Parallel parking and reversing into a garage bay: step by step

In short: parallel parking and the garage bay are passed with three or four fixed reference points, not by feel: where to stop, when to go to full lock and when to bring the wheel back to centre. The car creeps on the clutch with no throttle, and you watch the mirrors rather than looking over your shoulder. Practise the reference points on the same model you will be tested in.

What the test track actually checks

The requirements for automated test tracks (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 408, as in force in October 2026) list a dozen elements for categories B, C and D. Two of them are covered here:

• reverse parallel parking;
• entering a bay to turn around in a confined space, which learners call "the garage".

There is no examiner in the car. An automated system with sensors records line contacts, touching a post, stalling and moving off without an indicator. Exam centres must publish the course layout on their website and on boards on site, so study it before test day. The overall procedure is covered in our article on the practical test at the track.

Before you move: three things

1. Seat and mirrors. Your left foot should push the clutch to the floor with the knee still slightly bent. In the door mirrors, the side of your car should take up a thin strip at the inner edge, and the bottom of the mirror should show the tarmac near the rear wheel.
2. Count the steering turns. Turn from centre to full right lock and count. Most cars need about one and a half turns. Remember the number, because every step below is "full lock" or "back to centre", never "a bit".
3. Speed. Every reversing manoeuvre is done on the clutch biting point with no throttle. Too fast, press the clutch slightly; about to stall, release it more slowly. Rushing costs more than an extra ten seconds.

Reverse parallel parking

Standard setup: the space is on your right, you drive past it and reverse in.

1. Starting position. Drive alongside the space, parallel to it and half a metre to a metre away from the line or posts. Stop when your rear bumper is level with the rear edge of the "front car" (the front post or cone).
2. Reverse and full right lock. Right indicator on, clutch down, reverse gear, check both mirrors. Bring the clutch up until the car moves, then immediately turn to full right lock. Turn the wheel while moving, not while stationary: it is easier on the steering and gives a smoother line.
3. Find roughly 45 degrees. Watch the left mirror. When the whole rear boundary of the space (rear post or cone) appears in it and the car sits at about 45 degrees, stop and bring the wheel back to centre.
4. Straight back to the entry point. Reverse straight. When your front right corner has cleared the rear of the front car, move on. Another cue: in the right mirror, the rear right wheel is almost touching the kerb line.
5. Full left lock. Turn fully left and keep reversing slowly. The car begins to straighten. Watch the line in the right mirror and the rear boundary in the left.
6. Straighten and stop. Once the body is parallel to the line, centre the wheel and pull forward if needed to sit in the middle. Cancel the indicator.

Stage	Reference point	Steering
Start	Rear bumper level with the rear of the front car	Straight
Begin entry	Reverse engaged, mirrors checked	Full right
About 45°	Rear boundary fully visible in the left mirror	Centre
Entry point	Front right corner has cleared the front car	Full left
Finish	Body parallel to the line	Centre

The garage bay, step by step

The bay is a rectangle of lines and posts. You drive in and then leave in the opposite direction. Layouts differ between centres: some require reversing in, others driving in forwards. Below is reversing into a bay on the right, the version most Tashkent driving schools teach.

1. Approach along the row of bays about a metre from their front line.
2. Stop when your shoulder has passed the far post of the bay by one to one and a half metres. In a longer car, go a little further.
3. Enter: right indicator, reverse, clutch biting point, full right lock.
4. Watch the near post in the right mirror. The gap between it and the car must stay open. If it closes, stop, pull forward a little and start again.
5. Straighten. When the left line of the bay appears in the left mirror and the body is almost parallel to it, return the wheel smoothly to centre.
6. Depth. Reverse straight until you reach the position the layout requires, usually with the rear near the back line but not on it. Stop.
7. Exit. First gear, indicator towards your turn, and start turning only once the front bumper has left the bay.

Mistakes instructors see most

• Throttle instead of clutch control. The car lurches and you overshoot the reference point. Keep your right foot over the brake.
• Turning the wheel while stationary. The wheels scrub and the car jerks when it moves. Start turning once you are rolling.
• Looking over the shoulder and losing the mirrors. The reference points are in the mirrors.
• Forgetting the indicator. Point 45 of the Uzbek traffic rules requires a signal before moving off, turning and stopping, and the automated system checks it.
• Panic after the first error. A small correction beats driving over a line. Stop, breathe, fix it.

Practising so it works on the day

• Ten repetitions in a row of each exercise per lesson. Fewer will not make it automatic.
• One car model. Shoulder-to-post cues differ between a Cobalt and a Nexia. Ask which car your exam centre uses and practise in a similar one.
• A track that resembles the exam. See test tracks and exam centres in Tashkent in our catalogue.
• Practice without posts does not count. If the school yard has no lines or posts, you are learning the manoeuvre in thin air.

If you need more track time, a few sessions with a private instructor in Tashkent focused on these exercises can help. Then read about common practical test mistakes and hill starts, since the ramp is in the same course.

Not sure which driving school has a proper track with lines and posts? Leave a request on our school matching form and we will suggest options near you.