There are turning radius guides on the internet. Adjust for the size of your cars and add space for backing out of the garage and turning to leave. You will need a survey of the lot and It would be wise to hire a landscape designer.

The example you show is an artist's rendering that would not work well.

How long?

well, as long as it takes to go from street to the garage doors.

Width? Of course the drive way can be widened beyond the property line. The only restriction may be if the zoning ordinances have a limitation on impervious coverage.

Obviously between the 12' width at the property line and the drive width at the face of the garage (24'?), there will be a change in the width of the drive.

RES suggestions are good:

--Google drive widths. Keep in mind that widths should accommodate garbage truck, moving truck, and fire truck. You can Google the turning radii for these.

--An experienced and talented landscape architect can turn these into a handsome design.

Good luck!

The driveway width limit probably extends to the "apron", the paved areas immediately in front of the garage. You need to look at the actual zoning ordinance which s probably available online.

Here's an example:

Drive around and find a recently installed driveway that meets your needs then go look at the plans at the building department or online.

What size is your lot? It may not even fit your ideas and restrictions unless it’s rather wide.

Do not accept any design which requires you to "back out" onto the street.

Backing into the street is not ideal, but can be acceptable in low traffic areas with good visibility. If you need to pull out frontwards, you'll need at least 28 feet for standard cars and a space to back into (30 feet is much better). If you have the room, place your house 30 from the property line.

Better still, do as Virgil suggests, get a landscape architect. A good landscape architect will help you resolve all the other site issues and landscaping. Your driveway is just the tip of the iceberg.

30’ is a minimum, IMHO. The explosion in SUV‘s becoming the norm mean more is better. This really isn’t something you can determine without more site information. Like where the setback lines are. How level is the site? What is the width and depth of he site? What other options would be better?

Is this what you are describing?

Misc · More Info

Google "driveway design standards ".

Millions of people around the world successfully back out of their driveways every day. In urban areas. I've had to back out of the driveway everywhere I've lived (and I've lived in a lot of places). All it requires is good visibility so keep that in mind when planning landscaping.

Yeah I was also puzzled by that one. Of course with the long distance and enough room you can make a turnaround if you want, but the picture shown does not seem to require it.

If this is an existing garage, use it for 27 days and pave where ever there are tracks.

I backed out of our driveway for decades - it was all I could do as a 2nd car (a Suburban!) was parked in the back-up space. I didn't like doing so but I did it. If I had a straight forward driveway that had to be backed out of, I'd probably back in - I know I'm not going to be suddenly broadsided by someone coming from around a corner and speeding up just as he gets to where I'm partway out. I would very much want to avoid this problem if I were building a house but I do realize that in many subdivisions today, the drive way is short and right in front so one is either going to have to back in or back out.

Thanks to everyone-this is incredibly helpful. To answer some question: I just assumed widening the driveway past the property line would look bad as I’ve seen some homes nearby do it and it looks poorly planned-but point well taken that is an option, maybe even our best option. Lot is 8,250 square feet-large by this neighborhood standards but small compared nationwide. Miami plots are perhaps smaller than more suburban areas.

^thats a big lot by me :) (suburbs of Chicago). I don’t see a curved driveway will work in that amount of space, but I’m not a pro. I like the idea of looking for a recent driveway that meets what you’re looking for.

Any chance you can move the garage door to the back side of the garage? If your lot is wide enough it might give you more room to maneuver, and it would improve the curb appeal of your entryway. A long shot, I realize.