to want a small car

[bluebluecow]

We have just replaced our little car with a big car. The car is a joy to drive. Only problem is my driveway. It is narrow and just past a bend on a main road. I just CANNOT reverse on as cars come round at speed and I get panicked so I drive on and reverse off. In my previous car it wasn't a problem as the rear end was small and I could see clearly to reverse off. This car is different with a massive backside so I can't really see clearly which I know is dangerous. This car is one my dh has always wanted and he's delighted with it but I'm miserable now as I can't see a solution. (there's nowhere to park on the road). I want to buy a small car but we can't really afford 2 vehicles. What should I do????

I think you are going to have to bite the bullet and learn how to reverse it at a time when you know traffic will be lighter.
I am exactly the same. I hate reversing full stop and I know I have practice so I can do either car without panicking...just got to get round to doing it.

I find it so hard. No-one gives way and as I live just past a bend a car always appears as soon as I start. My road is very busy and is supposed to be 30 but most go much faster than that. I've been driving for years and the only time I've ever damaged a car is when trying to reverse onto my driveway. Think I may have to move

Are you in a position to widen your driveway to make things easier?

Even though there are sensors on one of our cars, I am still petrified of reversing it. I even panicked and gave up reversing into my brother's drive even though its a dead straight residential road and drive although it is quite narrow. In my defence I'd only picked up the car a week before but still. I know I have just get on with it but the more I do this, the more worked up I get...

I guess buying a small second-hand run for you and leaving the big brute of a car to DH isn't an option?

Or, cheaper option -get a parking camera thingy and practise reversing. You'll have a great sense of accomplishment when you manage to glide serenely into the drive in reverse!

Surely it's safer to reverse in than reverse out?
Practice at night until you get it right.

Does your new car have reversing sensors? I know from experience they aren't 100% cockup proof but they might help

Yes I have got parking sensors.i just don't think I'll ever be confident with it though. I know reversing off is dangerous especially with the kids in the back. I really didn't want to end up with another vehicle but may have to.

Practice without the children in the car. I'm going to take mine up to work at weekends where the car park will be empty to do this.

Is there anywhere at the end of your drive or on the other side of the road you can put one of those concave (?) mirrors to increase your visibility a bit?

Are you actually allowed to reverse out onto your road?

I ask this as my parents live on a busy road, right on the bend and it's a bloody nightmare. We HAVE to reverse down their drive as per the police!

What exactly do you do to reverse into it?

I pull up to the other side of the road and basically stop the traffic that is coming down. I then reverse in under my own steam. MOST drivers are quite happy to sit and wait - as it's not rocket science to work out what I am doing. The odd impatient twat looks the knob when they speed round not me!

It is not a wide drive either.

Is there anyway to widen your drive? Probably be a lot cheaper than having a second car you don't need, buying it, taxing it, insuring it... that and practice, go out at night when it's quiet, and practice, practice, practice. If after a week of practicing every night for an hour or so you still don't feel confident, then look at widening your drive.

That concave mirror idea is a good one but I suppose practise is the only way to go. People are so inpatient whilst I manoeuvre which makes me panic. I've hit the wall and wheelie bin in the past whilst trying to reverse on. I don't know where I would stand legally but do appreciate it's much safer to reverse on. Widening the driveway is a good idea but it's a long driveway so wouldn't be cheap

Widening the drive at the end only could be less expensive than the whole drive - just do enough to enable you to swing it round. I know what you mean about the pressure of impatient drivers and the knowledge you have hit the wall. Wheelie bins are preferable than walls;)
Do you have anything that you can use to line up for guidance? When I put ours into the garage, I look to see where I need to line up the rear view mirror against a certain tin on the shelf.

I don't drive, so speak from a position of ignorance: if things are flying round the corner, isn't it SCARIER to reverse into the road into them? (As opposed to along the side of the road?). As a pedestrian, people reversing out of drives terrify me, as they regularly shoot out at speed only stopping at the road - forgetting there may be foot traffic on the pavement.
More constructively, my mum had the identical problem. She practised on a summer Sunday evening when the road was nice and quiet, put a little sticker in the back left-hand side window that needed to match up to the gate post at the exact point she needed to turn in, did it and redid it about 10-15 times and can now get into her own drive.

I promise I have always reversed out slowly. I always check the pavements first. Its so much harder in this monster car though. I will try on a quiet night to practice. Also been looking at a lovely little fiesta on autotrader