Know Your Blind Areas

Every vehicle has areas around it that you can’t see directly from the driver’s seat, even when your mirrors are properly adjusted. The size and location of these areas vary between vehicles. Trucks, vans and SUVs can have particularly large ones, and a small child or pet may be completely hidden from view. The key point is simple: you can’t assume an area is clear just because you can’t see anything there.

Before You Move: Four Questions

Work through these every time you put the vehicle in reverse:

How to Steer in Reverse

Steering in reverse can feel confusing at first, but the basic rule is simple: the rear of the vehicle moves in the direction you turn the steering wheel. Many drivers find it easier to put one hand near the top of the wheel and turn it toward the direction they want the rear to go. For example, to move the rear to the right, turn the steering wheel to the right.

• Look in the direction the vehicle is moving, including over your shoulder.
• Use your mirrors to monitor the sides and make small corrections.
• Remember that the front of the vehicle swings the opposite way when you turn.
• Use small steering inputs instead of large, sudden movements.
• Keep the vehicle slow enough that you can stop immediately.

At low speed, smooth, small corrections give you much more control.

Reversing in a Straight Line

Reversing straight means making small corrections before the vehicle drifts far from your intended path. Start with the wheels straight and look where you want to go. Use a fixed point behind you, such as a pavement line or a clearly visible marker, to judge your position, and check your shoulder and mirrors to monitor your path.

If the rear starts moving away from the line you want, make a small correction instead of turning the wheel sharply. Avoid staring at one point, and keep scanning the area behind and beside the vehicle, because other people and vehicles can move into it while you’re reversing.

Backing Out of a Driveway or Stall

Backing out of a driveway or parking stall can be challenging because parked vehicles, hedges, fences, buildings and other objects may block your view.

• Do your four questions before you start.
• Reverse slowly and keep checking as your view changes.
• If your view is blocked, stop and use the safest available way to improve it. When visibility is severely restricted, getting out to check the area may be safer than trying to see around an obstruction from the driver’s seat.
• Before you enter a roadway, sidewalk or shared traffic area, stop when necessary and check for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
• Yield to anyone who has the right of way before continuing.
• Don’t assume traffic will see you or stop for you just because you’re reversing.

Our guide to right of way covers who has priority when you’re leaving a driveway, alley or parking area.

Cameras and Sensors

A rear camera and parking sensors can help you spot hazards that are otherwise hard to see. Use them. But they have limits: a camera may have a restricted field of view, glare or a dirty lens, and sensors may not detect every object or person.

Your camera should supplement your observation, not replace it. Use the camera, mirrors and direct observation together, and keep looking around as you move, because the situation can change after the camera first showed you a clear path.

Common Mistakes

Skipping the check

The problem: You assume the space behind the vehicle is clear because it was clear when you parked.

Better approach: Check before reversing, particularly when children, pets or other people are nearby.

Trusting the camera alone

The problem: You watch the screen instead of continuing to observe around the vehicle.

Better approach: Use the camera as another source of information, while still looking over your shoulder and using your mirrors.

Reversing too fast

The problem: You have less time to see a hazard and less distance in which to stop.

Better approach: Reverse at a slow, controlled speed with your foot ready to stop.

Looking only once

The problem: You check the area before you move and then stop looking.

Better approach: Keep scanning throughout the manoeuvre. The situation can change while you’re moving.

Turning too sharply

The problem: A large steering movement can make the rear move farther than expected and swing the front into another object.

Better approach: Use small steering corrections and move slowly.

Backing into a traffic area without yielding

The problem: You reverse into a roadway, sidewalk or lane without first making sure it’s clear.

Better approach: Stop when necessary, check the area and yield to traffic and other road users before entering their path.

Practice Exercise: Back Up and Stop

In an empty parking area, place a cone or another suitable marker behind the vehicle. Leave plenty of space, and make sure the area is free of pedestrians and other hazards. Each of you has a job.

Your job

Walk around the vehicle and check the area before you start. Reverse in a straight line and stop well before the marker, staying slow and controlled. Then try again with a gentle curve. After each attempt, ask yourself:

• Did I check before moving?
• Did I keep the vehicle slow?
• Did I keep looking throughout the manoeuvre?
• Did I steer smoothly?
• Did I stop where I intended?

The goal is controlled observation and stopping, not getting as close to the marker as possible.

Your supervising driver’s job

Stay in the passenger seat for the whole manoeuvre, so you can speak up immediately if needed, and avoid distracting the driver. Watch observation, speed, steering and stopping. Once the vehicle has stopped, discuss one or two things done well and one thing to improve, then repeat the manoeuvre. The eight-skill table in our parking guide can help you structure the review, and teaching a new driver covers building effective practice sessions.

Road-Test Connection

Reversing may be part of road-test manoeuvres, but the specific requirements vary by province and test class. Check your provincial or territorial driver’s guide for the manoeuvres you may be asked to perform. Whatever the manoeuvre, the underlying skills are the same: good observation, controlled speed, smooth steering and accurate stopping. Our guide to The Road Test: What to Expect explains the broader skills and behaviours assessed on a road test.

The Bottom Line

Reversing safely starts before the vehicle moves. Check the area, understand what you can’t see, move slowly and keep checking as you go. Use your mirrors, camera and sensors as tools, but don’t let them replace your own observation. When you back toward a roadway, sidewalk or traffic area, stop and yield when required before entering someone else’s path.

Look first. Go slowly. Keep looking.