Tips required for passing a driving test

[Alan Medic]

If you perform wonderfully in lessons and don't appear to have any problems, how do you deal with feeling nervous when actually doing a test? It seems a bit like what happens to some football players in a penalty shoot out. The pressure gets to them and they make a mess of something that is almost second nature.

Any tips to overcome this please?

[right-clicking]

Book a two hour slot, spend one hour and half prior to the lesson driving around. bon chance!!

[PeckhamRose]

I agree with the above, and also, trust your instincts! And watch the Mike Leigh Film Happy Go Lucky for how not to do it!

[jumpinjackflash]

Do it in the morning; apparently, and according to my instructors (yes, plural..there were many!), the examiners can only pass a certain amount a day so you got better chance in the morning. Anyway, not sure if that's true or not and it was about 9 years ago.

Don't bother with those Kalms tablets or Bach Remedies..I found a couple of shots of Courvosier calmed me right down..

[sweetgirl]

stay calm! lol

i have taken 2 types of tests in my time, one for a car & one for a bus.... failed both my tests first time on, what i consider to be silly things! i performed better in my first tests but passed on my second... oh well, i got there in the end!

i'd definately recommend mornings, i took all mine first thing in the morning.

nerves do have a way of playing up at these times.... i find its good to be a little friendly with the instructor, which can make you feel at ease.

[dulwichgirl2]

For me it helps to "confess" to feeling that way either in interviews or speeches or whatever. It breaks the ice and makes the other put you at your ease and when you see that effort going on, you gain confidence. Not sure if it works for driving instructors. I do think they are trying to fail cocky speeding accidents waiting to happen so maybe a reserved quieter white faced candidate is exactl what they want. Someone aware of the enormous responsibility of taking a car on the road.

[indiepanda]

I managed to fail 3 tests before I passed due to making mistakes because of nerves. In my last test I was in the loo when my examiner came looking for me, and my instructor told him I was very nervous, and fortunately he was a nice guy and did his best to settle me down, telling me to take my time and go when I was ready. He even told me half way round I hadn't made even one minor mistake (which he wasn't really meant to do) and if I carried on like that I'd be fine.

I think it is a bit luck of the draw who you get as your examiner - the one I had my first test made me really nervous by telling me what he wanted me to do far later than my driving instructor would - e.g. asking me to make a turn that involved changing lanes at the last minute. He also sighed all the time like I was a dreadful driver, which made me really jittery.

I made sure I booked my tests for a quieter period - i.e. not rush hour, usually morning and I think I did a lesson first too.

[El Pibe]

My first test I thought went perfectly even though it went on for almost an hour.

Turned out I had no minor ticks at all, but he'd given me a major one for getting in to lane for a frankly weird roundabout in the hither green area too late.

He extended the test whilst he ummed and ahhed, during which i did nothing wrong but he decided to fail me anyway.

Second test (well third actually but second one got cancelled when the examiner failed to turn up having crashed his car!!) I immediately thought I'd failed when I took the wrong turning. I could see balck pencil all over the sheet (I got about 8 miinor ticks) and at the end resigned to my fate he told me it was a comfortable pass.

My advice would be don't try and second guess and try and relax as much as possible. The driving lesson beforehand could cutr bopth ways if you have a stressful experince, but I did it and on balance I think it worked in my favour.

[Jeremy]

Back when I passed my test (north London in the mid ninties), my instructor actually recommended going for a busy period because I'd be guaranteed to spend the majority of the test sat still in traffic.

[the-e-dealer]

Dont just use your eyes to check the mirrors. use your head. IE Move your head when you look in the mirrors then the examiner will see you checking the mirrors. And the trouble with being stuck in traffic - you may stall!

[m100]

I would advise booking your test outside very busy times (e.g. rush-hour) as it will become very stressful. Also once you have chosen your specific test centre go for a lot of driving around the local roads so that you know about any unusual layouts/ roads that are particulary narrow etc. Bear in mind for this that there is not a very big radius in terms of area that you will cover for your test in order to get back to the test centre in time.

Also although I appreciate you won't be as nervous ask your driving instructor to do a practise test with you-this might help raise a few minor issues you need to practise a bit more.

[Book Learn Pass]

Stumbled across this old thread and I recently passed my driving test at Sidcup test centre. One thing that really helped me was watching driving test route videos on Youtube. I felt like I knew the local area really well, just from watching hours of video and it could easily be the difference between passing and failing. I also found a fair few tips on this website as well, Hopefully, this will help anyone looking for tips on how to pass their driving test.

[Alan Medic]

That was some stumble Book Learn Pass!

[Spartacus]

Alan Medic Wrote:

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> That was some stumble Book Learn Pass!

You don't think BLPs solo and first post is Spam do you Alan ?

[Alan Medic]

Spam? That comes in a tin doesn't it?

[malumbu]

the-e-dealer Wrote:

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> Dont just use your eyes to check the mirrors. use

> your head. IE Move your head when you look in the

> mirrors then the examiner will see you checking

> the mirrors. And the trouble with being stuck in

> traffic - you may stall!

The most important thing to learn, and this applies to cycling, walking etc, is mirror, signal, manoeuvre

(observe, make it clear to others, and then move)

Embed that at a young age and it will stay with you for the rest of your life. I see drivers, pedestrians and cyclists who just do the latter.

Don't just pretend to do it, do it.

You don't need to exaggerate the looking, my examiner clocked me doing it as in the first few minutes when I looked in the mirror I could see his eyes to checking that I was doing it.

I'd add the lifesaver look too before you turn left or right, to make sure that there wasn't a vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian who was unsighted when you first checked.