What does 'steer towards the wider side when reversing into a parking space' mean?

[MacKylie]

When reversing a car into a parking space, the phrase 'steer towards the wider side' means: Taking left-side reversing as an example, during the process of reversing into the parking space, the car body will form an angle with the garage while moving. At this time, observe the left rearview mirror to check the width and distance between the car body and the edge of the garage in the mirror. If the distance to the left edge of the garage is found to be too large, steer to the left. If the distance to the left edge of the garage is found to be too narrow, immediately steer to the right and straighten the wheel in time to properly park the car. Similarly, when reversing to the right side, observe the right rearview mirror to check the distance between the car body and the right edge of the garage during the reversing process. Tips for reversing a car into a parking space: Drive the car forward to a point about one meter away from the front of the car next to the parking space; Then turn the steering wheel fully to the left, creating a 120-degree angle between your car and the car behind on the left; Next, shift into reverse gear, turn the wheel to the right, and start reversing, controlling the amount of wheel turn by observing the distance to the car on the right through the right rearview mirror; Begin reversing slowly. When the rear of your car passes the front of the car on the right, observe the distance to the car on the left through the left rearview mirror. If the distance on either side is significantly off, you can adjust the position by slightly turning the steering wheel; Once the car body is aligned parallel to the white line on the ground and the distance between the rear of the car and the back is controlled, the reversing into the parking space is complete.

[LaKai]

When I was learning to reverse into a parking space, my instructor always repeated the mantra 'steer towards the wider side.' I remember when I first started practicing, the car body was always crooked. If there was half a meter of space on the left, I would immediately turn the steering wheel to the left, and the rear wheels would move towards the wider side, adjusting the position in just a few moves. The key is to use the rearview mirror to judge which side has more space, and after turning the wheel, you have to wait for the car body to move to see the effect. If you turn the wheel too much and the wheels scrape against the curb, it's troublesome, so you have to adjust while checking the rearview mirror. With practice, you'll realize that the timing of turning the wheel is the most important—too early or too late, and the adjustment won't be accurate. Now, I can usually reverse into a parking space in one go, and this technique has saved me a lot of money on scratches and repairs.

[TeaganDella]

Here's a simple way to understand it: When reversing, the gaps on the left and right sides of the car are uneven, right? Suppose you see half a parking space more on the right side than the left in the rearview mirror, it means the right side is too wide. At this point, turning the steering wheel to the right is equivalent to pushing the rear of the car toward the empty space to fill the gap. It's like when you're pushing a supermarket cart and notice the right side is farther from the shelf, so you push the handle to the right to adjust. You don't need to turn the wheel much, just 15 to 30 degrees is enough. After turning, observe the changes and make fine adjustments. This method is more efficient than randomly turning the wheel and can also be applied to parallel parking.

[ReaganLee]

From a physical principle perspective, it involves altering the trajectory of the rear wheels by steering. When the steering wheel is turned toward the wider side, the guiding angle of the rear wheels changes, causing the drive wheels to push the rear of the car to shift toward the wider side. For example, when there is a large gap on the right rear side, turning the wheel to the right causes the right rear wheel to turn toward the right front, and the car body rotates to the right using the left rear wheel as the pivot point. Throughout this process, the car body generates centripetal force, and the slower the reversing speed, the more pronounced the correction effect. The tire marks on the driving practice ground can all attest to this physical law.