HOW TO PASS THE DRIVING TEST

There is no magical trick to guarantee a pass in a driving test. Before booking the test a learner should have a lesson with a professional instructor to correct any faults.

Here are some practical tips to improve your chance of success:

• Know what to expect. During a test an examiner is not allowed to help you at all. Know where the windscreen wipers are. Locate the horn. The examiner may ask you to test it before driving away. Be familiar with the manoeuvers required.
  
  
• Don’t drive too slowly. To play it safe and drive very slowly causes a problem. The examiner may run out of time to complete the test. He/she could also interpret your lack of progress as lack of competence.
  
  
• Don’t drive too fast. The examiner will sense the difference between a fast, competent driver and a fast, but nervous one. A very common observation fault is not seeing and obeying speed limits at road works and in school zones.
  
  
• Listen to directions carefully. Don’t get left and right mixed up. Write the letter L on the back of your left hand, if you have a problem. If genuinely confused, where to go, don't hesitate to ask. But no questions at all are permitted to assist in your driving.
  
  
• Be decisive. If any tricky situations arise, you must act to solve the problem. Never think you have failed, even after a bad mistake. Brooding over a mistake, while still on test, may lead to further trouble.
  
  
• Don’t worry about silence in the car. It can be daunting sitting beside a stranger, who seems to just grunt: 'turn right, turn left'. Avoid thinking the examiner doesn’t like you. If there is a little chit-chat, be happy, but don’t expect it.
  
  
• Concentrate all the way. The reason for silence is for you to focus on the tasks at hand. Rolling through a stop sign is a common fail item caused by lack of concentration. When the officer writes something onto the test sheet, don’t get distracted. He or she may be recording something you did well.

The most common instant fail errors are:

• Not giving way
• Speeding (watch down hills, at road works, in school zones etc)
• Disobeying lights or signs (stop signs mainly!)
• Dangerous driving.

Before the test the examiner will check your learner’s permit (expired?) and the vehicle. Brake lights, indicators, tyres, horn and windscreen wipers must all be in good order. The vehicle must display the current registration label and clearly visible L-plates.

Avoid misunderstandings and don't expect to be tricked:

Near a keep left sign, the pupil was told to turn right, but refused, thinking keep left means, you can’t turn right. (It only means, you must stay to the left of the sign when turning).

Another classic: When told to turn left, the applicant promptly turned right into a 'One-Way' street, getting right and left mixed up.

One applicant was driving in the left lane. The examiner ordered: 'At the next set of traffic lights turn right.' Again, the pupil failed to realize that a lane change must first be executed, because one does not turn right from the left lane.

The driving test is a bit like a wedding: Both are important milestones, but the years that follow are really what counts. All the best for your test!

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A quick end to a driving test! Not exactly, rather the couple had been visiting the Adelaide Casino all night. The next morning the driver mistook this for the exit. Knowing where you are going is the first item on the 'System of Driving'.

Your safety is

DRIVING PLUS

Index

Disclaimer: Above information is for Australian learner drivers. Regulations could vary in your part of the world. We take no responsibility for any accidents, failed driving tests, even if the advise in this book has been followed. We recommend to use above information in conjunction with a professional driving instructor. 

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