Reverse Bay Parking | The 3 Line Method | Driving Test Manoeuvres
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ม.ค. 2025
- Learn how to Reverse Bay Park the three line method. My other manoeuvering videos that helped with the driving test for a few years old now, so it was about time I updated them.
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After 40 years of driving I recommend the trial and error method. Works eventually.
After 2 years of driving for me, I would recommend the hope for the best method, sometimes it works for me and sometimes it will not work for me.
@@zitzong there's a good method of "check the insurance is still active, then just go for it"
When I was taking lessons, I remember learning a bunch of references for parking manoeuvres. Now I just eyeball everything and hope for the best.
@@sm7085Still remember every reference I was taught, though no car, road or parking is the same. My biggest challenge remains parallel parking. Especially when half the road is occupied by folks who park on the street. Leaves little room for turning. Usually I end up a foot over the kerb or a foot from the kerb. Or as my mom would criticize me: “Might as well call a cab to reach the sidewalk” 😅
How about the stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye method?😢😮😂
I have been driving for a number of years now and I developed a 'feel' for reverse parking as a result, but videos like this would have been a huge help to me back when I was learning and it makes me happy that you make these videos to help educated and demystify manoeuvring for the new, recently passed and even experienced drivers. Thank you for all the effort you put into these clear and direct videos for all to learn from and enjoy. I'm still and always will be looking for little changes that makes me a more competent, aware and respectful road user and your videos are a great way to brush up and learn.
The editing , with the different camera angles , gives it an all round demonstration, so well done. It would be interesting for you to do it with parked cars as well and see how that goes. Sometimes ,not all the time, it's easier to get within the lines when using the parked cars as a guide. The only problem is if they are not parked well themselves .
I wouldn't mind a 360 degree camera though.
Reference points don't carry over well between cars, so often learner will get their first car, and be completely thrown. The best way is learning to use only your mirrors. It's most easily done by putting your car roughly at 45 degrees to the bay, with your rear vaguely near the entrance to the bay. Then you simply guide your car in by looking at whichever mirror is on the side the curve of your turn is. Make sure there's enough distance between either the car or the bay line. Once you're straight enough for the other mirror to be useful, use that to centralise. The great thing about this method is that you can jump into any car whatsoever, and be confident you can reverse it properly. If you rely on reference points, you'll get panic instead!
@Oliver that is bang on mate
What if something if out of the mirrors view ? Like people?
My instructor taught me the 3 M's:
Middle of road
Middle of the car
Middle of the 2nd bay further from the bay you plan to back into. Works most of the time. (When it doesn't I find the error with myself, turning too fast, too much or alignment being off by an inch or so)
It's fairly similar to what you show here, though I have to say using the far side of the road allows for more room to fix errors.
Personally I prefer reverse bay parking for it allows for better observations when leaving. On parking lots pedestrians turn their IQ levels down to minus a billion while they walk in front of moving vehicles.
If I have to reverse out of the bay, there's a dozen more blindspots I got to deal with.
My technique is to find an empty corner of the car park away from other cars, eyeball it with the reversing camera, hope for the best, and just accept that the car will stick out over at least one of the lines because the spaces in most car parks are smaller than my family estate car. Yes, I've did once bring a tape measure along to confirm this.
For similar reasons, my strategy for parking in multi-storey car parks is "don't".
Another great instructional video of an important skill. Once again, nice to see I largely do what Ash demonstrates but still worthwhile viewing to ensure I understand and improve wherever I can.
Passed my test yesterday, just wanted to thank you for the great videos definitely helped me to pass
Great job!
it will be useful to demonstrate this in a crowded car park, as for new drivers they might not encounter an empty car park that often. Sometime in the office parking people also park off side slightly that make it difficult to see any lines.
