Top Tips for your Driving Test!

Don’t apply for your driving test until you are ready.

If you are not ready, you’re going to lose your money.

The price of a practical driving test currently stands at £62 (as of August 2011)
Plus the cost of hiring your instructor and the car too will set you back at least £100 overall on the day.

Check with your instructor to see if you are ready for the test. 
A lot of people think that they are ready when they are not.  You need to be consistent with your driving.  You need to be able to perform consistently on all aspects from manoeuvres to general driving.  Listen to your instructor.  He/She will not rip you off! 

After doing a number of mock tests with your instructor, if you think you are ready for your driving test and your instructor thinks you’re not, then you can request a mock test with another instructor – for an unbiased view. 

If your instructor won’t do this, then alarm bells should be ringing, and you can book a mock test yourself with another instructor – just phone up another school and talk about the situation.

The average person takes between 44 and 54 hours of lessons before they are ready for a driving test. A lot of people after about 20 hours think they are ready – however you need to be very consistent for the test.  The test is quite expensive – £100 if you take 2 hours with your instructor on the day – so if you are not ready you might as well of had another 4 or 5 hours of training instead then put in for the test instead of wasting the £100.

Another indicator of knowing if you are ready for your driving test is to listen how ‘quiet’ your instructor is while you are having your driving lesson.  If, at the end of your lesson he did not say ‘you are doing x wrong, or y wrong’ you could be ready for your test.

On the day of your driving test:

It is vital to be mentally ready for your test – so have plenty of mock tests with your instructor.  This is important so you know the sorts of things that the examiner will ask you to do – for example – he/she might pull you over more times than your instructor would – perhaps up to 6 times!  You need to be ready for that and know what’s happening.  You are going to do angled starts and hill starts for example.

Make sure you take both parts of your driving license with you.  Most cancellations are caused because the pupil forgets to his/her license to the test!  You cannot do your test without both parts of your driving license.

Make sure that you are bright and alert on the day – which means make sure you go to bed early the night before! Don’t go out drinking! 

When you get to the test centre – there’s always a loo there so use it – even if you don’t think you need it.  The last thing you want when you are half way around the test is the distraction of needing the loo.

Try to stay calm.  If you suffer with extreme anxiety you can get in touch with Healthy Minds – for help with nerves and confidence. (www.healthy-minds.co.uk)
If you are ready for the test then there is nothing to fear. 
If you are not ready for the test then you shouldn’t be there – so you shouldn’t be nervous anyway! If you have taken at least a couple of mock tests and passed them then you have nothing to worry about. 

If you do fail, it’s not the end of the world – you can always retake the test.

The examiner can tell the difference between a nervous driver and someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.  Nerves will never fail you.

End of driving test:

Hopefully, you will have passed the test!  If not:

At the end of the test the examiner will always ask you if you want a debrief. 

Always answer ‘yes’ to this – even if you are annoyed, frustrated and know that you have failed.  The debrief will help you to understand what went wrong.  Always listen to the debrief!

The examiner will ask you if you want your instructor to listen to the debrief as well.  Again, always say ‘yes’ to this.  Your instructor will no doubt be waiting outside as you return from the test – so get that window down and wave him over to join you in listening. 

Having your instructor over to listen to the debrief is very important because if you have failed, you might be in a state of shock, be upset, or just exhausted – and quite often in these situations, pupils often misinterpret the information in the debrief, or misremember it.  If your instructor is with you, you can work on it together for next time.

Good Luck!!

For more information and advice, go to www.go-rio.co.uk
FREEPHONE 0800 566 8636

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