Manoeuvres
Forward bay parking to the left
The reference point for a left-hand bay park is not on the car - it is you. Sitting on the right, you lose sight of the bay line as you turn, so the set-up lines your own seating position up with the bay next to the one you want.
This video has no narration. Follow the written steps below.
Practical test
Why it matters
Bay parking is marked on the same criteria as every manoeuvre: control and observation together. A car that ends up dead straight between the lines but moved without the driver checking around still loses marks on observation, whichever direction it went in.
What to look out for
You are the marker, not the bonnet
The front of the car is well ahead of where you sit. Turning when the bonnet reaches the bay puts you in far too early.
Wide first, then turn
The room to turn is made before any steering happens. Get the width and the turn is easy; skip it and no amount of steering rescues it.
Key steps
- 1 Signal left, and move over to the right-hand side of the lane - going wide is what creates the room to turn in.
- 2 Check all around before you commit, and keep looking as you move rather than only at the start.
- 3 Drive forward until you are level with the centre of the bay next to the one you want. Your own seating position is the reference, not the front of the car.
- 4 Apply full left lock and move in slowly, straightening the wheels as the car comes straight in the bay.
- 5 If you finish at an angle, make small forward-and-back adjustments, checking around before each one, until the car sits between the lines.
Common mistakes
Missing the reference point
Turning too early or too late both come from the same thing - not lining yourself up with the centre of the next bay first. If you do not end up in the bay, it was one of those two.
Not moving all the way over to the right
Without going fully to the right-hand side of the lane there is not enough width to swing in, and you are forced into a late, sharp turn instead of a smooth one.
Not signalling left
Signal before you move over. Going wide to the right to turn left looks like you are doing something else entirely until the signal explains it.
Highway Code
This lesson is a revision aid, not a replacement for The Highway Code.
Rule 239
Use off-street parking areas, or bays marked out with white lines on the road as parking places, wherever possible.
Read Rule 239 on GOV.UKRule 202
Before reversing, look carefully: use all your mirrors, check the blind spot behind you, and check for pedestrians, cyclists or obstructions. A forward bay park means reversing back out, so this applies as you leave the bay.
Read Rule 202 on GOV.UK