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.

Lots of technical things like checks you do before pulling away, checking mirrors and blind spots. Parking - bay park and parallel park.

I’d suggest you spend some time finding out exactly what is in the test. Ability to follow a satnav has been part of it for a number of years and yet you don’t know this. There are probably a lot of other things that are part of the test that you don’t know about too. I assume you’re going through the “show me..” “tell me..” things with her too?

I taught my youngest and my eldest's partner. The did have a few lessons to neaten up, get told how to do things test wise etc.

They had lots of practice with me and so looking back it was probably about 50/50.

I wouldn't recommend it to be honest.

But things to consider:
The driving test is very prescriptive. So she'll need to be checking mirrors and blind spots at the correct times and frequency, placing her hands correctly on the steering wheel, position on the road, etc.

She'll need to know the correct way to carry out the manoeuvres.

She'll need to know the show and tell questions and be able to demonstrate on the car.

She'll need to practice with a satnav as that could be on the test.

If you are using your own vehicle, there are some strict conditions so check those.

My DP did this after lessons with me. We practiced parking and emergency stop. He did study really hard for the theory before and did well. He only booked the test for practice but passed. Test was the first time he had gone over 40 😬

Test route my dd did was on YouTube. Have you tried asking on local facebook some instructor may have availability or know someone.

Hi @Bilster have you been trying just local instructors? A large company like the AA can have a faster turnover and lots of instructors. I learnt with them years ago and then more recently I booked a refresher (having not driven for years). I was able to book with only a few days notice?

I know you've said no one you've contacted has availability but.....
Have you looked at the gov.uk website for instructors in your area? It gives you the names and contact details of 40 nearest driving instructors to your postcode. Hopefully one of them will have some space?

We have a TOMTOM phone app on our smartphone, which we connect to our car (car sat-nav is underwhelming). It doesn’t cost a huge amt per year for the subscription (about £4/month or £20/year). You would need to buy some sort of cradle to hold the phone. DD’s instructor’s car had inbuilt TomTom, so it must be pretty standard these days.

I second the suggestion of working your way through any Youtube videos of the routes (usually done by local driving instructors), as well as trying a fair few yourselves.

Also make sure your car is in tip top condition tyre/brakes wise etc.

There's being able to drive a car .....and then there's being able to drive the car to pass a driving test.

You need to be aware of what's being asked of you for a test.

Are you calling and texting potential instructors too, not just relying on getting answers to emails? I find it hard to believe that no-one in your area ever takes driving lessons.

If you aren't aware of the recent changes to the test (I.e using a sat nav) then I really don't think you are best placed to teach your daughter without quite a lot of research and learning on your part. Recent changes, what examiners need to see, test routes etc. Do you have time for that?

Just something else to check that we never thought about. If you choose to take her for test in your vehicle you will need to check this is covered with your insurance. My husband was unable to take his part 2 test as a driving instructor in our car as our insurance company would not cover the examiner. This could possibly be an issue for you too.
Driving instructors are often very unlikely to take someone on whi already has a test as it reflects on them if they fail badly. Maybe best to not mention the booked test when looking for an instructor. Let them assess whether they feel your daughter is ready for test. Good luck xxx

Youtube has mock driving test videos. You could try watching some of those?

No it’s not just the instructor giving directions. The test has significantly changed. I assume she’s passed her theory and the hazard perception test? If not that’s the first thing to get studying for.

The test itself consists of being able to set and follow a set nav for 25 - 35 minutes, a reversing manoeuvre such as reversing round a corner, parallel parking and bay parking. She will no doubt need to demonstrate the correct and safe way to perform an emergency stop. She will need answer questions of vehicle safety or show the tester such things as checking the tyre pressures, opening the bonnet, filling washer fluid.

If you cannot find an instructor you can go online and watch videos on the test standards. This can form the structure of your lesson for her but you do need to structure the lessons to the standards, otherwise she may not pass and if she gets a number of major faults on the test this may impact her confidence.

I did most of my practice in my own car. I watched a lot of YouTube and TikTok driving instructor accounts and purchased an app that was full of mock test routes for my test centre- I would practice multiple routes each week, although this was mainly because I wasn’t initially familiar with the area at all.

I did have additional lessons with an instructor though, and they were definitely invaluable, where have you been looking?

