Driving Test Advice

I found that it helped to have a 1 hour lesson directly before the actual test time, then the actual test felt kinda like a driving lesson, so took away a lot of the nerves!

Good luck, and always remember, nerve do nothing at all to help, you're more than ready to pass!

Just breathe. Also take a bottle of juice/water with you and drink it before you have to do any tasks like parallel parking or turn in the road. And don't go to bed late the night before.

How do I stop my nerves during driving test? (failed 3 times)

I have failed today within the first 10 minutes from how incredibly nervous I get. I had rescue remedy and tried a relaxation technique for breathing beforehand. I failed due to lane discipline on a round-about (no collision or real danger) however the tester felt I was unaware of this mistake. The worst thing is that I had 1 minor (undue hesitation) besides the major. I can't shake this nerve and don't know if anyone has any suggestions!

Thank you

Snip

Up in the highlands, hitting the curb is an automatic fail and I assumed it was anywhere :O

Honestly, I don't think you're going to be able to shake the nerves entirely.

Driving tests are nerve-wracking situations. So what you have to do, is find a way to
perform in spite of your nerves.

They're not looking for a perfect driver. They only want to see that you're
competent and safe on the roads. Mistakes are allowed. I passed second time
yesterday, and I messed up my reverse round a corner. Almost went into the curb.
That would have qualified me for a fail. Why didn't I? Because I noticed the fault,
slipped the car into first and tried to correct it, not hitting the curb.

Eventually, I gave up and just asked for another go, and my examiner said "Go on
then..." which proves to me that they're not ogres. They're not unreasonable. I got a
minor for my first attempt, but I managed to pass it because I fixed where I went
wrong.

Sometimes, I think if the examiner can see that you're aware of the fault, and are
trying to fix it, they might be more inclined (depending on how serious/dangerous
the fault is, of course) to mark it down as a minor.

I noticed a huge difference between my first and second tests. I was more
nervous for my second-because I placed a greater importance on passing it.
It felt somewhat acceptable/expected that I would fail my first test, but
"unacceptable" to mess it up a second time. Reality is, each test is good practice
for future reference.

If you know where you went wrong, take sufficient lessons to maintain and
improve your standard of driving, the failed tests can be beneficial to you.

My top tips:
1) Forget what the examiner is doing. I know when they're sat there with their pad and pencil, scribbling away, it's hard. There's temptation to peek over and see
what they've put. Don't. It's irrelevant to you. Until the second you pull up in the
test centre and switch the engine off, that pad and pencil do not exist.

2) Even if you make a mistake, don't dwell and assume it's a fail. I attempted to
move off in second gear yesterday IN my test, and boy, was that a juddery
experience! I thought I failed right there. It was one minor, and nothing more
than a silly mistake caused by nerves. Not something I'd usually do at all.

3) Get comfortable behind the wheel. Get your seating right, your headrest right,
the steering wheel correctly positioned. It sounds like common sense, but
the last thing you want to realise on test is that you're sitting too close/too far
from the pedals and it's causing you problems.

4) If you're unsure of the direction the examiner has given, ask. Yesterday, I didn't
know which right turn he meant so I said, "The road the blue car has just gone
in?"

5) They're just people like you. Once upon a time, they were in your shoes, so
they know how it feels. Just remember that.

6) Remember why you're doing it. Get a vision in your head about passing, and
driving independently and just keep working towards that. It helped me when I felt
like quitting.

7) Self-care. Get a good night's sleep, eat a good breakfast, hydrate yourself. The
night before, do what relaxes you and try and not think about the test.

8) Don't give up. Don't make a mistake and think, "Oh, well, that's that done," and then go on to make twenty other mistakes as a result. Mistakes are mistakes. Any
mistake you make can be a minor, a serious or a dangerous depending on the
circumstances of it. So, just because you tried to (like me) move off in second,
and the car juddered rather embarrassingly, doesn't mean it's a serious error or
dangerous. When it happened to me, my first instinct was to run out of the car and throw my hands in the air, screaming. I didn't. I pressed on, and passed.

Good luck!

I am so pleased to have taken all Advice from you guys. I passed my driving test on Monday finally!!! ¡

I am so pleased to have taken all Advice from you guys. I passed my driving test on Monday finally!!! ¡

I am so pleased to have taken all Advice from you guys. I passed my driving test on Monday finally!!! ¡

I am so pleased to have taken all Advice from you guys. I passed my driving test on Monday finally!!! ¡

well done!!!! any tips?? was it that bad?? ive got mine next week!

Well done you! Fab feeling isn't it?



And my advice would be to focus more on having a safe drive. Because if you focus on this, then good things should follow. Also, if you have made a mistake, as many people have stated, don't dwell on it and try your best to fix it. A lot of the times, examiners will base their decisions on your reactions and if they feel like you knew what you were doing and did not cause any immediate danger, then they will not penalise you as you might think. Make sure you don't make any sudden movements, and try to be 'predictable' with your driving.

It helps if you talk yourself through what you're doing whether it's quietly to yourself or in your head. Sometimes, I say "mirrors" as I'm turning or say "yep no one there" after glancing at my side mirrors because in previous tests, I've gotten comments about not looking into my mirrors when I have, just didn't make it 'obvious'.

As for nerves, one thing that I found incredibly helpful to me is chewing on gum from the minute I walked into the test centre, and then throughout my whole test. This somehow helped calm me down, as well as helping me to focus more!

Probably why I said I "almost hit the curb." Almost being the key word here.