welcome to the UK practical driving test
where you are going to learn everything that you will need for your driving test day
now the UK driving test is there to determine whether or not we are ready to hit those
roads on our own and it's obviously very disappointing if we don't get the result we
want first time now in a lot of cases this can be easily avoided with a bit of preparation
so before we dive into the nitty-gritty let's make sure we've got everything we need to
give us the best possible chance on the day here's a list of everything you are going to
need for your driving test number one if you need glasses make sure you bring them you do
not want to risk failing the eyesight test as the driving test will not go ahead it is also
recommended to bring your theory certificate although I've never seen one actually requested
better to be safe than sorry if you are coming in your own vehicle you need to make sure it's clean
it's insured it's a safe roadworthy vehicle that is tax and mot'd you will also need to make sure
that you have a qualified supervisor that means someone that is legally able to drive Etc they
meet all of the criteria do also make sure that you have an L plate on the back of your car and
on the front of your car in an ideal world you would also have a spare Central mirror but this
is not an absolute requirement so don't panic if you don't have one just mention it to the examiner
and they will make sure they bring one out finally just to clarify you do not need to worry about
bringing a Sat Nav The Examiner will supply one of those for you when you go for your UK driving
test you are going to need to make sure that you have your provisional license awful license if
you're retaking the test now here's a bit of information about the UK driving test so the UK
driving test is anywhere between 35 minutes and 40 minutes 20 minutes of this is going to be the
Independent Drive which involves either following a Sat Nav or following road signs the second
20 minutes will be clear instructions from The Examiner now don't panic about this they are very
good at giving instructions they would not want you to fail your driving test because they gave
you poor instructions so all of the instructions will be very clear such as please take the first
exit at the roundabout going last or please take the next road on the left if the road signs are
covered or not very clear the examiner will help you with this and give you a bit of a heads up so
again don't panic now it is perfectly normal to be a little bit nervous for your driving test in
fact nerves are quite good they give us that edge they make sure we're performing at our best but
too many nerves can be bad and they can lead to mistakes now try to remember the driving examiner
is not there to fail you so they are expecting you to be able to drive they just want to make sure
you are a safe and competent driver now during your driving test the driving test examiner will
be watching in case you make any faults now these are divided into three separate categories you
have your driving faults which are also known commonly as minor faults you have your series
faults which are also commonly known as Mages and you have your dangerous faults now your minor
faults are common mistakes that shouldn't be high risk such as forgetting to signal on the laugh
and it hasn't affected anyone you can get up to 15 driving faults and still pass your driving
test just to give you a bit of an idea I have never actually had a student get 15 volts on a
driving test has anyone else has anyone ever had a student fail for getting more than 15 driving
poles let me know in the comments below series faults like the name suggests are more serious
these are high risk situations such as pulling out of a junction too quickly and causing someone
else to have to slow down or pulling up from the side of the road and not actually checking the
blind spot this is going to create a high risk situation because if you did that and a car was
coming obviously there'd be an accident finally we have dangerous faults and these are the sorts of
faults that would potentially cause an immediate accident such as pulling out on a roundabout that
would potentially drive into someone something to be aware of even if you do perform a serious
fault on your driving test which would lead to a driving test fail you will be expected to
continue to the end of the test this is because after all you have paid for this experience with
the examiner you've paid for a driving test you want the feedback from the driving test to find
out what went well and what needs to be developed your job is just to stay calm stay focused and
do your best driving around nice and safely the first thing you're going to want to do
on driving test day is check your email if there's any extreme weather such as snow just
severe weather conditions uh for instance if a driving test examiner is poorly they may very
well move or cancel your driving test if that is the case they will email you either on the day
or the day before so make sure you check your email and check your junk folder as well now once
you've checked your emails you're happy you've had your breakfast you've had a drink you're
ready to go why do we suggest having an hour warm up before your driving test either warming
up with doing some Maneuvers or warming up doing any development points that you feel would help
before the driving test now I'd never suggest doing any longer than an hour because driving
is tiring after all that's why they suggest taking a break every two hours and you want to
be at your best once you've had your hour warm up before the driving test you're going to want
to head to the test center now it's important you try and get to the test center approximately 10
minutes before your driving class this is going to help stop you from feeling anxious it's going
to give you a chance to pop to the toilet that it's going to give you those few minutes rest
before the actual driving test but saying that try not to arrive any more than 10 minutes to
the driving test in the car park because other people could still be coming back from the task
and you could put them off which I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate I know I wouldn't now we've
arrived at the driving test center let's make sure that we reverse into one of the Bays if
there is a car park if there's not a car park let's just make sure that we park as close as
we can but it's safe and legal to the driving test center and make sure the car is facing the
direction that is away and not a blocked end hello it's really important you make sure your
Mobile's turned off the last thing you need on your driving test is your mobile ringer dinging as
you're going around it's just going to put you on edge as well so make sure you turn that off once
you've parked up let's go inside the task Center there are normally toilets in there so if you're
anything like me you may want to use those before popping to the waiting room now the waiting rooms
are unfortunately normally deathly silent I don't know why they don't just get a radio in there
feel free to talk to other people feel free to talk to your supervisor just have a chat and
take a seat and wait when it is your time and don't worry if the driving exam is a few minutes
late because they often are the driving examiner will come through and they will call your name
this is your opportunity to get up and greet your examiner preferably with your driving license
in hand once they've checked your driving license they're going to ask you to sign an insurance
declaration this is for you to sign just to say that your vehicle is short and roadworthy to
use once this is done they will then ask you if you would like your supervisor to sit in on
