Reversing (also known as backing up) is the process of
driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. A driver's permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met, and drivers are required to ...
a
vehicle
A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
in the reverse direction in order to maneuver.
Rear view mirrors are somewhat standard equipment for this endeavor.
Reversing a vehicle is used as an intermediate step to complete a
three point turn,
J-turn,
parallel park, or similar maneuver. These moves are used with the goal of positioning the vehicle in a specific way under certain space restrictions, that would not be possible to achieve whilst only moving forward.
Extremely large or luxury vehicles may have in addition technical aids such as
backup cameras.
Many industrial vehicles such as
fork lifts automatically activate a repetitive warning beep whilst reversing. In the UK, trucks (lorries) may be fitted with warning devices which repeatedly announce "Attention: this vehicle is reversing", or the equivalent phrase in
Welsh: "Mae'r cerbyd yn mynd yn ôl". Harmonization of reverse warning sound of vehicles is planned by an adopted
UNECE
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is an intergovernmental organization or a specialized body of the United Nations. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Econ ...
regulation for entry into force in January 2023. According to this regulation, "Audible reverse warning device" means a device, emitting an acoustic signal to the outside of a vehicle while reversing, which is intended to give audible warning of the presence of a vehicle.
[Uniform provisions concerning the approval of audible reverse warning devices and of motor vehicles with regard to their audible reverse warning signals]
See also
*
Backup camera
*
Blind spot monitor
*
Parking sensor
*
Rear-view mirror
*
Side-view mirror
*
Vehicle blind spot
*
Backup (disambiguation)
References
Driving techniques
Articles containing video clips
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