The UK Driving Test includes the option of forward and reverse bay parking, but this
is often done in a quiet car park where there is plenty of space.
After passing their test, new drivers find that in reality car parks can be very busy
places, with many other hazards present to make it much more difficult to safely park
their car.
In this video we will visit 3 different car parks and practice bay parking in real life
conditions, whilst sharing a few tips to help new drivers.
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Parking in real life can be a difficult challenge for a new driver - especially on busy weekend
or market days.
Here we are entering a local supermarket and the first thing we notice is how tight the
road layout is.
Due to this we need to drive very slowly, and look out for other drivers cutting corners
or driving in the middle of the road.
There will also be plenty of pedestrians around, often walking in the road without any thought
for their own safety!
We usually stay under 10mph, just in case something unexpected happens.
If we find ourselves driving along rows of cars looking for a single space to park in,
with possibly another car following us - then we will probably want to use the easiest and
fastest technique to park.
If possible, we prefer to reverse into our target bay, as the car is more manoeuvrable
- which is handy when parking in tight spots.
Since we normally drive on the left side of the road we can use this to our advantage
when parking - so we find it easier to look for an empty bay on the left, as it allows
us to use the 45° method to park easily from our normal road position.
We prefer the 45° method over the 90° method as its more obvious where we intend to park,
so following traffic is far less likely to accidentally get in our way or even steal
our empty bay!
Let’s go and look for another space to park.
If we spot a space on the right side of the road, then we could drive forwards into it,
as we have enough space to turn from our normal driving position.
Of course, driving forwards into the bay will require us to reverse out again into traffic
later, so if possible we prefer to reverse into the bay - which is much safer.
For a more detailed look at how to do either the forward or reverse bay parking manouevre,
then please watch our other videos.
Let’s go to a multi-storey car park next for a few more tips.
The first thing we notice here is that it’s very tight indeed as we steer around the corners
- so we slow right down to ensure we don’t scrape our car on anything.
To make it easier to park, we often look for a quiet area in the car park where it is not
as busy - so here we should see more empty spaces as we go towards the top.
We might have to walk a little further, but the benefit is that we have more choice of
parking spaces and less people around us to get in our way.
When considering a suitable space, we always look out for other cars that are poorly parked
on or over their bay line.
We would avoid parking next to these cars as we would have less space to manoeuvre,
or open our doors afterwards.
Here is a space on our left, so we will reverse into the bay this time using the 45° method.
Notice how we reverse very slowly, which gives us time to look out for any danger nearby.
Let’s drive on
and find another gap.
Those large yellow kerbs would be easy to kit, so we steer around them very carefully
to ensure our wheels don’t get damaged.
The more obvious we can make what we intend to do, the less chance there will be of someone
else misunderstanding what is happening and putting us in danger.
The first way we can signal to others is of course with our indicators - so we always
indicate towards our target bay.
We can also signal with our car position as we steer towards our bay.
And finally, if we need to reverse our reverse lights will show anyone behind the car that
we intend to back up, so we always select reverse gear promptly.
We notice we are being followed now, and then see a space on the right, so we choose to
forward park this time.
Once our right door mirror points into the bay we want we steer towards the bay.
This trick also works on the left if needed.
Let’s go to our third car park in the town centre.
Now we have entered the car park we saw at the start of the video.
This car park has narrow 2-way roads, but no Give Way markings anywhere so we must be
careful.
In contrast to the aerial view, when at ground level our vision is very restricted by the
lines of parked cars - so we drive really slowly just in case there is danger just out
of sight.
As you have just seen, we must observe constantly when in car parks - as pedestrians will often
walk very close to our car, and other vehicles may try to squeeze past us through tight gaps.
When this happens we just wait patiently until it’s safe to move.
It’s tempting to wave people past us, but we shouldn’t - as it could cause confusion
or someone to move without checking for other dangers.
When manoeuvring we keep the car at a very low speed, as this will give us enough time
to steer precisely whilst looking around for danger.
Here is our final parking space on the left, and we will be reverse parking this time.
Moving at about 1mph is usually about right, and we might even stop to check our position
if it’s needed.
For more details on how to use good clutch control to move this slowly please watch our
other video ‘Clutch control at low speed’.
So, remember to; Choose a space carefully
Signal what we intend to do Observe constantly, and
Manoeuvre very slowly
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