You should never back your vehicle in any travel lane except when:

• A. Backing into a parking space
• B. Backing onto a highway
• C. Backwards into a travel lane to reposition
• D. Backing out of a driveway or alley onto a street

Answer: (D)

Back in a travel lane is risky because your visibility behind and to the sides is limited and you’re moving into traffic you can’t see clearly. The only time you should back into a travel lane is when you’re starting from a private drive or alley and you’re about to merge onto the street. From there you can carefully look for pedestrians and oncoming vehicles, back out slowly, and enter traffic only when it’s safe.

Backing into a parking space or onto a highway would place you in or immediately into a travel lane with other vehicles, increasing the chance of a collision. Reversing to reposition in a travel lane creates a hazard for other drivers who don’t expect a vehicle to move backward in that lane. So the safe, allowed scenario is backing out of a driveway or alley onto a street.