Things you struggle with mostly while learning to drive

Hows everyone's lessons going?

I have my test booked for beginning of April, desperately need to pass this as my theory expires in June and I wont be able to rebook another before that. But i keep messing up at the most silliest things which is making me nervous for the test.
Still haven't got the hang of manoeuvres and I've had over 30 lessons now...

- Big three lane roundabouts
- 5th gear
- Turning into sideroads, doesn't always get slow enough

(Test at the end of week, fingers and toes all crossed)

I sometimes forget to go down to first gear at junctions :/ my instructor says I'll probably get minors for it, I do slow down and stop and look properly but I shouldn't keep changing from 2nd to first when I stop? And sometimes I don't always have time to get to 2nd gear when approaching roundabouts, so sometimes I'm in 3rd gear and stop and go to 1st when I could have dropped to 2nd, had time to assess the situation and only stopped when needed. And hill starts! Got my test this week, not ready at all! My instructor told me to go ahead with it though, but I don't believe him.

You should go down to 1st gear when you slow down and stop, otherwise you can stall, for example when I was in a car park the other week looking for a parking space, someone let me go to go up onto the next floor, I was in 2nd gear and stopped completely before I moved and stalled, so I should've gone down to 1st gear. There are times when I can get away with being in higher gear, but it doesn't always work and have to go into 1st gear, so I'd personally advise you to go down to 1st gear in your test when you stop completely or you can get a minor or a serious.

Also with going down to 2nd gear when approaching the roundabout, just remember to go down to 2nd as your slowing down and approaching the entrance to the roundabout, so this'll give you enough time to think about what you need to do next, this could get you a minor(s) on your test if you don't assess properly, etc.

And with hill starts just remember to get a high enough biting point, when I failed on my 2nd attempt, I got a serious for stalling on a hill start, even though there wasn't anyone about. But I passed on my 3rd attempt !

Good luck ! And remember if you don't pass, it's not the end of the world, it took me 3 attempts to pass my practical !


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Thank you. Yeah I know I should be doing these things. Sometimes I just have brain freezes and don't react quick enough to do them, I have a mock test tomorrow before the real thing so going to try being 100% on the ball. My instructor talks a lot and I've had to tell him numerous times not to because it affects my concentration. Obviously not all his doing, but definitely doesn't help! I'll be driving in silence on my test so I can put all my efforts into focusing. Well done on passing yours, 3rd time is good still! A lot of my friends passed 3rd time too. Thank you again, I'll update once I've had my test.

Aw I hope you do pass your practical !

Maybe do a mock practical test so you feel more at ease? I did a mock practical a week before I took the real thing, and past the mock which boosted my confidence and passed the real thing !

And I'm sure you'll get there with the manoeuvres


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I did a mock last lesson and my instructor said I would have failed as I was too close to other cars and the examiner would have had to touch the steering wheel so automatic fail.

I'm now seriously considering changing my test date, I've just checked and the next available date is 18th May which is cutting it so close to my theory test expiration. I'll ask my instructor in this weeks lesson. Its soo annoying as I know I can drive well but just get so nervous in the test and I've spent so much money on it now, I just want to pass!

Hey all.

I have my test in the beginning of April. This will be my third test. I had the same examiner for both tests and she's the most horrible person you'll ever meet.

She's had a lot of complains put against her. On the first test, we were stuff in traffic for 20 minutes and all she was doing was huffing and puffing, making me feel so uncomfortable.

The second test went a lot smoother but she still had an attitude. Genuinely thought I passed but ended up get 2 driving minors and 3 serious faults!!

When I'm on lessons I can drive perfectly fine, but the last few lessons I've been ill and I have been driving my best. My driving instructor said I can drive there's nothing more I can do other than work on my confidence.

With my test so close I'm getting extremely nervous! Any tips?

Hey,

That's really unlucky you had the same examiner twice, I had different ones, one who was really nice and one who made me feel very uncomfortable.

I'm kind of in the same situation as you, my driving is fine but I do struggle with manoeuvres. I had a test booked for next week, but I haven't had regular lessons for the past month and a half so I was feeling really anxious so I changed it to a later date (now in May) which means I have a lot more time to practice and get regular lessons in. It does mean it's my last chance to pass before my theory expires in June.

My instructor also says I lack confidence when driving sometimes which isn't a good thing as it could be seen as hesitation in the test.

If you're not feeling confident I would say to change the test date so you can get more practice which will in turn ensure you gain more confidence.

I had a driving lesson today, and I only have a few minor things I need to work on, e.g. mirrors, and looking more whilst completely my manoeuvres!

My instructor asked me if I wanted to a mock test with the other examiner, so that should be interesting! Then I have my test a week after, nervous is an understatement!

Got my first post - failed test lesson tomorrow and I feel nervous! No idea why. Maybe failing has knocked my confidence a bit. I know I can drive though, I guess all I can do is keep on practicing until test number 2. Good luck to those who have theirs coming up soon!

Oh no don't worry about failing too much, you'll get there


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Thank you