue to slowly reverse and turn half a turn to the right (The steering wheel should be upside down). The front of the car will swing in towards the kerb. Whilst looking out of the rear window where you are going, keep a check on your left door mirror to see if your back wheel is going to hit the kerb. If it looks as though you are going to be too close then steer further to the right, If you think that you will be too far from the kerb then steer less to the right to allow the car to get a little closer to the kerb. (It can sometimes be quite difficult to know how much extra steering to put on if your'e going to be too close - Once the rear wheel has reached a point that you would be happy with as a finishing distance from the kerb it then becomes impossible to be too far away from the kerb as the rear wheels can't steer and so at this point simply steer to full lock to the right, bringing you into parallel with the kerb).
If it looks like you are not going to get the car into a suitable finishing position, you are allowed to continue backwards (you must finish within 2 car lenghts of the vehicle in front of you) or to go forwards and re position the car to reverse back for a second time ( this will incur a driver fault on test). Remember to be always looking behind you in the direction of travel , whilst maintaining good all round observations including for pedestrians ( don't reverse towards them, simply pause until they have cleared the area.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout this manoeuvre you will need to be looking behind you out of the back windscreen, but also all round effective observations are needed. (try to imagine that you are reversing between 2 other cars) keep the car very slow using clutch control. On the test it doesn't matter if you aren't perfectly straight but you do need to have all 4 wheels within the lines both at the sides and at the front. Again it is OK to go forwards to make a correction ( you will incur a driver fault for this) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speed (MPH) Thinking Distance We then have the ‘braking distance’. This distance is based on how far the average car would travel with the brakes engaged before coming to a complete stop. To work this out you will need to multiply the mph travelled by a steadily increasing figure the figure increases by 0.5 with each extra 10 mph, for example:
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Before you move off check thoroughly to ensure that it is safe to move off then using clutch control to move forward slowly. Steer quickly to the right to full lock. as you near the kerb you may feel the car start to roll down the camber, if so, clutch down and gently use the footbrake to control the speed. Just before you stop steer left to straighten the wheels. This makes the next phase much easier. Stop the car before you hit or overhang the kerb. Apply the handbrake.
Clutch control is when you are controlling the speed of the car by adjusting the pressure on the clutch: If you are in a situation where you need to move the car very slowly and carefully, for example creeping out at the end of a road when you can't see very well or whilst carrying out a manoeuvre. It can also be used to hold the car still for a moment on a hill or slope without the need to use the brake (very useful) METHOD: Unless you're driving a diesel you will always need to use a little gas when using clutch control and the gas needs to remain constant all speed control will be with the clutch. Set the gas and find the biting point the car should start to move forwards very slowly at this point, however if you leave the clutch at the biting point the car will begin to speed up so it is necessary to make very small adjustments on the clutch. - Clutch up to speed up - clutch down to slow down. (This can take a bit of practice to get the very small adjustments needed to keep the car smooth) Too high and you will go too fast too low and the car will stop ( or worse roll back if you're on a hill!) Don't be tempted to ease off the gas to slow down you most likely stall!! Think of the clutch as a tap that allows out as much or as little of the engines' power ( water) as you let it On a hill clutch control can be used to hold the car still momentarily or move forward very slowly using the same technique if you balance the clutch at exactly the biting point it will stand still on a hill, slightly higher and you can then pull away as slowly or as quickly as you like it's all determined by how high you bring up the clutch. Always be careful not to roll back down the hill - if things don't go to plan the priority is always to keep the car under control - if you start to roll back hit the brake then use the handbrake and start again finding the biting point. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are some more videos. links are to an external website:
Stopping Clutch control Junctions Basic left turn Basic right turn Box junctions Dual carriageways Meeting traffic Overtaking Traffic lights Pedestrian crossings Roundabouts | | | ||||||||||||||
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Please click on the links below for videos on how the Manoeuvres should be done! and the wording / terminology used by driving examiners. Check out the Tests page for more info about what you can expect on the test with regard to manoeuvres and more.
Uphill - Moving away from the side of the road uphill. The engine has to work harder to get the car moving. You need to be very careful that you have found the biting point on the clutch before you release the handbrake.( otherwise you will roll backwards!) The Easiest way to do this is to bring the clutch up a little higher than the biting point, whilst at the same time using plenty of gas. Once you have your pedals in position hold them still, make your usual observations and if clear then release the handbrake and as the car starts to move forward slowly release the clutch. If in any situation you do start to roll backwards instead of forwards apply the brake as quickly as possible to avoid rolling back too far! then re-apply the hand brake and try again. you must stay in control of the car at all times.
Left reverse is reversing around a corner into a road. On test the examiner will ask you to pull up on the left just before the road you will turn into. The examiner then would normally say that he would like you to drive pass the road ahead on the left and then stop again on the left about 2 car lengths away from the road. As you drive past the road have a look at what sort of corner you are dealing with: is it sharp or gradual?, how wide is the road ? any other hazards?
Identify where the corner starts, look for the kerbstone that starts to curve into the road. This is called the point of turn. Reverse until your rear nearside wheel is level with it.Now it is time to turn.
When you have completed the corner and the car is pointing straight down the road that your turning into (parallel) - straighten your wheels keeping parallel to the kerb. As you continue to reverse ensure that you make any adjustments to stay close and parallel to the kerb.
The best angle to approach the kerb is about 45°, (think of a clock face where 12 o clock is straight ahead of you, the car should be pointing towards 2 o clock). As the wing mirror draws level with the back of the parked car turn 1 turn back to straight. The car will now be heading for the kerb and may start to roll fast if there is a steep camber on the road. (At this point the car should be pointing at the 45° angle and have straight wheels).
When you are parallel with the kerb straighten your wheels. Once straight secure the car with your handbrake and select neutral. 
This manouevre requires that you reverse into a parking space. The examiner will not tell you where to park he will only say " I would like you to reverse into any available space" you can decide either left or right it's your choice. At the end of your test, depending what manouevres you have completed you may be asked to drive straight into a parking space forwards. Don't worry it doesn't matter if you don't quite get into the space accurately as this will not be marked on your test!
Position yourself so that you are 90° to the parking bays. Reverse back slowly, when you feel that the line on the passenger door in your vehicle is level with a white line steer left full lock. 
When the lines appear parallel straighten the wheels (Use the lines in front of you to help with this.) Check all around for pedestrians as you reverse the car in to the space fully. When finished secure the car. Remember throughout the Manoeuvre to be fully aware of everything around you as you reverse. (LOOKING MAINLY OUT OF THE REAR WINDOW BUT ALSO OVER BOTH SHOULDERS - EFFECTIVE ALL ROUND OBSERVATION).
Stopping distances: remember when we are driving we use the 2 second rule which doubles in wet weather and can be up to 10 times as long in icy conditions. The highway code gives us a general guide for stopping distances which is very useful to know. 
The turn in the road:
