The Four Manoeuvres
During your driving test, the examiner will ask you to perform one of four manoeuvres. You will not know which one until the moment they ask, so you need to be confident in all four. Each manoeuvre tests your vehicle control, your observations, and your accuracy. A serious fault on a manoeuvre is an automatic fail.
1. Parallel Parking on the Right
The examiner will ask you to pull up on the left, then reverse into a space behind a parked car. You need to finish within two car lengths of the parked car, and reasonably close to the kerb — not more than 30cm away.
- Pull up alongside the parked car, about a metre away
- Align your rear bumper with the other car's rear bumper
- Check all around — especially your blind spot
- Reverse slowly, turning the wheel to the right
- When your car is at about 45 degrees, straighten the wheel
- Turn the wheel to the left as the front comes in
- Straighten up parallel to the kerb
Go slowly. The slower you go, the more time you have to correct your positioning. Speed is the enemy of accuracy.
2. Reversing Into a Bay
The examiner will ask you to reverse into a parking bay. You will be in a car park with empty bays. You need to finish between the lines and reasonably straight.
- Position your car so you can see the bay lines in your left mirror
- Check all around before starting to reverse
- Reverse slowly, using your reference points
- Adjust the steering to keep the car between the lines
- Stop when the car is fully in the bay
3. Forward Into a Bay and Reverse Out
This is the newest manoeuvre. You drive forward into a bay, then the examiner asks you to reverse out and drive away. The reverse out is the tricky part — you need to check all around before moving, especially for pedestrians and other cars.
- Approach the bay slowly, positioning the car centrally
- Drive in, checking you are between the lines
- Stop when the front wheels reach the kerb
- To reverse out: check all around — especially your blind spots
- Reverse slowly, turning the wheel to steer out
- Check both directions before committing to a direction
When reversing out of a bay, look over both shoulders. Pedestrians can appear from either side, and the examiner needs to see active observations.
4. Pulling Up on the Right and Reversing
The examiner will ask you to pull up on the right-hand side of the road, then reverse two car lengths before driving away. This manoeuvre tests your ability to stop on the opposite side of the road, reverse in a straight line, and rejoin traffic safely.
- Check your mirrors and signal right
- Pull up on the right, parallel to the kerb
- Select reverse and check all around
- Reverse slowly in a straight line for two car lengths
- Check all around again before moving off
- Signal left and rejoin the traffic when safe
Common Manoeuvre Faults
- Not checking observations before moving — the most common fault
- Finishing too far from the kerb or bay lines
- Touching the kerb — a serious fault in most cases
- Going too fast and losing accuracy
- Forgetting to check blind spots before rejoining traffic
Observations are the difference between a pass and a fail on manoeuvres. The examiner needs to see you checking — not just looking.
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