Bay Parking: How to Reverse and Forward Park in a Bay

To reverse bay park, drive past the bay until the line of the bay you want is about level with your shoulder, check all around, then reverse slowly while steering fully towards the bay, straighten up as the car aligns with the lines, and stop when you're fully inside. For forward bay parking, approach wide, turn in when your mirror lines up with the near line, and straighten up. Control your speed and keep looking around throughout.

On the UK practical test, the examiner may ask you to drive in and reverse out, or reverse in and drive out. Here's how to do both.

Reverse bay parking step by step

Step 1: position the car

1. Drive slowly along the row with a gap of about a car's length (or a bit less) between you and the front of the bays.
2. Choose your bay. Stop when the line on the far side of your target bay is roughly level with your shoulder or door mirror. Many instructors use "the line two lines on from the bay" as the reference point when driving past; your instructor will tune this to your car.

Step 2: observe

3. Select reverse.
4. Look all around: mirrors, blind spots, over your shoulder, and especially at pedestrians walking behind parked cars.

Step 3: reverse and steer

5. Reverse very slowly, using clutch or brake control.
6. Apply full lock towards the bay.
7. Keep checking around. The front of your car swings out as you turn, so watch for passing cars.

Step 4: straighten up

8. Watch both door mirrors. When the bay lines appear parallel to the sides of your car in the mirrors, straighten the steering.
9. Continue reversing slowly until you're fully inside the bay. A common reference point: stop when the front line of the bay disappears under your door mirror, or the line ahead appears just in front of the bonnet.

Step 5: finish

10. Apply the parking brake and select neutral or Park.

Forward bay parking step by step

1. Approach wide. Leave plenty of room on the side of the bay so you can turn in with less steering.
2. Observe for pedestrians and other cars, and signal if it helps others.
3. Turn in when your door mirror passes the near line of the bay (the line just before your chosen bay). Use plenty of steering at a slow walking pace.
4. Straighten up as the car aligns with the bay.
5. Stop before your front bumper overhangs the kerb or the bay in front.

Reversing out of a bay

Reversing out is where forward bay parking gets risky, because visibility is limited:

• Look all around before moving, and keep looking.
• Reverse very slowly until you can see clearly past the cars on either side.
• Give way to pedestrians and moving cars.
• Only start steering when the front of your car is clear of the neighbouring car.

How to fix a crooked bay park

• Too close to one line: pull forward a little, steering away from that line, then reverse in straight.
• Car at an angle: move forward to straighten, then reverse back in.
• Over the back line: pull forward until you're inside.

As with any reversing exercise, small controlled corrections are fine. Highway Code rule 202 says to check all around and reverse slowly, and rule 203 says not to reverse further than necessary.

Common bay parking faults

• Reversing too fast.
• Not checking around, especially for pedestrians.
• Finishing over the lines or in the wrong bay.
• Hitting the kerb or another car.
• Using lots of corrections without observing.

Summary

Reverse bay parking is the safest way to park in most car parks: position the car, look all around, reverse slowly on full lock, then straighten as the lines become parallel. Forward parking is easier going in but harder coming out, so take extra care reversing out. Practise both, then try parallel parking and pulling up on the right. For how manoeuvres are marked, see the practical driving test explained.

Practise with Co-Drive

Co-Drive is an iOS app with step-by-step manoeuvre guides for bay parking, parallel parking and pulling up on the right, built around a show, guided and solo approach. Use it to prepare before practising with your instructor. See how it works.