Rules on reversing a vehicle
Dec 08, 2003
One of the most fundamental skills that a driver has to master is how to drive in reverse. Many accidents have occurred when motorists are reversing. Stationary objects, other motor vehicles, animals and people, especially children have been hit.
By John Kamya
One of the most fundamental skills that a driver has to master is how to drive in reverse. Many accidents have occurred when motorists are reversing. Stationary objects, other motor vehicles, animals and people, especially children have been hit.
Reversing requires special skills, which are highly emphasised during training of drivers. At the testing stage, the police insist on the learner drivers’ ability to park a vehicle in reverse, especially on steep gradients. While parking in small spaces, it is easier to park a car while reversing than from the forward position.
During my driving lessons, the instructor always insisted on a rule: NEVER REVERSE IN THE MAIN ROAD. There is a likelihood of other motorists hitting you if you attempted to reverse in a main road. I had thought that every driver was told that rule. But the practice in Uganda seems to be different!
Motorists reverse from side-roads and driveways into main roads and when you complain, they abuse you as if they have not committed any mistake. When a driver realises that they have passed a road they wanted to branch to, instead of driving ahead to find a better place for turning such as a roundabout, they just stop in the main road and reverse until they are able to branch to their desired route.
Worse still, they make a U-turn. The danger here is that vehicles behind you expect you to be going forward and they are likely to hit you if you reversed.
The Highway Code has very important rules on reversing.
l Rule 107 states: DO NOT reverse from a side road into a main road.
To turn round on a main single carriage road, reverse into a convenient side road, if possible, the one on your left and make sure that the road is clear before you re-enter it. On a dual carriageway road, you may also make a U-turn if the road is wide enough and there is no prohibition to do so.
l Rule 108: If you are driving a large vehicle and you cannot see behind you clearly and far enough, get help when reversing.
l Rule 109: NEVER REVERSE your vehicle unless you are sure that there are no children or pedestrians or anything in the way in the “blind area†behind your vehicle, that is, the part of the road, which you cannot see from the driving seat. One important aspect of reversing is the function of reverse lights. These are located on the hind-side of the vehicle and they are automatically lit when the reverse gear is engaged, first to provide the driver with light if it is night time. Secondly, it warns other road users behind you that you are reversing. The danger with these lights is that their bulbs are blown on most of the vehicles, so they are not functioning.
Because drivers are often inside the vehicle whenever they want to reverse, they never realise that the reverse lights are not working.
When those lights are non-functional, there is a likelihood that motorists behind you will hit you because they will think you have either stopped, parked or moving forward. It is therefore important that reverse lights are regularly checked to ensure that they function well. Next week, we shall look at the skills of good reverse parking. Just watch this space.
One of the most fundamental skills that a driver has to master is how to drive in reverse. Many accidents have occurred when motorists are reversing. Stationary objects, other motor vehicles, animals and people, especially children have been hit.
Reversing requires special skills, which are highly emphasised during training of drivers. At the testing stage, the police insist on the learner drivers’ ability to park a vehicle in reverse, especially on steep gradients. While parking in small spaces, it is easier to park a car while reversing than from the forward position.
During my driving lessons, the instructor always insisted on a rule: NEVER REVERSE IN THE MAIN ROAD. There is a likelihood of other motorists hitting you if you attempted to reverse in a main road. I had thought that every driver was told that rule. But the practice in Uganda seems to be different!
Motorists reverse from side-roads and driveways into main roads and when you complain, they abuse you as if they have not committed any mistake. When a driver realises that they have passed a road they wanted to branch to, instead of driving ahead to find a better place for turning such as a roundabout, they just stop in the main road and reverse until they are able to branch to their desired route.
Worse still, they make a U-turn. The danger here is that vehicles behind you expect you to be going forward and they are likely to hit you if you reversed.
The Highway Code has very important rules on reversing.
l Rule 107 states: DO NOT reverse from a side road into a main road.
To turn round on a main single carriage road, reverse into a convenient side road, if possible, the one on your left and make sure that the road is clear before you re-enter it. On a dual carriageway road, you may also make a U-turn if the road is wide enough and there is no prohibition to do so.
l Rule 108: If you are driving a large vehicle and you cannot see behind you clearly and far enough, get help when reversing.
l Rule 109: NEVER REVERSE your vehicle unless you are sure that there are no children or pedestrians or anything in the way in the “blind area†behind your vehicle, that is, the part of the road, which you cannot see from the driving seat. One important aspect of reversing is the function of reverse lights. These are located on the hind-side of the vehicle and they are automatically lit when the reverse gear is engaged, first to provide the driver with light if it is night time. Secondly, it warns other road users behind you that you are reversing. The danger with these lights is that their bulbs are blown on most of the vehicles, so they are not functioning.
Because drivers are often inside the vehicle whenever they want to reverse, they never realise that the reverse lights are not working.
When those lights are non-functional, there is a likelihood that motorists behind you will hit you because they will think you have either stopped, parked or moving forward. It is therefore important that reverse lights are regularly checked to ensure that they function well. Next week, we shall look at the skills of good reverse parking. Just watch this space.