From May 9, there will be changes to parking manoeuvres on driving tests so you should expect to be asked to perform the parking manoeuvre bay parking in any car park, not only the test centres.
As you may know, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) only allows parking manoeuvres to be performed in the parking lot of a driving test centre during a practical driving test.
The adjustment may not seem significant, but consider this: if your driving test centre lacks a parking lot, you’d be right to believe that the manoeuvre isn’t anything you’ll have to worry about on the big day.
The examiner will ask you to do one of the following exercises:
The examiner will ask you to do one of the following exercises:
The examiner will ask you to do one of the following exercises:
parallel park at the side of the road
park in a parking bay – either by driving in and reversing out, or reversing in and driving out (the examiner will tell you which you have to do)
pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for around 2 car lengths, and rejoin the traffic
What happens during test
Driving examiners can now ask you to perform a parking manoeuvre like the reverse park into a parking bay manoeuvre in the same car park that they use for testing the forward park.
This was after following a successful trial in February and March at 15 driving test facilities across the United Kingdom.
Moving forward
Examiners and approved driving instructors, and candidates who participated in the experiment all agreed that it was a positive step.
Meanwhile, expect an update from your instructor regarding the adjustment, as well as more time to practise the manoeuvre so you’re test-ready.
