Can you refuse an examiner?

If you can drive you pass. If you can't you fail.
There is no "she failed me because she didn't like me" B/S.

There's an examiner at my local test centre who hasn't been known to pass anyone in living memory. I had her for my second test and with my 3rd coming up soon, I really really want to pass and feel that having her would be an unfair disadvantage.

She shouts at you for doing nothing wrong, grabs the wheel unneccessarily (honestly!) and STINKS of smoke which is frankly just off putting. I know if i see her coming towards me on the day I'll already have mentally failed myself which isn't a good attitude. She also gave me a major for something that I later found out was a minor.

I know I sound like I'm being silly but honestly I think she is overly harsh, can I request not to have her?!

There's an examiner at my local test centre who hasn't been known to pass anyone in living memory.

Whose living memory? Your instructor's? I'm sorry, but these stories about "examiners from hell" stem from bitter people who failed, or even worse, from rubbish instructors who didn't see what happened, don't know how the examiners' assessment is made and generally guess about what is and isn't acceptable on test. If an instructor gets so many fails (with any examiner), then why is he presenting so many substandard people for test? It begs the question whether he even knows the standard and is commonplace among trainee instructors.

Examiners give directions and make chit-chat to put you at ease. If they shout, it's an emergency (like grabbing the wheel or using the dual brake). As zKlown said, an ETA (Examiner Took Action - verbal or physical) would only be done if you commit a serious or dangerous fault.

Found out where? From whom? A witness to those circumstances in the car? Sounds like more instructor bullsh!t to me. If this (mis)information came from anyone other than an instructor, then I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

No.

All examiners are closely monitored to give a uniform test and you will get exactly the same result with any examiner. It's true that your preconceptions of a person may make you more nervous and mess things up, but it's still your actions that bring about the result. The examiners only write down what they see.

Whenever an instructor tells you that "that examiner is always harsh", he is a) making you feel better after you've failed or b) saving face and shrugging off blame if he put you in for test before you were ready.

As hobo06 said, make your instructor along if it makes you feel better. If you fail, a good instructor will agree with the examiner and explain better where you went wrong, why and what to do about it next time.

If you can drive you pass. If you can't you fail.
There is no "she failed me because she didn't like me" B/S.

Are you an examiner?

Lol, thats what i was thinking... its funny, alot of people on this forum think they know everything.

Lol, thats what i was thinking... its funny, alot of people on this forum think they know everything.

Are you an examiner?

Probably not, as they have a schedule to go by, it would mess up the rest of the days tests. But you can request to have someone else in the car with you (i.e. you're instructor). If she actually is being harsher than she should be, then you have someone else there to back you up.