How to pass a driving test without lessons

[Bilster]

My daughter is keen to pass her driving test. Her dad lives a 8 miles away, can’t drive for medical reasons and the bus there takes ages, so I drop her off and pick her up with her doing the driving and me sitting next to her. We’ve been doing this for a while and she’s a natural. She’s driving perfectly now.

She’s booked a test for 2 months time amd ever since she booked it I have been trying to get her driving lessons. There are just no instructors near us with any availability. I’ve been trying for a few months with no luck. What would it take for her to pass her test with no lessons? What is she likely to fail on? Any tips very welcome cause I’m feeling desperate and don’t want to have to ask her to put the test back.

My son had to do his test recently in a different part of London which we weren't familiar with.
We used the Driving routes app which claims it has the routes the driving testers use.
It only costs £13 per month and was very helpful for my son who did pass his test first time though he did have driving lessons as well.

I passed years ago with no lessons, just a patient dad. Back then there was a manual called 'Driving'. You will need to be familiar with lots of different road types and situations etc. I think it can be done.

Can't see her passing tbh

I think there are also elements about the car too, checking oil or water levels maybe.

It's a gamble but as long as you are practicing the route and familiar of what is being tested you've as good a chance any everyone else. At least she has a test date.

It used to be a thing to pass your test as soon as possible after you were 17 so they can’t of had many lessons.

I know a couple of people who've taught their children recently and who passed; one had - literally - a single lesson with an instructor right at the end; the other had none. But they are both people who are proactive about going on youtube and watching videos of how to pass your test; looking at the Highway Code; reading up on exactly what's expected. In fact one of my friends thinks it made her a safer driver (and I've been in a car with her and never thought she wasn't), because it made her consider lots of things she hadn't consciously thought about for 30 years.

OTOH my dad tried to teach me to drive, while I was also having lessons, and my abiding memory is of him constantly insisting 'no, my way is right!' or telling me not to do it the way I'd been taught, or getting in a huff because he imagined he knew better than the instructor.

I think you would have to be very honest with yourself about which kind of person you are - would you be able to bone up on the test requirements and accept it might mean you learning alongside your child, or would you just assume you already knew what 'good' driving looked like?

Thanks for all of the comments. We just CANNOT get anyone. No one even emails back. It’s infuriating. She does do loads of driving. Went on holiday to the other end of the country and she drove there and back, regularly drives through our nearest city. She is extremely cool, calm and competent.

Online there’s lots said about being used to sat nav. What’s that all about?

YY, one of my friends tried for ages to find an instructor; it is a real problem in some places!

She could take the test if you accept might fail with list of minors and majors..because neither of you know what test looks at in detail
Then she would know what to address for second try
Use one of the apps to make sure practising correctly

Apparently the issue is people can’t get tests so learners don’t move on from
their instructor.

And yeh she needs to know to set sat nav and follow it

Well thats what I’m thinking. With tests being the price of 1 hours worth of lessons around here it’s hardly a waste of money.

My son passed his test first time without lessons. I sat with him while he drove daily a few miles down the road to his work, he also did the test in his own car.
It’s cheaper when you think about it (if they are a confident driver) to put them in for a test rather than pay for a 2 hr lesson.
I passed my driving test over 30 years ago…

Why? Is this part of the driving test? We’ve never used sat nav. Might have to learn

The driving test format has fundamentally changed recently. My test was around 95% following sat nav, alternatively it might be predominantly following road signs, or a mixture of the two.

It’s not the instructor saying ‘at the next junction turn right’ etc?

My info is about 6 years out of date but you need to be able to either follow road signs or a sat nav, i.e. the examiner will tell you to go to a particular place and you have to either use road signs or sat nav, examiner will choose on the day.

Check what the testable manoeuvres are and practice them a lot, and practice a lot around the test centre. Decent googling may give you an idea of what the usual routes are from the test centre. This is the biggest advantage of an instructor, IMO.

Part of the test is following a sat nav now. The instructor will set a route and then you have to follow it. Sometimes though they ask you to follow signs to a set destination instead.

Some, but very much less than before.

I’ve had a couple of bf’s in the past who never took formal lessons before passing.

That was before sat nav.

The driving test has changed in recent years. She’ll need to revise ‘show me/tell me’ questions. Perform a reversing manoeuvre, follow road signs OR a sat nav, emergency stop etc. you can find all the components here - https://www.gov.uk/driving-test/what-happens-during-test#:~:text=an%20eyesight%20check,reversing%20your%20vehicle

OP I passed in September with zero driving faults after lots of driving experience and 10 lessons, which is way less than most, I recommend:
Learner driver sub-reddit- lots of good tips from other learners
Watching test routes on YouTube- common fails are mentioned
Practise the manoeuvres to perfection, after watching some YouTube of exactly how they're done (exactly when to look in mirrors)

Yes you do need to follow a sat-nav, very easy if you've have driving experience, in my opinion. It doesn't matter if you go wrong, as long as you do it safely. I would also suggest you get a special mirror so you can see when she looks in the mirror.

She can absolutely do it but you do need to learn all the "proper" ways!

Also, yes to learning the show me, tell me questions. I feel most drivers would know them already but if you're a person who likes to be very prepared I would recommend practising them like I did. She will need your help but it's definitely doable.

She’ll have to set and follow a sat nav for about 20 mins. She’ll need to show she can do basic safety checks on a car. I’d not risk a test without at least a couple of lessons as being a good driver and being test ready are two totally different things. The car she takes the test in has to meet the standard set by the test centre - eg it must have no drops of rain on the seat! They’re really really picky if you’re not in a driving instructors car. Four friends are driving instructors!

Presumably she's passed the theory test, so if she's got a high score on that, she should be pretty good with knowing the rules of the road.

You can google exactly what the driving test will consist of and can do lots of practice with parking, reversing, etc. Just be aware that things have changed from the test you'll have taken a few decades ago so don't waste time practising things that aren't tested anymore.

Your main risk will be that you've taught her your bad habits by accident, so she may be doing things that could start accumulating minors, such as inadequate mirror use, inadequate signalling, wrong road positions, etc. Maybe she'll also get caught out by not noticing speed restriction signs, being in the wrong lane at junctions/roundabouts etc. These are the kind of things that instructors live and breath but you, as an experienced driver, may not notice.