Driving Test Tips

By shaun On December 2, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Practical Driving Test Tips

Anybody who is about to take their practical driving test will be searching for driving test tips to help them prepare. To pass your driving test you need to drive without making any serious or dangerous faults and no more than 15 minor faults during a drive of about 40 minutes. You must also complete several manoeuvres. If your big day is looming then take a look at our driving test tips below to help you prepare.

Make sure you are well prepared for your driving test.
One of the most important driving test tips is to get to the know the area in which you will be taking your driving test. You will not be able to guess the driving test route and study it but you will be able to familiarise yourself with the local area and make yourself aware of any potential difficult situations that you may encounter on your driving test, such as complex roundabouts, difficult junctions or one-way streets. Knowing the area in which your test will take place will not only give you prior knowledge of any potential difficult situations it will also give you more confidence going into your test as the feeling of entering the unknown is diminished somewhat.

Make use of literature like the highway code to give you a better understanding of what is going on around you and to ensure you are properly familiar with road signs. Your need to know the highway code does not end when you pass your theory test so it is good idea to make sure you keep your memory fresh before your practical test.
Have a mock driving test prior to taking the real thing.
By taking a mock driving test with your instructor, or maybe even a different instructor to simulate driving with a stranger, you will be able to get a good idea of just how well prepared you are for your practical driving test, it will also reassure you on what you can expect come the day of your driving test. This tip is one of the driving test tips that a good driving instructor will suggest to you.

Doing a mock test will also help to iron out any stupid, but costly, mistakes. For example by setting up the mock test to be exactly the same as the actual driving test you will need to make sure you have both parts of your driving licence on hand to begin the test, you will also need to successfully pass the eye sight test. All of these things will make you more comfortable when the actual day arrives and helps diminish the fear of the unknown.
Make sure you have perfected all of the required manoeuvres before your driving test.
One of the biggest causes of worry and stress for people taking their driving test is having to do the required manoeuvres. Currently on your driving test you will be asked to successfully complete one of the following manoeuvres:
- Reversing around a corner
- Turning in the road
- Reverse parking – either into a parking bay or parallel parking at the side of the road.
By making sure you are well practised in these manoeuvres you will take a lot of the pressure off yourself when taking the test.
Make sure you have experienced driving in as many conditions as possible.
You can never be 100% sure what the conditions are going to be like when you take you driving test so you need to make sure you have plenty of experience driving in all kinds of weather and traffic conditions. If you only ever take driving lessons at 10AM in the morning on dry days how will you react when it rains on the day of your driving test?

Also, wherever possible, try to mix up the time of day that you have your driving lessons. Traffic levels will be different at certain times of the day and you need to make sure you can cope if the area in which you do your driving test gets busy. Maybe your driving test is the first of the day and you end up getting caught up in people travelling to work or taking the kids to school, so make sure you have plenty of experience at all times of the day.
Warm up with a driving lesson before your test.
Arrange with your driving instructor to have an hour long driving lesson prior to your test, leaving you time to have a break in between the driving lesson and your test. This will help you get into the right mindset for driving, it will also allow you to have a preview of the area in which you will be driving so you can see any new roadworks or obstructions etc.
Revise your show me/tell me questions.
As part of your practical driving test you will be asked two vehicle safety questions, one will be a “show me” question where you have to physically show the examiner how you would carry out a vehicle safety check. The other will be a “tell me” question where you will have to describe to the examiner how you will carry out a certain vehicle safety check. If you give the wrong answer to one or both questions you will be given one driving fault so it is a good idea to revise these questions before your driving test to stop you taking a needless driving fault, which will inevitably make you more anxious and nervous about the rest of the test.

Drive on your test as you would drive with your driving instructor.
Plenty of people do it, they drive perfectly well with their driving instructor but come test time they alter their driving style to suit what they think the driving examiner will be looking for. If you have been taking driving lessons from a quality, DSA approved driving instructor you will already be driving at test standard when applying for your driving test. Do not suddenly start driving 5mph under the speed limit everywhere or changing the way you do manoeuvres once your test starts.
Ignore the many driving test rumours.
Try not to listen to the horror stories and misinformation that people who have taken their test before will tell you. People tend to only talk about tests that they have failed and then they speculate as to the reasons why, nobody wants to admit that they just didn’t drive well enough to pass their test. So the next time somebody tells you that they failed their test because they sneezed or because the examiner was having a bad day just ignore them.

5 Quick Driving Test Tips

Keep on top of your nerves. If you start to feel really shaky and nervous take a deep breath, hold it in for 20 seconds and breath out. Repeat this until you start to feel in control of your nerves again. Once the driving test starts you will settle into your driving and your attention will shift away from the test, and your nervousness should dissipate.
Be confident. Your driving instructor would not have put you forward for your driving test if he or she did not think you were ready so be confident. Talk to yourself silently throughout the driving test to keep your mind focused on upcoming hazards or situations.
Never be afraid to ask. If you are unsure as to what you examiner has asked you to do do not be afraid to ask him or her to repeat or clarify the instruction.
Don’t panic if you make a mistake. If you feel that you a messing up a manoeuvre, simply pull forwards and try again. As long as you have not done anything wrong, like touching the kerb you can still pass so remain calm.
Stalling is not the end of the world. Stalling the car does not necessarily mean you have failed your driving test, as long as you do not stall in a dangerous situation like on a roundabout.