Driving Advice

Most cars these days tend to have height adjustable seats. It shouldn't be necessary to use a booster and it may not be the safest option. For reversing, the main thing is your observations. Check all your mirrors before reversing, then when you reverse make sure that you're looking out of the rear windscreen. It helps to turn your upper body, perhaps putting your free arm around the back of the passenger seat headrest, and just manoeuvre slowly. Keep checking your mirrors and blind spots for any other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, etc. You might initially try reversing and teverse parking in an empty car park, just until you feel comfortable.

Lots of people find reversing and reverse parking hard to master. The key is practice, practice, practice, getting used to the visibility in your particular car (they vary a lot in that respect) and learning how to use your mirrors. Find an open space where you won't hit anything when you go wrong, like a parking lot, and just keep at it. You'll get it.

I know the feeling only too well, and I've been driving for about 50 years!

I am short too, and have difficulty maneouvering in tight situations including parking in my street where none of the homes have their own drives.

You need become familiar with the sight-lines in your own car and with using your mirrors, and have lots and lots of practice. it is that practice with mirrors that allows the drivers of even huge lorries to reverse them accurately into narrow spots.

I'm reasonably used to my own car, which is short and narrow with a fairly boxy shape and vertical back end (a Renault' Kangoo'). A cushion helps but is not ideal. If I had to drive one of the larger saloon-cars made now I would struggle with it at first.

Try a different vehicle if available, more suitable for your stature. For your parking and reversing practice, use blocks of styrofoam or cardboard boxes, they won’t damage the vehicle. Good luck!

learn use the side mirrors and practice your weak points in an empty parking lot

Check into getting an aftermarket backup camera that wirelessly connects to your smartphone, I advise You have it professionally installed.