Driving test - common mistakes to watch out for?

[Natsku]

Got my test on Thursday (do not feel ready at all!!) and just hoping for some tips and advice on what to watch out for and how to keep calm. And how to always remember to change gears to first when starting off from a stop, I keep forgetting that.

I heard eating a banana beforehand is supposed to help you be calm, any truth in that?

@Natsku I took my test 3 times. First 2 was so nervous and failed. Third one I ate a banana was still so nervous and passed!

Keep an eye on your road position and lane management.

Lots of luck

Good question. I've been feeling quite comfortable driving for the last two lessons, apart from on the fastest roads but my instructor said its normal to not feel comfortable with high speeds yet. But the actual process of testing makes me so anxious I don't know if I'm going to be driving comfortably like normally.

If I cancelled the test now (if I can even cancel it after paying for it) I'd need to then buy another block of lessons as I wouldn't want to do the test after having a break from driving and I'd rather not do that if I can pass now.

I am definitely going to buy bananas before Thursday!

As well as obviously not going too fast, make sure you’re also not going too slow. I got minors for both as I wasn’t keeping up with the traffic.

I hate bananas, but I've remembered the one thing I did do to make me less nervous - I made sure I was wearing a bra with a racer back so there'd be no slipping bra straps during the test!

Ok I've had a banana, about to take paracetamol now, done some word puzzles and going to take another banana with me and a small flask of chamomile tea to drink in the gap between lesson and test.

Tying my hair back and going to narrate what I'm doing (and hope I don't irritate the examiner!) and try to make sure I visibly turn my head to check mirrors and remember to always switch to 1st as soon as I stop.

Feel sick with stress just because I always get stress sickness about things like tests but otherwise I've been feeling quite calm, felt very calm about it yesterday anyway, so I'm hoping all goes smoothly but I'm telling myself it doesn't matter if I fail, I can just try again.

You can do it!

Good luck!

Good luck

Good luck!

Good luck!
Yes to mirrors, always check your blind spot. Make sure you do checks before moving off.
Remember you only need to demonstrate you can drive safely they're not looking for perfection.
Let us know how it goes

Good luck. Like another poster above, my test was years ago but i also had my mirrors slightly off so it was evident that i was checking them. Dont forget to indicate. I failed first time for not indicating at a roundabout.

Well, I failed for not stopping for pedestrians on a pedestrian crossing. Twice.

So, er, don't do that.

On the test I actually passed, I was 7 months pregnant. The examiner looked at me and said "well I'll not ask you to do an emergency stop." 😆

Unmarked junctions.

Best of luck to you. They are just making sure you can drive safely. Mirrors and failing to observe properly at junctions are the two biggest ones. Meeting situation and planning ahead, better to wait than push through.

If you can there are mock driving tests on Youtube, Clearview, DGN driving which voice over what they do well and what they do wrong. Best to watch the ones on what they do wrong so you can see what that looks like. Also any dashcam video that shows crashes or near misses. Can literally be summed up into lane discipline on roundabouts (hang back, position so they can see you in their mirrors, constantly check your mirrors.) Bad emerge from junctions, just not seeing people or timing it badly and the last one overtaking on country roads. Basically that.

Come back and tell us you have passed.

If you have to do the emergency stop MIRRORS and looking at your blind spots, both shoulders.

Good luck op x I passed relatively late in life at 35, I was shaking so hard in my test that I had to ask the examiner to give a minute for my leg to stop shaking before we pulled off. I was convinced I’d failed within about a minute of leaving the test centre and I spent the rest of the time jabbering away nervously at the examiner. Like a pp I also took the wrong route, I miscounted the exits in a roundabout, but because we just continued on that route until we could go the correct way. My nerves were horrendous but the freedom driving has given me is amazing. You’ll have to wish me luck today too, my little banger has its MOT!

Good luck today! Having a lesson before hand really worked for me. It meant I was in the driving zone (rather than doing all the normal silly mistakes of the first half hour of a lesson!)
Got everything crossed for you.

My wife actually failed on execution, but because she verbally walked the guy through her manoeuvres, he passed her because she knew what she was meant to be doing.

I was taught MSPSL

Mirrors
Signal
Position
Speed
Look

Do that for every manoeuvre and you can't go wrong. Just don't hit kerbs etc

Snap! I was told to move my mirror slightly so I had to physically move to see. That have the examiner a really clear signal that I was using my mirrors

Good luck 🤞🏼

My driving instructor told me to wear my hair in a pony tail on test day so when I moved my head to check my mirrors it ‘swished’ and was more obvious to the examiner that I was checking my mirrors. I also made a point of checking checking and checking mirrors! I also had a banana and a few squares of dark chocolate before my test which I think really did help. I passed first time! Good luck

Most common reason for failing is changing lane on a roundabout. Follow the lines.

Wear dangly earrings and long hair up so examiner clearly sees head movement.

Good luck op.💐💐