Is anybody else just utterly rubbish at manoeuvring a car? and how did you get better?

[CharlotteBronteSaurus]

practise, people said. I have practised: I passed my test 10 years ago. and while I've never had an accident on the open road, as it were, yet again today a gatepost jumped out at me when I was attempting a 3 point turn. I need to get better at this....

Parking sensors!

I only passed my test in November but I haven't tried reversing into a parking space or parallel parking since. I know there's only one way to improve i.e. practice but I've lost my bottle.

I have been driving for 12 years and since I passed my test haven't reverse parked. I tell myself parking further away and walking will do me good, but really it's a confidence thing, and now it's been so long I can't remember how I was taught to do it!

I know I should practice and just do it but in all honesty I have better things to do with my time and it doesn't really impact on my life too much (but I do feel very pathetic about it so wouldn't tell anybody in real life)

Watching with interest. I am Utterly Rubbish at this. Can't say I've improved any I the last 12 years since I scraped my test. I can just about pull up to a petrol pump in the right place, but I suppose that isn't strictly a manoeve. I have never ever ever parallel parked. I dream of one of those big curved 'in and out' driveways.

Parking sensors are a must! I'm useless at parking but can now reverse into a space in crowded car park without breaking a sweat. Cannot attempt it in our other car that doesn't have them though.

can you get parking sensors fitted to older cars? are they reliable? and are they ££££?

mind you, I could offset them against the likely cost of future bodywork (today's scrape cracked a rear light, so that's £80 )

Book a driving lesson

I haven't scraped our car since I passed my test a year agao (touch wood) but I do find manoeuvering the car very difficult and I tend to pick spaces that require less faffing. I can reverse in to our drive without major issue but I've parallel parked once Turning the car is ok - but then I've done that quite a bit. It is practice that works, nothing else.

Some cars are easier to manoeuvre than others. My last car had amazing visibility and really big mirrors - parking was super duper easy. My latest car - not so much. But, that said, it helps to take a really good look at the area you're heading into before you head into it - notice any posts/plant pots etc. And bear them in mind when you start to move!!

I think DSIS said her parking sensors were about £400.

My parking sensors today were 14y DD1, she's getting well trained.

Go live in London for a couple of years. If the options are
a) Find a parking space easy enough to get into but a couple of postcodes away from where you actually live or
b) take 20 minutes to get into the space near home

believe me, you take the 20 minutes. Because next time it'll only take 19 minutes 45 seconds, then 19.5 minutes then....

So actually, it's just practice. Sorry.

I've just bought a bigger car that its much easier (DH tells me) to reverse park than go in forwards (long bonnet). New car has parking sensors -they are fantastic I now can reverse park between two parked cars without getting stressed too.

yes. book some advanced driving lessons.

My dad is crap at reverse and parallel parking and always says how good I am and how he can't do it. Well, he can't because he avoids it! You need to do it over and over and over and over again. Spend hours on it. Doing it every now and again just isn't going to do it.

That's how I learned. Hour after hour after bloody hour Now I swing straight in in impressive manner

work out how to use your wing mirrors well. i used to be hopeless and am pretty good now. DH explained it to me, but i can't think how to put it in words.

i also noticed i was better at it after my fork lift driving course, but that's a bit drastic!

imo it's probably better to try and learn how to do it and have sensors as a back up, rather than rely on them too much.

I passed my test in London (SW18), drove there for half a decade, then moved to Manchester, so it's not as if I'm used to driving into spaces 3 cars long.

I think this is the part of the problem TBH - I am forever having to wedge my car into ridiculously small spaces, and turn in roads where people are parked in the most obstructive of spots.

My spatial awareness is terrible, coupled with the crap visibility in my car means I avoid parallel parking or parking between two cars where I can.

Dh has a car that although bigger is easier to park as it has sensors! I would get them in a new car without a second thought.

I think it is confidence though. I don't think I get close enough to other cars when I manoeuvre as I'm scared of scraping them after it happened once before!

I passed my test 13 years ago and still cannot parallel park. In fact one time I tried it I ended up abandoning my car mid manouver and going into the restaurant where my friend was waiting for me and got her to come out and do it for me as I was getting so mad with myself.

I can reverse park into a car park space no problem. But parallel parking on a street? Not a chance.

got better by buying a different car!

i do drive a big ole' mini-van type thing as well. i have never even got near to scraping DH's Fiat Panda when I've driven that instead.

Punto with a city park button.

You can reverse park it and do fab three point turns anywhere!!!

I am brilliant at parallel parking - my instructor taught me a real fail-safe method that I still use 25 years on.

won't work if i try and explain it in writing though.!

You need a smaller car with really good visibility, sorry. Minivans are hell, I've never felt like a good driver in one. And I can park my focus in seemingly impossible spaces, and turn it on the head of a pin!

Practice only gets you so far.

I passed my test last Autumn and still haven't parked in my own street

Reversing badly was the thing that stopped me from driving for years.

I finally passed 2 years ago. It does get better with practice, makes no difference to me what car I am in, it's my confidence which has improved. I reverse into parking spaces all the time now, easier to get out of!!

And this is the girl who wrecked the side of her boyfriends pride and joy and ripped the bumper off leaving it hanging 2 feet away from the car as well as ripping off the wing mirror whilst reversing down the drive!!! Boyfriend is now my husband and he didn't even shout at me!!

Oh and parking sensors are really fucking annoying imo and make reversing worse not better