How to Pass your Driving Test
Posted on 21st July 2021Passing your driving test is a huge milestone in your life. And if you want to manage it first time round, here are a few tips on how to do just that.
Find the right instructor for you
Don’t feel as though you have to stick with the first instructor you book a lesson with. Finding the right person for you is important in terms of being comfortable in the car with them and feeling you can ask the questions you need to ask. Feeling comfortable and at ease as your drive is one of the most important things for learner drivers.
Keep calm
Possibly the hardest one to do. But do whatever you need to in advance of your test to keep you calm; whether that’s doing something social with friends to take your mind of it, or having some time to yourself
Get extra practise in
No matter how ready you feel, when the nerves set in even the most confident of drivers can be thrown off their game. So make sure that when your test day comes even if you do feel nervous, muscle memory will be able to set in and take over for you. Borrow someone's car and get down to an empty car park in the build up to your test and practise your maneuvers again and again until you barely have to think about them.
Don’t feel as though you have to stick with the first instructor you book a lesson with. Finding the right person for you is important in terms of being comfortable in the car with them and feeling you can ask the questions you need to ask. Feeling comfortable and at ease as your drive is one of the most important things for learner drivers.
Have a lesson on the day
It’s always advisable to have a lesson on the day, some instructors will insist on this anyway but if yours doesn’t then do request one. Having an hour or so in the car before your lesson will give you the chance to get comfortable and reduce your nerves when you’re suddenly asked to drive before the examiner. Take it as a nice opportunity to get settled behind the wheel so when your test starts it’s merely a continuation of the safe and assured driving you’ve already been doing for the last hour.
Don’t get hung up on mistakes
It’s easy to convince yourself that when being examined you’re expected to put in the perfect driving performance. However, the examiner knows that you are still a learner driver, and even more experienced drivers will make errors sometimes so a certain amount of mistakes is allowed, and even expected. So if you know you’ve made a small mistake don’t get too hung up on it, just shrug it off and keep going as you ordinarily would. Overthinking it might distract you leading to bigger errors that could cause you more of a problem.
And remember, only around 50% of people pass the first time, so if it doesn’t work out on the first instance then keep going - you certainly aren’t alone!