The Driving Theory Test
50 multiple choice questions. You are allowed 57 minutes to answer 50 multiple-choice questions. Most questions/answers are common sense. The correct answer is on the screen. BUT there are enough ‘strange’ questions in each paper to make life difficult. The pass mark is 43 out of 50. (86%).
14 x one minute Hazard Perception video clips.
The computer screen then in effect becomes the windscreen of a car. You will be shown 14 video clips of typical driving scenes eg. on a motorway, housing estate road, shopping street, country lanes.
Your job is to click the mouse button as soon as you recognise a ‘major developing driving hazard’. You get a maximum of 5 points by clicking at exactly the correct time, or only 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 points if you are a bit late.
There are 15 developing hazards within the 14 clips. You will learn ‘hazard perception’ on your driving lessons and on your computer at home. The pass mark is 44 out of a possible 75. (59%)
Learning for the Theory Test: It is vital you have an upto date copy of The Highway Code. The theory test questions are based on the rules, signs and contents of the Highway Code.
The Highway Code book is therefore your ‘cheat book’ to passing your theory test. Get one!
I have also linked with up with a very good website-based business which has developed an excellent realistic site for learning, preparing and testing yourself on the theory questions and hazard perception clips. It’s free.
The Practical Driving Test
The driving test is 35 minutes long (+/- 5 mins.) You need to prove to the examiner that you can drive around town and in the countryside (approx. 10 miles) without any help and without committing any ‘serious’ or ‘dangerous’ faults.
For half of the driving test time (15 – 20 minutes) will be asked to drive ‘independently’. This is done in one of two ways :
- being asked to follow the signs to somewhere, such as Wainfleet, Grimsby, Spalding, Horncastle, or
- follow the directions given by sat nav, which the examiner will bring with him/her.
For the rest of the driving test time you will be given directions by the examiner, just as you will on your normal driving lessons.
You will be asked to perform just one of four reversing manoeuvres:
- Pull up on the right, reverse for two car lengths and then drive on moving back to the left.
- Reverse Bay park.
- Forward Bay park – then reverse out.
- Reverse Parallel Park.
The examiner may or may not ask you to do an emergency stop.
You will also be asked three times during the drive to pull up and park at the side of the road in a safe place. You will also be asked to move out from a behind a parked car.
Mock driving tests. We will carry out as many mock tests you feel necessary – with me role-playing the examiner, so that you get use to what happens on the test and how it feels to drive with someone assessing your standard of driving. Then, come the real test, you should feel relatively comfortable and confident about driving well on your test and by yourself.
