This is an old, old, OLD article from 2011! The test no longer involves turn in the road and reversing around a corner.
That’s the search term someone used to find the blog!
Since the introduction of the Independent Driving section on the test late last year, candidates only have to do one of the basic manoeuvres now instead of the two that used to be required. The basic manoeuvres are [edit: were – this is an old, old article]:
- turn in the road
- reverse around a corner
- reverse park
The reverse around a corner can be either to the left or the right – and in spite of the nonsense you hear from some quarters, the right reverse IS a possibility because it IS on the syllabus. It can also involve normal or very sharp corners depending on the area the test centre operates in.
The reverse parking exercise can involve either the parallel park or the bay park.
So that gives 7 distinct possibilities, though it has to be admitted that the right corner reverse is unlikely.
The Emergency Stop exercise isn’t classed as a manoeuvre, and one in three tests will have that as well as the randomly chosen basic manoeuvre.
So which one is easiest? The answer is: none of them.
I’ve had pupils who simply cannot get comfortable with the turn in the road, whereas others pray that that’s the one they get on their tests. I’ve got one at the moment who hates the bay parking exercise. Some of them see the parallel park as the most difficult because it involves more stages, and others struggle with reversing around a corner – and yet others just sail through them.
If I was going to identify the hardest one to master then I’d go for the corner reverse, because it involves constant control rather than extremes – i.e. you have to control the car’s position relative to the kerb, whereas the other manoeuvres are usually based on full-lock and straight steering. But just because something is technically the most difficult doesn’t mean that every learner who tries it automatically can’t do it.
That’s because everyone is different. What one person finds easy another will find hard, and vice versa.
I always explain to my pupils that the test lasts for 30-40 minutes. The manoeuvre will take a maximum of 3-4 minutes, so the rest of the time will be spent driving. However, the manoeuvre is “sudden death” inasmuch as you will fail if you can’t do it – and you don’t know which one it will be. But you’ll also fail if you can’t drive properly. Therefore, it’s important to develop all of these skills to an acceptable level and not play Russian Roulette by neglecting any.