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Some important facts about obtaining your driving licence:
The key to passing your driving test is driving experience
You gain driving experience from your course of driving lessons and any additional practice driving in your family’s motor vehicle.
It is therefore accurate to say when you invest in your driving lessons you are investing in giving yourself the best chance of obtaining your driving licence.
If you take a driving test without adequate preparation and the mind-set “I want to do the least amount of hours as possible” you may find that you are not able to reach the required standard.
How you drive when you taking a driving test
When taking your practical driving test, it is important to realise this - You are showing your examiner how you intend to drive by yourself after you have passed your driving test.
Your examiner has never seen you drive before. E.g. If you show your examiner that you are going to change lanes without checking your mirrors, it follows suit that you will change lanes when out driving by yourself without checking your mirrors; therefore you are at a high risk of causing an accident, injuring yourself and those around you in other motor vehicles.
If you complete a reversing exercise without looking behind out of your rear window, you have no knowledge of any hazards behind your vehicle.
What happens if someone is walking behind your vehicle? In that scenario other people would be at risk from coming into contact with your vehicle and being injured.
A driving examiner is not going to issue a pass certificate to a driver who has shown that they are going to be a risk to themselves or other road users.
Book a driving test at a time where the traffic is minimal
Some people have the idea that if they book an early morning driving test that they won’t have to drive very far and so therefore it will be easier to pass their driving test.
The reality is early morning driving test routes have been designed to take into account the increased morning traffic flow.
The main issue you face with more traffic on the roads is people rushing about to get to their destination, so there will be more chance of coming into contact with aggressive drivers.
As a driver on test this means you will need to be able to react even quicker to motorists who may be making rushed decisions.
Ideally you want to book a mid morning driving test to early afternoon driving test.
The importance of practice tests
If you were going to sit a GCSE / A Level or Degree Exam you would make sure that you had an idea of what your test entailed.
Your tutor would ask you to sit mock tests so that you had some idea of what your exam entailed and how you performed under pressure.
It is the same scenario with your driving test.
Drivers who are use to driving with their driving instructor may drive completely differently under pressure when faced with an exam style drive.
The way to overcome this is to undertake practice tests.
Driving experience in a different part of the world
You have experience of driving in a different part of the world or not obtained through a driving instructor.
Although the basic format of driving abroad is similar to driving in the U.K., sometimes people think that it is easy to pass a U.K. driving test because they can already drive a car.
People who have learnt with family members or driven around off-road also use the phrase ‘I can drive.’
There is often a big difference between ‘being able to drive’ and driving at the U.K. driving test standard.
To pass a U.K. driving test you need to be driving on a regular basis using the U.K. required driving test standard.
This is normally built up over time with driving lessons.
When you have learnt to drive in way which is contrary to the U.K. standard you may find that you have to unlearn some of your old habits before you can reach the U.K. driving test standard.
There is an old saying: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
If you want a U.K. driving licence, you will need to invest in professional driving lessons to become a safe, aware and confident driver.