This is why I don't personally reverse like that. I was taught that way but never really understood it, and when I finally got my own car I was practicing at 10pm in dead car parks and couldn't hack it until I found the 45 degree method, far easier and simpler to execute but importantly can be done fairly quickly if you know what you're doing and you're getting out of the way of others quickly. Another thing I noticed from trying 90 degree one method in fairly busy car parks is people don't tend to understand what you're doing initially and think you've just stopped
Very happy that they made backup cams required in all newly sold cars in the US in 2018, they are incredibly useful and have their safety benefits assuming they are being used correctly
Got my first car with backup camera in 2019 🇬🇧
Won’t buy another without one.
The wide angle mode is especially good for seeing up + down the car park “road” when reversing out of a bay with 2 tall vehicles parked either side.
I was always in confusion about bay parking.
But I loved your technique as it is amazing.
Thank you
These lessons are worth watching.
I'm now driving a vehicle that's a great deal larger than the one in which I learned to drive. It's not only larger -- it has less visibility, is higher, has much larger turning radius and can do a great deal more damage to other vehicles. And I have a sense that parking bays are now designed by engineers rather than pragmatists.
I flew through my driving test the day after I was old enough to apply for the test -- in a VW Beetle. I'm nowhere near as sure I'd pass in my light truck now, despite over four decades of (almost, and officially not my fault) incident-free driving experience.
Engineers are by definition pragmatists. What you're thinking of are accountants.
@@loc4725 You're quite right 😁
Will watch this as soon as I can. Still unpacking from my Vancouver trip. Interestingly and very much related to this video, I find that compared to the UK, far fewer drivers in Canada and USA reverse into a parking bay so that they can drive out head first. In fact I had an incident in Vancouver just one day before returning to the UK. Another car had vacated a space in a mall, so I set myself up to reverse into it via what I call "The 45 degree method". And yet in the very short space of time between me shifting from Drive to Reverse gear, some character in a mini van just shot forwards into the space that I'd arrived at first! I don't know if it was deliberate or just plain ignorance but I decided to just drive off and find another space. In all my years of reverse parking in the UK, I don't recall ever having this happen.
The other thing with reverse bay parking in North America, even if they don't steal your space, folks often look very puzzled as you set yourself up for the reverse, thinking you're going to just sit there blocking traffic and will immediately either repremand you or try to squeeze past you. Only when you start to reverse (if safe) does the penny drop and you can almost see them thinking "Ah, that's what you're doing". But you also get the "Geez, why are you reversing into the space?" puzzled / shocked look. I've heard that in Japan virtually everyone reverses into a bay even though it's not law but very much a cultural thing. In fact there are a few YT videos showing this. Funny how different nations have very different views on reverse bay parking.
In the UK there's this "rule" in the highway code.
"Rule 201
When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can."
Welcome back, Sugar!
I was just about to welcome him myself but you just beat me to it 😄
@@margaretnicol3423 Ah Margaret. Thank you for your greeting. I'm assuming it wasn't whilst reverse parking. How are you?
@@thomaselliot2257 Hello Thomas. How are you? Well I'm sure it's not limited to just one greeting per posting, so Thank you for your thoughts. Just getting back into the swing of things here. Note to self: Disconnect the car battery before leaving for five weeks. I'm currently recharging it but I'm actually surprised it's this flat after just five weeks. I do have a second unused battery if the original won't charge. The original is about 4.5 years old.
I favour the "drive around till you find a pull-through space" technique myself.
My first instructor tried to teach to line the furthest line of the space 2 away from the space I wanted to park in with a seam in the door trim claiming it will be the same in every car. He didn't acknowledge my concerns with this, cars being different sizes and shapes, etc. He fell ill so I got a second instructor who taught the same method as you Ash, although in a slightly smaller car, he was teaching me to pass the test but whilst teaching me, said it is dependent on the size of the car etc and that adjusting the technique to accommodate the different factors of being in a different car after passing will be something that will be relatively easy to do. It helped me out considerably, in the 5 years I have been driving, I have never had a problem reversing into a bay, have done it in my small car, and vans with the same method.
I started out with the 3 line method but i'm glad i gave it up. It was painfully slow and you had to be accurate to guarantee steering into the bay. Slightly overshooting the bay and turning to 45 degrees then using the lines to guide yourself into the bay was a much faster option. Although i'm not sure what's allowed on your test as they can be strict for no reason these days.
