Driving test fail.

[Mybabysmylife]

Should I complain about my examiner? So I took my 1st test on Wednesday and failed. There was major roadworks everywhere one being were they was ready to repaint the floor as there was no markings. This meaning I didn't no where to stop as I hadn't drove there before he said I failed on that part but i didn't know till the end of the test. With Covid he's supposed to say I failed straight away and take me back but he didn't. He was very rude and moody. He took the sat nav off the dashboard and threw it on the floor then at the end all he said was " well today you failed bye" then got out the car? My instructor argued on my behalf that I wasn't to no where to stop if there was no road markings and that's what they was supposed to do( road works) he said. She's a good driver but failed on that. I got an arsehole of a examiner that day he was very rude and made me feel like shit to be honest. I came home and I've cried since as test are so backlogged due to Covid I don't want to run into having to do my theory next year in September again. I got another test for DECEMEBER! Which is over 20 weeks away!😭

But you cannot cover 21 test routes
You're not supposed to be demonstrating you've learnt test routes, you're supposed to be demonstrating you know how to drive safely including in unfamiliar circumstances. If that's all you failed on then it was a major error which means what you did was seriously unsafe. Rather than raging about a mean examiner I'd suggest spending the time until December understanding why what you did was unsafe and making sure you don't do it again.

@RollaCola84 I'm not raging about the examiner I've said previously I'm more upset of how long I need to wait for the next test.

There's loads of unmarked roads in this country, your instructor if anyone is at fault for not teaching you that

@DontDrinkDontSmokeWhatDoIDo She hasn't failed on a minor thing though because that's not how it works. You can fail on a solitary major issue or by having more than 15 minor mistakes.

So either the roadworks thing was one of a load of minor mistakes or it was something seriously unsafe. Either way, OP is not ready to be let supervised on the roads.

I failed multiple times on mostly one major which is frustrating.

You can complain but I doubt anything will change. Good luck with your next test. Ask the instructor to sit in with you next time.

The examiner doesn’t sound very pleasant, it’s bad enough for you to fail your test but you don’t need to be told in a shitty manner. It does seem to be a profession that attracts certain types-the examiner I had 30+ years ago was really rude too, thankfully I passed though.

@Mybabysmylife you literally started a thread asking could you complain about the examiner for throwing your sat nav and failing you because you didn't know where to stop in roadworks.

This thread would have gone very differently if you'd said AIBU to be frustrated that I failed my first driving test and there's a massive wait before I can do it again.

@Proudboomer

Why did you have a sat nag on during a driving test? And some errors are automatic fails so without being in the car with you it is hard to say whether they should have cut you some flack for the lack of road markings. I can’t see why they should as these things come up all the time when driving but without being in the car and knowing what they failed you on no one can really comment.

It's been part of the test for a few years now, tens minutes following a sat nav

I passed bike and car tests first time but both examiners were utter utter wankers. Sorry this happened OP

@RollaCola84.

I got 4 minors 1 major. I was 6 minutes away from my test finishing anyway. The examiner said to my instructor that other than the pause waiting in the road works I would of passed and that I can drive fine. I was shocked by this as he was such an arse before hand. Your telling me I'm a danger to the road and I didn't pass for this. There was one person infront of me no-one behind me I was causing and obstruction I wasn't in anyone's way. I was waiting for the first person to go ( he shouldn't of stopped) my own fault for copying him but in my own defence there wasn't anyone there to be a danger to.

*wasn't causing an obstruction. I wasn't sat there for ages 3 seconds at the max!

Don't let it get you down. Lots of people fail their test, keep practising and you'll get there. I had no major faults in my first test but examiner said I was hesitant and unobservant. He was right, I needed more time behind the wheel before I took my test. I passed in the end.

