Many urinals are shaped so that if your centreline is aligned with the urinal’s centreline, then no matter where you aim, the spray splashes right back to your centre.

The solution is to stand slightly to one side, not directly in front of the urinal, but still aim straight ahead (perpendicular to the wall when viewed from above, not necessarily when viewed from the side). The urine starts flowing or splashing forward almost parallel to the wall of the urinal. This is the principle in a squash game – the more bounces off the wall, the slower the ball moves. If the energy for backward reflection is dissipated, then the ball falls down under gravity. The same applies to a urine stream – the more forward splashes off the wall of the urinal, the more energy dissipated and the more the urine flows downward.