I drive a few things that it's not possible to use the three line method. the initial swing is necessary to get into the bay.
There is no 'required' method for a test rather if asked you need to execute a reverse bay park that is safe and legal whilst maintaining effective observations at all times. Dry steering is not a problem. 3-lines or 45 degrees methods...whatever works for you. You are allowed to open the drivers door and check your position once you have secured the vehicle (handbrake / neutral) but must not exit the vehicle. You can make reasonable adjustments ie observe and carefully move the vehicle out of the bay and bring it back in but not keep moving out and back. You do not have to be central in the bay but your wheels do need to be in the bay and front / back not overhanging.
@@dave900ssred in comparison, one of the jobs I am involved with has annual performance testing that requires the vehicle to be placed properly on the first try; but allows a reasonable number of redos.
I have problems with bay parking into those click and collect bays, where there is no third line, but it seems to be a recurrence of the same problem I have when normally bay parking - because my instructor taught me to use the rear passenger window, around where the locking mechanism is as the turning point, and I always end up too close on the driver's side, so I have to re-adjust. I'm going to use this method from now on - I'm not sure whether the car I'm driving (Skoda Superb) is just a larger car (I learnt in a Peugeot 207) but I think using better clutch control and slowing down might help. I also use the mirrors to gauge how far back I am - if they are perched like a bird on the farther line of the bay next to us, you are golden/
I never reverse into bays unless I'm just popping in for a few items that go into the front with me. It's so much easier emptying the trolley into the boot if you drive straight in.
Understandable with the shopping and I try to reverse as much as I can as it makes it easier to come out especially when the car park lanes are tight and someone parks close to the side of the car. Sometime unavoidable though especially in some supermarket car parks
I wish car parks had a walkway between the bays that back onto each other to avoid the need to drive in, or have one ways and angled bays to make the reversing out 100 times better 👍
@@smilerbob In my view whether parking by reversing into a bay or leaving it by reversing out of it, all one is doing is dealing with the difficulties of the car park either before or after shopping. I personally find it easier to reverse out of a bay after having placed my shopping in the conveniently situated boot, than it is to go to all the trouble of reversing into the bay, thereby reducing access to the boot.
But everyone's different and what suits me more may suit someone else less :)
Having a mid-engine car with the majority of storage in the front is great for this! All the benefit of reverse parking, all of the time, even at Tesco!
@@smilerbob Even if the bay is at an angle it's still a pain backing out if a van has parked beside you. Your backside needs to be halfway out before you can see anything. Another time for 'creeping'! 😀
@@margaretnicol3423 I echo your sentiments both with your first point and your second
Much of the discussion conformed to what I have taught myself to do (this maneuver was not covered when I took driver training almost 60 years ago). And, I learned some new stuffs. Nice.
This sort of thing has got a lot easier with reversing cameras that overlay the predicted vehicle track onto the image. I find that a useful addition.
I had a car that would park itself for a while. Tried the reverse bay and parallel park features a couple of times for the fun factor of watching it move the steering wheel by itself, then never used the feature again. Not so much use, you'd have to be really bad at parking to bother with it.
I also find the reverse parking cameras with the grid lines helpful, but there have been a few times that I found myself staring at the that and only that, letting my observation standards slip, I still prefer to use my side mirrors and look behind me while only using the camera to make sure there's no low walls, bollards or children etc.
@@crex8751 yes, you do need to keep looking around. But most systems like this also have moving object detection using the cameras and object proximity detection using the acoustic proximity sensors, both linked up to emergency braking. So, whilst you shouldn't rely on these features, they more than make up for any slight distraction a screen might cause.
When auto parking first came out quite a few people started calling it "Woman assist".
And what's more, some of them calling it that were women.
Never understood why they teach this system. It leaves the spot you were planning to reverse into open for the person behind to nose into. It leaves room for oncoming traffic to squeeze through, until your front end swings out, and it takes longer overall to complete.
