[Music] if you are about to take your practical driving test you may have heard other people talking saying it wasn't their fault they failed because of some other reason however don't let yourself get worked up as many of the things you hear could be a myth and are not actually true in this video we will show you the top 10 driving test myths so you know that as long as you drive safely you will pass [Music] the 10th most popular driving test myth is that learning to drive will get easier as we get older unfortunately statistics prove this is not the case and the opposite is actually correct in 2016 the overall pass rate was 47% but have a look at this graph that shows the pass rates by age it is clear that the highest pass rates are from the youngest drivers and the pass rate drops steadily as the drivers age increases it is estimated that the average pupil needs two hours of driving tuition for every year of their life in other words if you are 17 you will need about 34 hours if you are 20 you will need 40 hours and by the time you are 30 you won't need 60 hours this is why we recommend that you learn at the youngest age possible as it will be easier and cheaper the ninth most common myth is that taking the driving testing rush-hour traffic is easier because all the traffic news will mean we won't have to drive as far driving examiner's are very experienced with the traffic local to their test centre so they will have chosen a route that will avoid most of the queuing traffic however it is inevitable that we would need to drive in some of the rush-hour congestion and at the end of every traffic queue there is a busy Junction to be crossed we find driving on quiet roads far easier so we'd prefer to drive a longer test route that has less traffic on it than drive a shorter route this is very busy the driving test statistics from DVS a show that the test centres in busy cities have a much lower pass rate than the test centres in small acquire to towns so for the best chance of passing book your tests for when there is the least amount of traffic not the most myth number eight is that if we take a wrong turn in Junction then it will be marked as a driving fault the examiner is essentially checking that we can drive safely and obey all relevant road and traffic rules if we misunderstand their instructions and it is too late to safely take the requested route then we should try to stay calm and continue on our current path as long as we make appropriate observations indicate whenever necessary and cause no danger then there won't be any faults recorded the examiner will just alter the route slightly and the test will continue however abruptly changing lanes in an attempt to take the requested route is dangerous and would fail the test another common myth is that driving examiner's only pass a certain number of pupils per week some people say that you have less chance of passing on a Friday as the examiner might have run out of passes this is just not true perhaps this myth is said by those who have just failed their tests and are trying to come up with a convincing reason to cover their embarrassment when an examiner fails a test they have to explain exactly why give a written report to the candidate and then complete extra paperwork at the test center the examiner would actually find it easier to pass a test so if we drive safely then they will be happy to do so [Music] the sixth most popular myth is that if we cross our hands when steering it will be a driving fault the examiner will be looking for us to demonstrate our competence in a number of areas including the ability to drive with the vehicle correctly positioned on the road as long as this is achieved at all times then there will be no fault given irrespective of how we hold or turn the steering wheel we always try to use a good steering technique as it will allow us to control the car smoothly and allow for a quick reaction if something unexpected happens however if we find ourselves crossing our hands when maneuvering or holding the wheel in a different way occasionally it won't be a problem unless it leads to the car leaving its correct Road position [Music] driving test myth number five is that if we drive really slowly all the time then it will be easier to pass the test we can understand the temptation to drive really carefully in an attempt to reduce the chance of making a mistake but driving too slowly for the current road and traffic conditions will actually be marked as a driving fault we will of course need to drive slowly when there are hazards or tight bends but if we don't keep up with the flow of traffic when on faster roads then it can annoy other drivers who might then try to overtake us in an unsuitable place which could put us in danger we should always try to drive confidently at an appropriate speed for the conditions as making good progress is far safer than driving excessively slowly the fourth most common driving test myth is that the handbrake must be applied every time the car is stopped but this is not the case on a driving test the examiner will be marking us on our overall control of our vehicle and judgment when driving in traffic there are no rules stating when we must use the handbrake except that it should be used to secure the car when parking otherwise we are free to use the car's handbrake whenever we feel it would be useful such as on a steep hill start or when waiting at a busy Junction using the handbrake appropriately will allow us to keep the car still while we reposition our feet on the pedals as this will allow us to use enough engine power to pull away confidently using the handbrake every single time we stop the car could cause an unnecessary delay so instead we should consider when the handbrake will actually be useful and just use it when needed the next myth is that they've restored the car we will fail but this is not the case inexperienced drivers will sometimes stall the car's engine for a variety of reasons as with many other faults a stall will be marked according to the situation it happened in and how much potential danger it caused if we stall when trying to pull away it won't usually cause any danger and if we restart the engine and pull away on the second attempt it will only be marked as a minor driving fault since the test candidate is allowed up to 15 driving faults a single minor won't automatically fail the test however if we stall at a busy Junction and cause an obstruction or stall repeatedly and delay over traffic then that might cause potential danger and to be marked as a serious fault which would result in a test fail if you do stall on your test just take a moment and start again it is unlikely you would be filed on that one thing alone the second most common myth is that we should exaggerate our mirror checks to make sure the examiner sees us doing it some people even suggest setting the mirrors slightly off so we have to move our head more as we use it however examiner's are trained to monitor our eye movements so they will know when we are looking without us needing to emphasize our mirror checks unnecessarily in fact worrying about how we check our mirrors might actually be a distraction and prevent us noticing a real hazard elsewhere instead we should check our mirrors often enough that we are always aware of what is behind our car before signaling or changing our Road position or speed finally our top driving test myth is that driving examiner's enjoy failing learner drivers driving examiner's are professionals they are highly trained and regularly assessed to ensure they give a fair test to every test candidate their assessment of our driving is properly marked on the driving test report form and they give feedback and a copy of the report to us at the end of the test they are monitored by their bosses to check that their pass rates are within a normal range and would be investigated if there was an unusual amount of passes or fails in addition the driving examiners know that most driving school cars will now have a dash cam recording the test and the pupil has the option to bring their instructor along in the back of the car so the chance of an unfair test is very low we hope that by busting these myths you can see that the only thing that really affects our chance of passing the driving test is how safely we can drive the UK driving test is not meant to be easy and the fact is that over 50% of candidates are just not up to the standard required if we drive safely we will pass if are driving puts us in potential or actual danger we will fail we should make sure that we are properly prepared beforehand and ensure that whatever challenges the road and traffic conditions give us we react safely and keep everyone safe if the examiner can see that we are a safe competent and considerate driver they will be happy to pass our test and give us our full UK driving license [Music] if you found 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