The purists will say you should be able to judge the barrier in relation to the back of your vehicle. However, in the world of training, that is rarely the case. Most folks will rely on some sort of a marker.
My advice will vary according to which type of test centre you are using eg at my old school which had it’s own test centre, lines naturally formed between sections of concrete could be very handy. But if you’re at a public centre, you wont get the opportunity to find such markers. So, firstly, make sure you’ve got the marker set at your practice site. It should then work perfectly at the test centre. Remember it’s better to stop short, get out and check, and then move back a bit more if you really need to. But you cant get out again to recheck.
An alternative, and you need to be very careful with this, is to keep goingaat snails pace until you JUST touch the barrier. If you a judged to have dislodged it in any way, it’s a serious (fail) fault. But touching it is fine.
In answer to the question about when the reverse is due to be separated from the driving test, I strongly suggest ignoring all press releases until an announcement has been made. The current rumour of late FEB seems to have come from RHA (but it might not have done). They know no more than anyone else. Personally, I would be amazed if it is into next year. As I’ve mentioned on the forum more than once, I will post accurate information as soon as it’s available.
Good luck, Pete 