Pulling diagonally across the road makes your intentions clear, puts you in control of the road, and gives you a clear run at your space.
Maybe someone can clarify the advantage of a longer reverse with a 90 degree turn?
Yeah. Same when reversing into a driveway off a road. Clearer to other drivers what you are doing, easier observations, and gets done faster. I can't see an advantage of the videos method either :/.
Hi Ashley. I remember that my driving instructor put some marks on the rear window to help sight the cars position for parking and reversing round a corner.
And for all learners who say to their instructor whilst pointing towards a bay, all empty btw “ it’s that bay,ok?”, we instructors don’t know or care lol!
Joking aside great content as usual Ashley 👍🤪
I usually say, just pick a free one!
this is a spot where experience shows. enough time and awareness driving a vehicle, and you just know whether your wheels are straight.
This method requires two additional spaces beyond the one you are going for. What if you are going for the first or second space in a row?
Do I need to signal lef or right on reverse bay parking ? - specifically on exam
Do your side mirrors tilt when selecting reverse? I think they're showing too much ground if that's their normal position 🤔
Would you reccomend moving the left mirror down during this manoeuvre?
Ashley, not sure if you read comments on older videos. But I just wanted to ask do you have any advice on how to politely advise a friend to watch your videos to try and improve their driving?
As a driving instructor myself I will certainly be using some of the key words that Ashley used
A great system - for an empty parking lot. But if you plan on parking at Tesco's on Saturday morning you might need to take into account other factors.
Try that in a 1970's Italian Supercar......
Oh, wait...... Clarkson and his pals have already tried that 😂 lol.
Joking aside and depending upon the vehicle you are driving; that makes for a great starting point that can always be fine tuned if required.
Stay safe out there.
Where do you find empty carparks?
In some car parks where there's only a short white line at the entrance and rear of the space, and with cars badly on on either side, it's not always easy to see the markings in the mirrors. I tend to open the driver's door a crack about halfway into the space, glance back at the rear line, and use its distance, and angle to, the car to help with centring corrections.
Some of the newer ones don't have lines at all. A new Lidl by my mom in Redditch has block paving with the borders of each bay marked with slightly paler blocks. On the bright side, the parking bays seem a little wider than older car parks.
I never park in the centre of the bay - I try to keep the passenger side as close to the white line as possible - that's because I'm unlikely to be able to get back into my car if I come back and find someone's also not in the centre of their bay (happens a lot). Parking bays have not grown with cars and as an old codger, I am no longer as fluid as I used to be. Same goes for the instruction to exit the car on the passenger side if you break down - crossing the Berlin wall was easier. I'm now very selective as to which spots I choose, where there is a choice.
So you don't park in the centre of your bay, just in case someone else doesn't park in the centre of theirs? You've become your own enemy there 😉
@@spaghetticat22 I could feel smug about getting my car bang in the middle of the bay while I struggle/can't get into it - I've always felt that pride in a job well done helps in situations like that, especially when it's raining. Or I can do the best I can in the circumstances that were brought about by parking bays being too flaming narrow for modern cars. I avoid parking close up to other drivers' doors. I'm not a complete psycho. Better still, I try to park on the end of a row so that my driver's door cannot be blocked.
Makes me wonder how I reverse bay park as well as I do. I literally never forward park and also never use a method, I just do it and do it well every time. I actually got confused trying to use these references. I know the references are for learners, just makes me wonder how I do it without thinking about it
practice. with practice, you become instinctively aware of all the factors ashley is teaching the learners to consciously do.
@@kenbrown2808 that must be it mate
Next time you are heading north would you please take a look at Junction 17 on the M8 in Glasgow. It's where you come off the A82 from the north to head east on the motorway. If you're not used to it it's a bit of a surprise when you come round the corner to find yourself on the slip road on the right hand side of the motorway!!! (See - I didn't say the fast lane!) 😀
I live near Glasgow and I know exactly what you mean , coming from Great Western Road. One needs to be aware and pick up speed early .
