To ask how to reverse park in a bay?

[PissPoorAtParking]

Ive been only driving a few months and cannot reverse into a bay!

Could you please give me some tips on how to do this, some reference points etc.

My instructor taught me in the test centre car park which is always empty and massively wide spaces and his car was a small too so you really couldn't go wrong! Thought it wasn't much use in the real world hence my post.

Always head to the spaces furthest away from the store. They are quieter & you will have more time to get yourself lined up without getting flustered by holding up other drivers. Make sure your mirrors are adjusted so you can see adjacent cars/ lines of the bay, you might have to move them from your normal position & then move them back after. Try reversing into the bay from both sides, I find it much easier to reverse from the left, once you know your preference that will help. Take your time & don't panic. If it takes you 20 manoeuvres that's fine

If you line up properly for one side you should be OK from the other so pick whichever you find easiest. Practice parking next to one car with the other bay empty. The further up you go in a multi-story car park the emptier it will be and the top level usually doesn't have hose nasty concrete pillars to worry about so I aim for the top level and drive past those very tight spots on the lower levels.

If I was reverse parking into a space on my left, I would drive past the space and as the wing of the car is passing the car in the space next to it I would turn the wheel full lock to the right to angle the car. Then using my left mirror, I'd reverse slowly back checking the I am not going to hit the car on my left and turning the wheel to the left slowly. If the space is tight, I'd pull forward to straighten up before reversing again.

I am better at parking than explaining!! Also drew a little picture to try and make sense of this

Not sure I've been helpful

I can't drive into a space at all, I find it much more difficult than reversing.

OK, stay calm. Drive past the space, but not too far past. Keep checking your mirrors on both sides and as you reverse past the car parked in the space next to you, turn the wheel as far as it will go, you want to turn 90 degrees almost in one go. If you are too close to the car on either side, take a deep breath and stay calm, drive out and try again.

Don't even attempt it if there is an impatient looking person behind you, drumming their fingers on the steering wheel - you will be so nervous that you will panic. If you make a mess of it, pull out and drive round the car park again to collect your thoughts before trying again.

I've been driving for 20 years and can park without thinking about it 99% of the time, but I still make a mess of it occasionally and end up just driving off to collect my thoughts!

Drive past the space. Turn wheel to aim at space as you reverse, getting as far into space as possible. Swap to first gear to pull forwards again, straightening up as much as possible, so that when you reverse again, you are driving straight backwards, with minimal straightening.

If you are parking between two cars, check your mirrors as you reverse - you should not be able to see either car in your mirrors. If you are parking next to empty spaces , you could turn both of your mirrors downwards so you can see the floor and the white lines to check you are in the space/central/straight.

I much prefer reversing into a bay than driving into it - i find it much easier to get straight/park well backwards, and it is also easier to drive out of a space than reverse.

If you feel anxious about practising with other cars about maybe you could set up a parking bay somewhere empty and quiet, if you have access to anywhere like that. You could use plastic bottles to mark it out. Then if you do run over them you will hear it and make adjustments for next time.
Your car will be turning on the inside back wheel, so maybe stick a bit of tape to the inside of your car, just above the back wheels so you can easily see from inside where your wheels are. Then it's just a matter of learning how much lock you need and how much space to allow for your car to turn, this will come, with time and practice :)

Take yourself off to the supermarket car park when it is empty and have a practice. In the meantime try for spaces you can drive through it go in forwards and choose spaces with loads of room to reverse out. It gets easier with time.

I usually reverse park but cannot parallel park!

I drive by the space and always have my head turned and go SLOWLY as I turn the car back into the space. If you're a bit off centre then don't panic. Move the car out facing forwards and guide it back in. Switch the radio off too as I find that helps with concentration.

I've just got a new car with sensors and a rear reversing camera (and it turns the radio down as soon as car in is reverse...clever car!!) and I infuriate my DH because I still Use my head and turn round and ignore the camera! Force of habit!

Just keep practising!

That should read "or go in forwards"!

Similar process to reversing around a corner.

Would recommend finding a quietish car park one weekend and practicing. You will start to find reference points on your car to help you. Something that you do each time you get a new car - does get quicker.

Reversing in is safest option but does depend on car park DH always reverses in but then causes issues for buggy/getting baby out if not in p&c space!

I always reverse park - I use my mirrors and don't rush

Remember if you don't get it right you can always move forward and reposition- if I go to far over I just straighten up pulling out and reverse back

I find it much easier than parking forward

Find a decent instructor who will sit with you in your car and talk you through manoeuvres in real life situations. Should be a couple of lessons. Sounds expensive but honestly it will give you so much confidence.

My first teacher was a loud overconfident man, big fan of grabbing the wheel to just 'tweak' what I was doing, taught me to reverse using massive spaces etc. Basically just railroading me into being good enough to pass the test.

He damaged my confidence too much so I got a lovely female teacher. Used to draw me diagrams and just explained driving and how to manage the car so much better. I'm now really good at reversing!!

Practise practise practise :) a quiet carpark is best for this although I'm torn as to whether it's actually easier to practise between two nicely parked cars rather than empty bays.

Gigiraffe's diagrams are right. First pay attention to the passenger side rear corner, then also pay attention to the driver's side rear corner as it swings round towards the car on your right. Don't be afraid to take the car forward and right to straighten it up against the entrance to the bay - you don't need to get it in there in one go!

If you have parking sensors it's a piece of cake. I love my parking sensors.

I find it much easier than parking forward

Me too. It's safer driving out too.

I'm with batteries - pay for a lesson in you own car specifically for this. Money well spent.

I agree with paying for another lesson or two just for this.

You will be a lot less nervous if you have someone right there telling you how to do it, and IMO it's the nerves and getting all flustered - especially if you are holding up other people wanting to park - which will make it that much harder.

I'm rubbish doing it the way you are taught in order to pass, as I over think but if I'm going to reverse left into a bay then I pull past it a little and stop at a 45 degree angle roughly. And can easily see that I will fit into the space when reversing.
Some days I can't even parralel park and some days I can get into the tightest of spaces in a city centre.
Don't over think it when doing it.

Pull past the space and the space next to it. Begin to reverse straight backwards. You will eventually get to a point when you are lined up halfway across the space next to the space (if there is a car in the space, use the number plate as a guide). Begin to turn your steering wheel to full lock. You should be able to get in, but if you can't, turn steering wheel full lock the other way and drive forward. Then it will be fairly easy to reverse in.When preparing to reverse, don't get too close to the cars.

Use your wing mirrors! These are key in judging where the lines and cars next to you are.

Yes, definitely use your wing mirrors. Also when you drive into a car park, take note of how the spaces are blocked out. If they are marked so that the ones opposite where you want to park are spaced the same as the one that you are reversing into then they will give an indication of where you are in relation to the space you are reversing into. So if you are reversing and you look forward, then you can see how central you are in the space. I was taught to drive past the space and then turn the car sharply to the right, so that you are diagonal across the road and then reverse in to the space from that position. According to my instructor, you were less likely to reverse into a vehicle parked to the left of you, by doing it that way.

I can't reverse park and tbh I'm not very good at going in forwards either. I'm so grateful now I have DC that I can use p&c spaces!
I am a master of parallel parking those go so if you have any questions on that let me know!

You have an all round view when reversing so it's easier than a forward park -

You just need some practice - use your drive at home -

Best tip is get a kids toy car with a steering wheel and look at how it moves - it really helps you understand how to do it

It's much easier to park inbetween two cars than two white lines.