The ‘reverse around a corner’ manoeuvre, also known as ‘turning in the road’, is a classic driving test exercise that often causes anxiety for learners. It requires precision, excellent observation, and smooth control. While it’s no longer a standard part of every UK driving test (replaced by more real-world scenarios like pulling up on the right), many instructors still teach it as it brilliantly teaches crucial car control skills.
Nailing this manoeuvre demonstrates to an examiner that you have a high level of vehicle handling competence. This step-by-step guide will break it down into simple stages, ensuring you can perform it safely and confidently, whether for a test or for life.
What is the Reverse Around a Corner?
The goal is to reverse your car around a left-hand corner onto a new road, using the junction’s kerb as a guide. You must do this without mounting the pavement, hitting the kerb, or swinging too wide into the path of other road users. It’s all about planning, patience, and perpetual observation.
Before You Start: The Preliminaries
- Choose a Safe & Legal Place: Ensure you are not stopping opposite a junction, near a school entrance, on a busy main road, or anywhere with double white lines. Your instructor will help with this.
- The MSM Routine: This is your mantra for the entire manoeuvre.
- Mirrors: Check your interior and left-door mirror.
- Signal: Although you are moving slowly and the manoeuvre can be unpredictable, a right signal as you pull past the corner can indicate your intention to other drivers. Check with your instructor on their preference.
- Manoeuvre: Begin the exercise slowly.
The 5-Step Process to a Perfect Reverse
Step 1: The Initial Pull-Past
Drive past the corner you intend to reverse into, positioning your car reasonably close to the left-hand kerb (about a door’s width away). Stop when your car is fully past the junction line. This gives you a good angle to begin your reverse. Engage your handbrake and select neutral. This is a good pause point to check your surroundings.
Step 2: Prepare to Reverse
Press the clutch down, select reverse gear, and bring the clutch up until you feel the bite point. This will give you slow, controlled movement. Check all around you—your blind spots, over both shoulders, and in all mirrors. The moment before you move is the most critical for observation.
Step 3: The Reverse & The Point-of-Turn
Start reversing slowly. Look primarily out of your rear windscreen in the direction you are travelling.
- The Reference Point: As the kerb of the side road begins to disappear in your rear window, this is your cue to start turning. A common reference point is when the kerb disappears behind the C-pillar (the rear passenger window pillar) of your car. Your instructor will help you find the exact point for your specific vehicle.
- Apply Steering: Begin to turn the steering wheel left (for a left-hand corner). Do this smoothly and progressively—not in one sharp, jerky movement. One full turn of the wheel is often a good starting point.
Step 4: Following the Kerb
Your main focus now is on the left-hand kerb of the new road you are entering.
- Use your left-door mirror to monitor the distance between your rear tyre and the kerb. You want to keep a consistent, safe gap (roughly a foot).
- Too close to the kerb? Gently steer a little to the right to straighten up and move away from it.
- Too far from the kerb? Gently steer a little more to the left to bring the car back towards it.
- These should be small, corrective adjustments. The key is to make a slow, continuous arc.
Step 5: Straightening Up
Once your car is fully around the corner and parallel to the new kerb, it’s time to straighten up.
- Look ahead through your front windshield to judge when the car is straight.
- Turn the steering wheel to the right to straighten the wheels. How much? A good rule is to “give back what you put in”—if you turned one full turn left, now turn one full turn right.
- Continue reversing in a straight line for a short distance, then press the clutch down and brake to a stop. Apply the handbrake and select neutral.
Crucial Observation: Your #1 Priority
This cannot be overstated. Observation is what makes this manoeuvre safe. Throughout the entire process, you must be constantly checking your surroundings in a 360-degree cycle:
- Look out the back window.
- Check your left-door mirror for the kerb.
- Check your right-door mirror for traffic.
- Check your blind spots over both shoulders.
- Look ahead for pedestrians or emerging vehicles.
If another car approaches or a pedestrian walks behind you, stop. Hold the car on the bite point or use the footbrake. Let the hazard pass completely, then perform all your observations again before moving. For more on this vital skill, read the DVSA’s official guide on observation and awareness on Safe Driving for Life.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Poor Observation: Failing to look around properly is the biggest reason for failure.
- Mounting the Pavement: This is a serious fault. Always control your speed and use your mirrors.
- Swinging Too Wide: Turning the steering wheel too early or too sharply can put the front of your car into the path of oncoming traffic on the main road.
- Stalling: Usually caused by poor clutch control. Practice finding the bite point to maintain a slow, steady speed.
Mastering the reverse around a corner is a fantastic way to build confidence in your low-speed car control and observational skills. Practice makes perfect, so find a quiet residential area and work through these steps with your instructor. For a wider look at test manoeuvres, check out this comprehensive resource from the RAC on driving test manoeuvres.
Good luck, and remember: slow, smooth, and observant wins the test