@@thomaselliot2257 That's the one. It's also a pain in heavy traffic if you want to come off at the next slip road. Takes a bit of jiggling sometimes to get across.
@@margaretnicol3423 jostling for position springs to mind 😠
Don’t forget junction 15 where you need to be in lane 3 to join the slip road for Glasgow Cathedral. The M8 through Glasgow has to be one of the most poorly designed motorways in the U.K.
@@TheGiff7 And having to leave the M8 on the right hand lane for Charing Cross
Driving a van I always reverse in. As it is far safer to drive out than reverse out
After 9 years of driving I personally find the method of turning my neck all the way around and looking out the back window works better than any, far less confusing that way for me (obviously still need to check out the other windows occasionally and it won't work in a van lol)
I cheated, I bought a car with a reversing camera, makes life so much easier :)
The amount of steering input needed will also vary somewhat depending on make & model of car.
Kindly tell the reference points for left reverse bay park
Amazing as always
When are you doing C+E articulated training?
We are encouraged to help out people who's driving is not as good as should be, the same applies to parking, so the placing of our vehicle will often depend upon the position and orientation of vehicles already parked.
This said I'll never straddle the lines due to risk of incurring a fine.
Having parked in an allotted parking bay, the next task is to emerge from the car.
I passed my test in 1967 and I swear that the size of paring bays has not increased much since then, unlike the cars (Think "Mini"). Also I am less agile than I was! I realise that It makes economic sense to pack them in, but I find it a problem. I always park giving myself more space on the driver’s side so I can open the door without encroaching on the next bay. Am I wrong to do this?
Isn’t that just making it difficult for the car next to you on the passenger side? You will probably run a greater risk of dings down the passenger side of your car.
@@michael_houghton You are actually making my point for me! A car parking space should allow room to open the door for access and egress without encroaching on the next space. A facility available, apparently ONLY if you are disabled or have a child (in supermarket car parks).
The steering method I use for a reverse bay parking is looking at my rear wheel closest to the bay and use that to estimate where I will end up
Nice video and great technique…just a shame most drivers in the car park I am currently in haven’t used it 😉
You'd need to add another line for my old Volvo with the worst turning circle in the world. 😀
Can't deny though, i use a similar method, but i start central and turn away to give me a starting angle. Works well for me.
Used to have the same problem with my old Defender110...it needed half the car park to turn round....let alone getting into a particular space!....it didn't help not having power steering either!! 😂😂😂....
Or with a long wheelbase van, in a busy car park. Good Luck!
now let's try that inside supermarket tight underground car park with que of traffic behind you on sunday afternoon 😁
In my opinion, this is another aspect of the test I think is vastly out of date. I was taught the level with wing mirror and start to turn in method.... over 15 years ago now! I haven't used it a single time since. In the real world u get the back of the car level with the space u want and then swing out to the left and keep and eye on ur wing mirror until you're lined up and then just a very easy, shallow steer back into the space and then straighten up between the lines. Using ur wing mirrors to check you're straight and in the middle. The test always seems to make things harder and more complicated than it needs to be. It would be much better I think to show students "how it's really done" instead of arbitrarily doing it this way for ur test.
My wife would never reverse into a shop car park. Her reasoning was logical; in a packed supermarket car park you need to be able to push your trolley up to the tailgate to put your shopping in. So what's the approved method of driving in forwards?
This reference point with head, shoulder, or seat, unfortunately, doesn't work for me, as I am short and I have to adjust my seat forward. I usually match the turning point with the side mirror and it does work perfectly.😊
As an Advanced Driver who passed my DSA test in 1978, I feel that this formulaic method (counting) hard to accept, and must surely reduce the learning of correct spacial awareness.
This shit. I was taught this way. It's brilliant for passing the test and makes you look like a fool till you figure it out properly and and how to do it in a carpark with cars in it!
I was marked down (minor) for readjusting on my first test - I wasn't perfectly straight, shuffled / readjusted and parked straight. 😞
Er... no comprendez. Surely it's (a) different for every car, and (b) depends on how you position the driver's seat wrt the steering wheel?
