I am having driving lessons and have my test booked for 3rd august but cant seem to grasp reversing round corners. Just had a lesson and am so angry at myself because I just dont get it. Has anyone had this problem and how did they overcome it because its driving me mad excuse the pun.

I found it all to do with mirors and taught myslef by part reversing, getting out to check where I was until I could "see" where the kerb was to the car in the mirror. Dont fret you arent alone in the dreaded reversing!!

My instructor taught me to use the rear window closest to the kerb corner as a guide, looking over your left shoulder, start turning once you can see the kerb bending, just take it slowly and keep your speed steady.  I thought I was rubbish, till he made me reverse through a puddle, round a corner, when I look straight ahead after I'd finished reversing, the tyres had left a clear mark through the puddle and right back in a beautiful sweeping curve and finishing in a straight line.  That gave me the confidence I needed for that particular manouvre. 

You want to try the bike test, that's hilarious!!! 

>> You want to try the bike test, that's hilarious!!! 

The new one or the dreaded U turn?? It took me 4 attempts to pass because of the blasted U turn, I've been riding 4 years now, and haven't done one since my test!

My instructor taught me using the back window wiper base as a reference point.

I failed my first test for using the mirrors too much during the reverse round the corner (among other things!)

It's so annoying as all these precise manoeveurs they teach you are never used again!!  I never reverse around corners how I was taught!  Teaching the three-point turn is obviously imprtant but who on earth ever makes sure they keep excatly the same distance from the kerb when they reverse round it -  none I bet!

My driving instructor had place markers on his rear windscreen so that we could line up correctly ;-) They were small and very discreet :-p

The U turn, I'm not a very big person, so pushing a kawasaki er500 on foot wasn't easy, doing the manouvre on the bike with pot-holed gutters and a grate was hilarious.  Did it, but put my foot down right at the end and swore.

With both my bike and car test, I did 'something' that made me think I'd failed, after which I relaxed and drove/rode naturally ;)

I'm 5ft 2 so know exactly what you mean. I had such a mental thing with the U turn that I tensed up each time I had to do it. In the end I took the test on the bike I'd borrowed to practice on, which was a 25 year old Yamaha. The instructor took pity on me, in the pre test briefing, when I was asked if I had any more questions, I asked "how do you stop the road shrinking on the U turn?". Well when it came to it, he gave me a road which seemed to be as wide as a motorway. I thought it was a practice and would have to do it again when I got to the usual U turn road, couldn't stop grinning when I realised I didn't have to do it again. Although did spend the rest of the test wondering whether he was going to stop me and ask me to do it again!

My OH still tries to take the credit for me passing, by the time I got to my last test, I'd given up doing it through a Bike School.  So we were going out at the weekend, with him pretending to be the examiner and giving me instructions through the intercom thingy.

I'm 5' 2" as well!  Can't believe your luck with the road as wide as a motorway, I got a normal street in a busy suburb!  When I had to do the emergency stop, a crowd had gathered I'd been round so many times, now that was scary. 

The examiner had called in sick that morning, so the guy I had taking my test was in a car, made it interesting ;)

Yup !

Instructor taught me how to 'line up' the road with the rear 'corner' window and anything I found difficult was practised until I could do it in my sleep LOL

I still can't drive into a parking space - I have to reverse!  :-D

OK I might have been exaggerating slightly with the motorway bit, but it was much wider than the usual road, which had really high kerbs as well. I wouldn't like to go through that again!

I now commute into London every day (80 mile round trip), and ride more than the OH! So technically I'm now the most experienced biker in our family!

practise practise practise- thats the only thing that helps. it will come to you but is the most difficult of all movements, i still have trouble after 30 years of driving.

Its hard to practice when you only have the school car and can only afford two lessons a week but hopefully going out with a friend to a car park tonight to practice in her car

Good luck, hope the practice pays off!

Unfortunately, I had to sell both my bikes, I had a beautiful cardinal red bonnie, and an old kawasaki kh100, never mind, hopefully I'll get another bike, one day....

That's a shame. I've got a Honda CB-1 400 called Betty (because she's black and I find myself singing Woah Black Betty....)!. OH has just bought a lovely Red Kawasaki ZR750. I can only get tippy toes on the floor, so not sure whether i'll feel comfortable riding it - trying to convince him to get it lowered, but don't hold out much hope.

My ideal bike would be a Triumph Speed Triple, and they do one in a colour called Nucleur Red, which is basically metallic pink!!! Can't see me ever getting one because of my height, and I don't want to sit on one to try incase I am right, and have to live up to the fact that I can never have one!

> My driving instructor had place markers on his rear windscreen so that we could line up correctly <IMG alt=eek src="/images/eek.gif"> <IMG class=sml alt=;-) src="/images/default/sml_wnk.png"> They were small and very discreet :-p

I had the same, great whilst I was using his car, but I was completly clueless in any other. I find it very hard to judge what distance I am from the kerb forwards or backwards and when parking in the street always end up scuffing my tyres on the kerb.

I found all of these things really difficult when I was learning to drive (4 tests and 150 lessons!) but now they are no problem because I do them my way.  It was only after I passed my test and got a car that I realised the way the mirrors were positioned and the positioning of the seat in the car were not perfect for me (another shortie here!) and that I wasn't getting the best view of the road and other obstacles.  I know that the instructor asks you to change them to suit you but as I didn't know what was optimal for me they looked ok at the time.

I had 2 instructors who both had different techniques and none of them worked for me.  The only thing that worked for me was practicing without feeling I was being critiqued so my advice to you is to see if one of your friends can take you out and you can practice with the mirrors and going round corners to suit yourself until you have got it.

It might help you to break it down a bit to identify what bit you don't get.  Is it the amount you need to turn the steering wheel? or when to straighten up? or how far from the kerb you need to be? or when to start turning the wheel?

Good luck.  If its any consolation it gets much easier when you have passed your test as if, for example, you don't feel comfortable doing right turns, no-one will interfere is you spend all your days turning left ;)