Why does left reverse parking often hit the left corner of the garage?
3 Answers
Hitting the left corner during left reverse parking is usually caused by turning the steering wheel to the left too early. Wait until the car is about 30 centimeters away before fully turning the steering wheel left to avoid hitting the corner and enter the garage smoothly. Below is more information about reverse parking: Introduction: Reverse parking has been a mandatory test item for obtaining a small car driver's license since 2013. It assesses the driver's ability to maneuver the vehicle in a confined space. Reverse parking is a key evaluation point in the driver's test, requiring the driver to correctly reverse the vehicle into the garage from both sides while in motion. Evaluation criteria: Failing to follow the designated route or sequence results in disqualification. Having the vehicle body cross the line or failing to park properly leads to disqualification. Exceeding 210 seconds without completing the reverse parking results in disqualification. Stopping midway deducts 5 points each time.
Hitting the left corner during left reverse parking often occurs due to steering too early or incorrect timing of wheel correction. Taking a right-hand drive car as an example, when you see the left corner in the left rearview mirror about to disappear during reversing, immediately steer fully to the left—but if you steer before this point, the car body will be too tilted. I once tried this at the practice range, steering half a meter earlier than the standard point, and the left front wheel directly ran over the yellow line of the corner. Later, the instructor advised me to focus on the right rearview mirror instead: when the right corner is fully visible in the mirror and the distance between the door handle and the parking line narrows to about 30cm, then steer, which immediately reduced the chance of hitting the corner. Actually, seat height is also crucial; shorter individuals may have a viewing angle deviation of at least 10cm in the rearview mirror if the seat isn’t adjusted higher.
Missing the left corner of the garage is mostly due to turning the steering wheel too early. The reference points taught by the instructor are ideal scenarios, but in reality, the adjustment angle of the rearview mirror and the height of the seat can cause the reference points to shift. I figured out a simple method myself: Before reversing, park the car at the standard starting line, stick your head out to confirm that the horizontal distance between the left rear wheel and the garage corner should be about 80cm. When starting to reverse, keep a close eye on the left rearview mirror. When you see the garage corner appear, slowly turn the steering wheel half a turn to the left, and only complete the turn when the rear of the car is almost parallel to the garage line. The key is to control the speed! Don’t be like that young guy I saw last time, who couldn’t even control the clutch properly and turned the wheel sharply, causing the front of the car to knock over three poles.