Is there a reason why driving instructors don't teach the 45 degree method?
You need tho know both methods parking places getting smaller sometimes there is no space make the 45
For me it's easier when there are cars already parked up. If it's an empty lot I find it harder to just "feel" where to go, but sticking my car in the middle of 2 others is easy peasy...
Nice video
With all those empty spaces available I would just drive forward straight into any one of them! 😊
Interesting... As someone who hasn't reverse or parallel parked since 1996 (when I got my licence), maybe I should brush up, and give these a go 🙂
PS Great technique etc, but how about a vid were this's done between two occupied bays rather than empty ones. I'm sure it's the same, but there's deffo a little more stress were a stray move may have you bumping another car. Partic as there's still a lot of cars with no reverse cameras.
Reversing into a space is much more accurate than driving in because the mirrors allow you to look along the car. You cannot see the front corners. The turning wheels are also better positioned to reverse park.
Driving out gives you a much better view than reversing out too.
@@TheRip72 I'm sure that's all true, particularly in an empty car park when you've all the time in the world. But in a crowded, and busy supermarket one, say, when the pressures on not to keep people waiting, block the aisle... I've always just found it quicker, and easier to drive straight in, and reverse out.
@@jfergs.3302If you practicse it even a few times you'll get the hang of it. Once you're confident it's much easier and quicker and driving forwards into a bay especially in tight car parks.
@@cooltechno360 Cheers, I'll give it a go 👍
I think we all feel a little under pressure when doing something unfamiliar, especially when others are waiting for us, but driving in usually requires a 'straightening' move which makes it slower than reversing in.
The video is to help make reverse parking easier but it is always better to practise first without others around.
Great video and just offering a constructive comment.
Most of your target audience know what you mean when you say leave a metre gap. But the probably don't know how far "a foot to eighteen inches" is.
For the keyboard warriors out there, I started school before decimal currency came in and they'd already stopped teaching in imperial units.
Quite easy to do this in an empty car park. Not so easy if it is the only space left to park in. This topic should be done again in a full car park.
A well explained method, but you do not explain why you choose to reverse park rather than forward park.
In short it is far safer to reverse in, where you have much better visibility of the road (and pedestrians and other potential obstructions), and are then looking forwards when coming out of the space.
Contrast that to parking forwards and reversing out, you have very little visibility of the road until the car is 1-2m into the roadway, and very little peripheral vision as well. This has much more potential for near misses/collisions.
The common situation is a supermarket car park. Is it too inconvenient for an average person to walk their shopping 4m to the boot at the back of a space. Are the safety benefits not worth it (i.e. potentially missing a small child when reversing out vs facing forwards)?
On a side note, is it not also coincidence that many companies specify reverse parking only, accidents at work don’t reflect well on companies.
I think you need to update the manoeuvre for humans on floating bus stops.😳
learner drivers always in the way. Lol.
Now do it in a busy car park, in bad weather, with parked cars 😂
Easier to reverse in than to drive in .
surely its easy to Reverse Bay Park when the car park is totally empty, would be totally different if there were other cars there
you have a reverse camera in the car so you could have just used that
Is it true that red cars are the cheapest to buy (apart from Ferraris) 😂😂
I cheated My tesla parks itself and also drives itself
Never understood the teaching of this manoeuvre. Way over complicated.
This seems a backwards way of parking. The other method is much better.
I agree!
2nd
Wtf... So if you got a different size car or the bays are different size or there are no lines, you are fucked. This is alot more complicated than it needs to be. If you are trying to park in a bay to your right, drive close to it, then turn sharp left away from the bay until the back of the car points into the bay, reverse in, done.
Why teach pupils the hard way?
Nobody in the real world who does this several times a day in the course of their job for example, uses the 90 degree method. The efficient and easy way is the 45 method which has the added bonus of not needing to judge the turn in because the vehicle presents itself in the correct position to begin with..... The hard part is done for you, before reverse gear is even engaged.