[quote Mybabysmylife]@MrsFin I understand. But you cannot cover 21 test routes when Covid hit every couple of months and forced lockdown so then I was having over 6 month of no lessons etc.[/quote]
Which again demonstrates you weren't ready for your test

@Battleofwhocouldcareless

Don't let it get you down. Lots of people fail their test, keep practising and you'll get there. I had no major faults in my first test but examiner said I was hesitant and unobservant. He was right, I needed more time behind the wheel before I took my test. I passed in the end.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm back on my lessons now hopefully pass second time round 🙏🏻

@HalzTangz I was very much ready Thankyou. I don't know why people think because someone made one mistake that there a danger and not ready. My mums been driving 25 years and still makes little mistakes it's normal. Doesn't mean I'm not ready?! I've been doing lessons for 1.5 years now 6 months off with Covid. But I did 2hr lessons every week. Sometimes more! Please don't tell me I'm not ready I wouldn't of been told to move my test up if I was such a danger.

Hard luck. It’s frustrating, I’m sure you’ll pass the next time and you learn from your mistakes.

Some people spent hours pressing refresh on the driving test booking page and sometime get luck on booking a test sooner! Good luck to you

You have my sympathy.

My daughter had a bad experience on her first test.

I don’t think her instructor realised she was going to get a particular examiner as when he walked by her instructor said ‘that one is a misery’

She did get him and the examiner turned in his seat and stared at her and kept twitching near the brake. She felt so uncomfortable and it seemed to start a bit of a chain reaction. She hit the kerb when parking, and the test was cut short due to a ‘major’ fault.

Her instructor had described her as one of the best he had ever taught. Whilst we wanted to point out how uncomfortable the examiner had made her to possibly help others, we decided to wait until after she had passed another test.

Of all the bad luck she got him again. He was like a different person, friendly, chatty and much more helpful. She passed.

Maybe he had had a bad day, maybe she was being a bit too confident for a learner on the first occasion, we’ll never know.

The additional stress caused by the backlog in tests makes it even more nerve wracking as so much rests on those 37 minutes.

In answer to your question about whether to complain, I would say no.

Even if it isn’t it sounds like ‘sour grapes’ it can’t change the outcome, it will cause you even more stress in the long run, and would make things awkward if you got the same examiner again.

We used ‘Driving Test Now’ app, enabled auto re booking, and my daughter was lucky enough to get a second test 5 weeks after the first.

Good luck.

Part of driving is dealing with unexpected hazards like roadworks or accidents that force you to divert elsewhere or do things differently.

Exactly this. You need to show that you can react appropriately to evolving situations because that's safe driving. On my driving test I took a wrong turning, I went off a roundabout at the third exit instead of the fourth but I did the roundabout and exiting it correctly and then followed the new road (which was unfamiliar to me) correctly so didn't fail for it.

When driving you have to be able to quickly evaluate a situation, plan what action you'll take, and then safely execute it all within a short space of time, often within seconds. If you don't demonstrate that on the test then they're not going to pass you. They don't know that you're ordinarily a good driver, they just have to base it off that short window where they do see you drive. I know it's disappointing but you probably need to chalk it up to experience and try again, at least your next yest can't be any worse.

*test

You can download apps which automatically check for cancellations for you so that you can rebook your test for sooner if a slot comes up. I was in same boat as you and desperate as needed to pass sooner got work purposes - managed to get a test 3 weeks away instead of 3 months!

@LumpyandBumps Thankyou so much! It's disgraceful the comments on here such as " glad you didn't pass" absolutely vile people. But yes my instructor said the same about this certain instructor! Also, my friend had a lovely instructor and she hit the curb and he still passed her it just shows how some examiners do slide things.

I have paid for the Driving cancellations NOW app my test has gone from December 13th to November 17th! Can you tell me when you last used the app? Was it recently during Covid? Thankyou:)

@MsHardy hi!! Thankyou for your
Comment, I have paid for 2 different websites that get cancellations. It's gone from 13th December to 17th novemeber so far. Hoping to
Get a lot closer I'm wanting to get it as soon as possible due to my daughter starting school September.

@Mybabysmylife

My daughter passed her test earlier this month.

@CounsellorTroi

Why did you have a sat nag on during a driving test?

Love the sound of a sat nag.

“Turn left in 500 yards on to x road”
“Don’t forget to turn left after 400 yards”
“Remember you have to turn left after 300 yards and you should have your indicator on by now”

😂

Look on the bright side - after more practice you’ll be that much safer to drive when you do pass.

That’s what I told dds anyway - it took them both 3 goes to pass.