DSA Examiners and Private Cars on Driving Test

I was speaking to a driving test candidate yesterday and this person mentioned that DSA driving examiners are more likely to fail you if took the test in a private car as opposed to using an instructors dual controlled vehicle.

This is absolutely not true, the car used has no bearing on the driving test result, it is what the driver does during the practical assessment that determines the outcome of getting a pass or fail.

Statistically though you are are more likely to fail the driving test in a private car for a few reasons:

1. You were probably taught to drive and prepared for the test by a family member or friend who doesn't know what the examiner fully expects of a candidate. This means that you might not be at the DSA standard, as you can only be taught what they know or remember from when they took the test which could be years ago.

2. Your car might not meet the DSA vehicle requirements. While you technically haven't failed a practical driving test, if the car is not fit for purpose, the examiner will not take you out, and you will lose the fee, and the faults could range from tyres with inadequate tread depth, faulty brake lights, expired tax discs, faulty windscreens or wrong number plates.

3. Bad habits. These could have been picked up from your teacher, or developed on their own, and while many candidates taking the test in thier own private car have come to me for a one hour driving lesson, it is very hard to get rid of a habit in that amount of time. On the day of your test you might start off well, but 40 minutes is a long time, so towards the end you will start acting yourself again, and that is when the serious faults are committed.

The DSA examiners do prefer to conduct driving tests in dual controlled cars, as they provide a safer working environment especially since they can only mark a candidate on what they actually do, not what they might do. This means for example on approach to a junction the examiner needs to be sure the candidate has not seen a hazard before issuing a verbal alert which has to be done in-time to avoid an accident, in a dual controlled car, this can be left till later due to the safety brakes available to the examiner. If you are a safe driver, then there is nothing to worry about, and you will pass if you don't make any mistakes which are considered serious or dangerous.

If you require high quality affordable driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032

Thinking about becoming an instructor? Don't just make a decision based on the red driving school TV advertisement, do the proper research and know all the ADI training options available to you.

Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don't miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email. The service is provided and powered by Google Feedburner, so I don't personally keep your email addresses, and you can remove yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click, you can also follow UKADI on twitter or join my UKADI Facebook page.

No comments:

Post a Comment

.

..

eXTReMe Tracker