Tips For Passing Your Driving Test

After weeks and months of preparation, the time has come for you as a learner driver to take that all-important practical driving test. It is perhaps an irrational fear, but many individuals feel that they have failed before they have even gotten behind the wheel of the examiner's vehicle. So what can they - and you as an expectant learner driver - do to alleviate those fears?

Ultimately the key to success in any test or examination is revision and practice. There can be no better illustration of this than the learner driver who spends as many hours as they can manage to feel confident and in control of their vehicle.

It is, of course, not practical financially or time-wise to spend all of your time behind the wheel, especially if you are employing the services of a driving instructor. But you can - where possible - go out with another driver who is confident and experienced enough to understand the teaching you have received and give the words of encouragement you will need.

We really cannot stress enough just how important reading, understanding and learning the Highway Code is when it comes to taking that practical test. The examiner will ask you questions on it and throughout the course of the driving test you will be required to call upon this new found knowledge in order to navigate roads and traffic signals. But the Highway Code doesn't stop at the end of your test - it will go on and on throughout your driving life and will change with new regulations taking over from old. So a frequent revision of the Highway Code can do no harm at all.

Many drivers lose their temper whilst behind the wheel of a car and it can happen on test day as well. You should try and remain as calm as you can and remember that - should the worst happen and you fail the test - you will be able to sit it again. So many learner drivers panic themselves - and indeed sometimes their instructors - with erratic behaviour and foul tempers and consider the test they are in the midst of to be the only chance they will have. This is not the case and you should prepare yourself for the worst - just in case.

When you go out with other people watch how they drive. Examine in your own mind how they keep control of their vehicle and look for the mistakes they make. Correct those in your own mind do not try to critique another driver; test yourself and your own abilities by watching for safety issues and the way in which they drive. Through time nearly every driver will pick up at least one bad habit, should it be fiddling with the radio while they drive, trying to light a cigarette or driving one handed. Identifying these mistakes and noting them in your own mind will help you ensure you carry out no such misdemeanour during your own test.

This sounds perhaps a little clichéd, but there is a lot of fun to be had from driving. Imagine upon passing your test how the open road will lie ahead of you, leading you to anywhere you want to go. This is what many learner drivers imagine and aim for when they sign up to take their practical driving test. If you see the test and the whole process of learning to drive as a chore, it will be a chore. Instead, see it as another learning curve and another challenge to overcome and you may find the process is not just as daunting as you first thought.

Disclaimer: The information in the article is for general purpose information only and should not be constituted as legal advice. This article has been produced by a third party and Jardine Motors does not take any responsibility for the completeness, accuracy, or reliability with respect to the website or the information provided. Article last updated March 2016.