Driving Test - Your instructor can not make you pass!

No matter how good or experienced your approved driving instructor is, he or she cannot make you pass the DSA pratical car driving test, that job falls squarely on your shoulders as the test candidate.

Your ADI will train you up to the standard required for the test (if you allow them to do their job, and they are not one of the few bad apples in the industry), will give you advice on what you need to work on, if you should change your test date or not, motivate and make sure you progress towards your goal of getting a full UK driving licence.

On the day of your driving test, all that training, advice, practice and motivation will be called to bear as you use the next 40 minutes or so during the assessment to convince the DSA examiner that you possess the required skills to safely be incharge of vehicle unsupervised. No matter what has happened in your driving lessons, the mistakes you might have made the previous day, or prior to arriving at the test centre, the examiner can only judge you on what you do during your time with him or her in the car. Even if you've taken a driving test with this examiner previously, they might not necessarilly remember you, and even if they have, they can't use that previous test result to judge you!

Your passing the test depends on you!


There is only one thing you need to do on the day to get that coveted test pass certificate, drive according to the required DSA standard, leaving the examiner no room to critise anything you do! Every single day roughly 40% of the candidates do that, so there is no reason why you can't do that as well, but you won't be one of them if you are relying on luck, or decide to ignore your instructor's advice, and do your own thing.
I've had many people go on the test, and for what ever reason have decided to take matters into their own hands ignoring what they've been taught, drive slowly thinking they are being safe and are surprised that they did not pass? If you are not sure why you need to drive a particular way, then why not ask you driving instructor. There is always a reason why the DSA requires things do in a certain way (pull push steering, using POM, using the handbrake at a pedestrian crossing, keeping both hands on the steering wheel), just because you don't think it is right or convinient, or because you don't do it in the country you got a foreign licence is irrelevant. If you want to pass the UK driving test and get a full British licence you have to do things the way the DSA wants them to do.

Don't be a border line driver!


For the best chance of passing the tough driving test that the DSA conducts, you need to be fully prepared, confident, and have enough experience to deal with anything you might come across while out on the test route. You need to be able to do all the maneuvers at the drop of a hat, remembering you need control of the car, while being safe and not a danger to other road users.
You need to be able to drive safely in various traffic and on different road conditions, including upto the National Speed limit of 70mph (even if you know that there are no roads that go that fast on the test route, diversions could occur due to an accident during your driving test).
Only the best preparation will do, if you know someone who touched the kerb while doing a turn in the road during their test and still passed, don't go for your test if you are still having the same problem, while driving tests should be consistent, don't expect to pass if you touch the kerb during a maneuver.

So just to summarise, listen to your driving instructors advice regarding the skills you need to pass the practical car test, and make sure you are totally prepared before expecting the DSA examiner to pass you. If you want to be among the 40% that pass, then be the best, you are no longer a learner driver, and the test is just the chance you need to ditch those 'L' plates.

Thought: Why are you still using an instructor if you don't trust their advice?

Recommended Driving test product


Focus Media's Driving Test simulator for the PC, which is a virtual test simulator based on the DSA driving test, with many videos and senarios to help build your experience required to pass.




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2 comments:

  1. Same thing happened to me. So I looked through the net, and I found some nice solution. I asked a company to arrange all the necessary things they did the paperwork and everything. It was quite a long time but finally I got a worldwide acceptable EU driving license. So Im on the road finally and legally. Hope i could helped. it was the site http://photodrivinglicense.com/ if u have question i will try to answer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Same thing happened to me. So I looked through the net, and I found some nice solution. I asked a company to arrange all the necessary things they did the paperwork and everything. It was quite a long time but finally I got a worldwide acceptable EU driving license. So Im on the road finally and legally. Hope i could helped. it was the site http://photodrivinglicense.com/ if u have question i will try to answer.

    ReplyDelete

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