the driving test with you this is up to you to say yes or no they may also ask you a this point
would you like your supervisor to listen in to the feedback at the end of the test now it may be
tempting to say no but I do not advise it because trust me at the end of that task you are not going
to hear a word that examiner says apart from pass or fail which means you are going to need that
supervisor to listen to the feedback so if it's not the intended outcome they know why and they
can help you develop it if you are struggling with the driving test or you just want to give yourself
the best possible chance to pass that test first time have a look at our online driving course our
online driving course is specifically designed to help you Ace the driving test first time now at
this point the examiner may tell you a little bit about the test if you ask for it otherwise I'll
suggest to carry on to the car park once you get to the car park they are then going to perform the
eyesight task they're going to ask you to read a number plate from approximately 20 meters away if
you wear glasses make sure you've got them on now or contacts whatever happens make sure you can
read that number plate because if you can't the test will not be able to go ahead with that done
the examiner will then ask you to go make sure self-comfortable in the car they may have a quick
check around the car before jumping in themselves once the eyesight test is done they then may very
well ask you either a tell me question outside the car especially if the weather's nice or if
it's not so nice they may just ask you to jump in once the exam is in the car with you they
are now likely to ask you a tell me question these questions can be found on the gov website
in the description below with the answers as well now don't panic if you don't get this question
right as it will only go down as one driving fault although it doesn't make you look very prepared
and first impressions and all that do count now three of the Tommy questions include opening the
Bonnet can you open the Bonnet and tell me how you'd know if you have sufficient engine coolant
can you open the Bonnet and tell me how you know if you have sufficient oil once the examiner jumps
in they will then set up the sat nav if you are following a Sat Nav for the day once that's
set up and they've pressed go they will ask you to drive on when you're ready now it's worth
noting four out of five people on their driving test will be following a Sat Nav for 20 minutes of
the independent drive while just one in five will be expected to follow road signs now if you are
expected to follow a Sat Nav all the information is going to be at the top of the sat nav just make
sure you're not staring at it and you are only glancing at it because if you take your eyes off
the road for too long this becomes a distraction and it's going to lead to mistakes if you look at
the top of the sat nav it's going to constantly give you at least two steps ahead of where you
are going next the sat nav will also talk to you giving you some extra help to make sure you know
where you're going no I say this a lot but it's a lot harder to follow on the day than it is to
say don't worry if you go the wrong way after all the driving test is not about how good you are
at following directions it's about safety and minimizing risk provided you go the wrong way
safely you will not receive any faults at all again if you're not sure about the direction or
you want the examiner to repeat the direction to just ask them to do just that there'll be no issue
with that at all let's go now you're going to be expected to take your driving test on a variety
of different Road styles for instance you're more than likely going to have to drive in residential
areas lots of houses Maybe box cars as well you could also be expected to drive on busy roads
such as Town such as busy cities if there is a dual carriageway in the area you will be expected
to drive on a dual carriageway and finally if your driving test center is near any country roads you
will be expected to drive on country roads as well now don't get me wrong you may not be expected
to drive on all of those depending on the test route depending on the location if you are in the
middle of the Highlands on an island there really isn't a particularly busy town or city anywhere
nearby and there may not be a dual carriageway as well during the driving test you are going to be
asked to pull the car over to the side of the road at least three times I say at least three times
because if you are not performing something quite right perhaps you haven't checked uh your mirror
properly or you haven't checked your blind spot you may be asked to do this more for instance
if I've had one student that was asked to pull over eight times and they just scraped through
their driving test make sure that's not you it's highly likely that you're also going to be asked
to pull over reasonably close to another car to give you an angled start and this is just to
show The Examiner that you are able to get out from reasonably tight spaces it's highly likely
you will be expected to do a hell start as well just to show that you can stop the car safely
on a hill and drive away on the hill as well at some point during the driving test you will be
expected to perform One reverse parking maneuver as well now this could be a forward Bay Park and
reverse back out or this could be a reverse Bay Park this could also be a parallel park or my
favorite pull over on the right hand side and reverse back to car spaces now remember the
key to a successful maneuver is to stay calm and think about what you're doing there is no
need to turn this into a scene from Fast and Furious instead you need to think like Slowpoke
when you are doing your driving test Maneuvers when you go slow this shows the examiner you
have fantastic clutch control if you go and try and do your maneuver quickly this shows a lack
of control to The Examiner and lack of control means risk and if there's risk you aren't going
to get your driving license now where when your driving test comes to at the end the driving
exam is going to direct you back to the task Center once you've parked up they're going to put
the sat nav away and they're going to ask you to turn your car off then they're going to give you
your dreaded results if you pass congratulations you are going to be able to start
driving on your own if you didn't pass do not worry you are able to take the test
again in just 10 working days and remember failing the driving test doesn't mean you're a
bad person it doesn't mean you're a bad driver I for one know when I was a young scallywag
it took me three attempts to pass my driving test and that was a lot to do with driving test
nerves now you may just need a little bit more practice in certain areas or it may just be a
case of you mate and particularly bad mistakes due to driving test nerves as well either way
the driving test examiner will let you know I hope this helps gives you a better understanding
of what to expect on the UK driving test let me know if you have any questions in the comments
below if you are struggling with the driving test or you just want to give yourself the best
possible chance to pass that test first time have a look at our online driving course our
online driving course is specifically designed to help you Ace the driving test first time
and on top of that it's designed to help you save money on your driving license don't get me
wrong a huge amount of driving is about practice it in the car hands on but there is also a huge
amount of theory to driving as well have a look sign up and get on that road to success I
am Josh a driving instructor and I'm out
