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Driving test manoeuvres

How to do bay parking on your driving test

An approved driving instructor explains both bay parking exercises a DVSA examiner can ask for, what they are actually watching, and how to fix the mistakes that cost most learners marks.

6 min read

Written and reviewed by Driving Mastery ADI reviewer

Driving Mastery articles are written and reviewed with input from a qualified UK Approved Driving Instructor, so learner-driver guidance stays practical, safe, and grounded in real driving lessons.

Quick answer

  • Bay parking is one of three reversing exercises a DVSA examiner can ask for on the practical test.
  • There are two versions: drive in and reverse out, or reverse in and drive out.
  • The examiner tells you which one to do - you do not choose.
  • You will not know in advance which reversing exercise you will be given, so practise all of them.
Watch

Bay parking, demonstrated

Filmed by Niall Cullen, ADI.

There are two bay parking exercises, not one

GOV.UK lists three reversing exercises for the car test: parallel parking at the side of the road, parking in a bay, and pulling up on the right before reversing about two car lengths and rejoining the traffic. The examiner asks for one of them.

Parking in a bay is itself two different exercises. You will either drive forward into the bay and reverse out, or reverse into the bay and drive out. The examiner will tell you which. Practising only one of them is the most common gap I see in learners who are otherwise ready for test.

Reversing in

Bay on your left, in three steps

  1. Overhead view of a car park. The target bay is shaded green and the three bay lines beyond it are numbered 1, 2 and 3, with the third line marked in red level with the car's wing mirror.

    1 Count three lines past your bay. Your reference point is your wing mirror level with the third line.

  2. The same car park from above, showing the car's path as it swings left and reverses in an arc towards the green bay.

    2 Full lock left, select reverse, and begin the manoeuvre.

  3. Overhead view of the car parked square inside the green bay, centred between the white lines.

    3 When the car comes straight, stop, straighten the wheels, and finish.

Take all-round observations before you move, and keep looking round as you go - mainly through the rear window, because a car park has pedestrians and reversing vehicles you will not see in mirrors alone. Keep the speed to a crawl on the clutch. If anyone approaches, stop and let them pass: pausing is expected, rushing is not. Tap any diagram to see it full size.
Driving in

Bay on your right, in two steps

  1. Overhead view of a car park. The car is positioned on the left of the lane and a red line runs from its driving-side wing mirror across to the far edge of the target bay, which is shaded green on the right.

    1 Stay on the left of the lane and line your driving-side wing mirror up with the bay marking.

  2. Overhead view showing the car's path as it turns right off the lane and comes to rest inside the green bay.

    2 Full lock right and drive in. Once straight, stop, straighten the wheels, then finish.

The width you leave yourself on the left is what makes the turn possible, so resist drifting over early. Check the bay is clear before you commit, keep it slow, and keep looking around as you turn - your front swings wide, so watch what is beside you as well as ahead.

The examiner is watching your observations, not your steering

A bay that ends up slightly off-centre is rarely what costs a learner the test. Reversing without proper all-round observation is. The moment the car starts moving backwards you are responsible for everything around it, including what walks into the space behind you after you have checked it.

Why reversing into the bay is usually easier

It feels harder, so learners avoid practising it. But reversing into a bay puts the difficult part - the tight, low-speed manoeuvring - where you can see it, and leaves you driving forwards into an open car park when you leave. Driving in and reversing out does the opposite: the easy part first, then reversing out across a lane other vehicles are using, with your view blocked on both sides by parked cars.

DVSA does not prescribe a method or reference points for either version, and no examiner will mark you on which technique you use. What matters is that the car ends up within the bay, under control, and that you looked properly throughout.

Part of a topic guide

Driving test manoeuvres

Part of Driving Mastery's manoeuvres guide, covering the reversing exercises a DVSA examiner can ask for on the practical driving test, explained by an approved driving instructor.