In another point , if you can’t drive due to medial reasons are you actually insured to be able to supervise her driving currently ? You are supposed to be able to take over if necessary.

What about an intensive course somewhere?

Have a bit of a holiday...

I don’t know whether it’s still a thing, but having passed my test abroad, I had to take a U.K. test after a year. I paid for a few lessons with an ex police instructor since the country where I’d passed my test before was lax to say the least!

One day he made me do a hill start over and over again - they were all perfect hill starts so I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong.

Eventually he said, ‘You didn’t look over your shoulder. That would be an instant fail.’

I passed, but this was all ages ago, so I don’t know whether it’s still essential.

Where to start - there is so much misinformation in this thread...

OP, by the sounds of it providing you make sure you have done a bit of everything in the test it should be easy enough. Your daughter sounds like she is easily ready for a test, it is just polishing the details.

So basically the test will contain:

• 3 stops (slightly different types, but pulling up at the side of the road
• A manoeuvre: Parallel park, reverse bay park, forward bay park or reverse right
• Independent driving: Either following a satnav or road signs. Will be at least 20 mins, but could be more
• Possibly an emergency stop (roughly 1 in 7 tests)
• A show me and a tell me question

The test will include some dual carriageway driving if DCs are available in your area. It will have a real mix of left/right/ahead at junctions and roundabouts etc.

All the scare stories about holding the wheel in a particular way, steering in a particular way, making sure your mirror checks are excessive to visible are complete myths (for reference we can see even the tiniest bit of eye movement towards a mirror and examiner training goes beyond just looking for eye movement, but also judging how drivers respond to their environment).

Manoeuvres don't have to be done in a set number of goes. If you need to correct, what you do need to do is show that your corrections are improving your position and are done with appropriate all around observation.

MSM is important, but even that isn't as strict as previous posters are making out. If it's sometimes SMM instead, no problem. If sometimes the mirrors and signals are a little late but done before the junction, no problem.

In terms of the car you take, I had to laugh at the PP who thought the examiners would refuse a car on the basis of rain on the seat. It needs to have an MOT (it is checked on their ipads), legal tyres, inflated tyres, no engine management lights, plenty of fuel (you don't want a fuel warning light to come on in the test...). You need l plates and an internal mirror (although test centres have spares - but set the right tone and have the equipment for them).

A couple of things to watch out for that can easily trip people up:

• STOP junctions. You must stop. Completely. Stationery. No movement whatsoever. I emphasise this, and it may sound ridiculous, because for many people 'stopping' means get really slow and check it's safe. Not enough. You must stop or you get a serious fault and fail.
• Going off course. It doesn't matter. You don't get faults for going the wrong way. You get faults for doing things that are illegal or unsafe. It is often safer to go the wrong way if you find yourself in the wrong lane rather than trying to fight across. Don't be a lane change hero...
• Really brake on the emergency stop. Hard. As hard as you can. Once you have practiced doing it as hard as you can, do it again and press harder - I guarantee you didn't do it hard enough the first time. And check all around (including blind spots) before you move off.

My qualification for this advice - 15 years as an ADI - many people pass with no lessons. Do your research and ignore almost everything anyone unqualified (and judging by youtube videos, quite a few ADIs) tell you will definitely cause a fail...

EDIT: and just to prove my point the post above mentions instant fail for not checking over your shoulder when moving away. Nonsense. Only if there is something you need to be aware of, or if you have done it multiple times.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/driving-test-marking-sheet

This is interesting ...
You can use the driving test marking sheet (DL25) if you're a driving instructor carrying out a mock driving test.

it's got a lot of info on what's needed.

My dd has her test next week after learning for just over 6 months.

Apparently the test route can be on a sat nav, so the route is mapped out on the sat nav for them to follow? Not sure if the instructor also gives instructions. Apparently the route can depend on the time of the test, so if it’s rush hour it’s likely not to be in the town/city centre.

There are instructions on what to expect online, including what manoeuvres they maybe asked to do. My dd is most worried about reverse parking. Apparently ‘3 point turn’ is no longer a manoeuvre 🤔 and neither is ‘revering around a corner’. Most learner cars are now fitted with built in sat nav, reversing cameras and sensors, though I don’t think they are allowed to use the revere camera, they still have to check mirrors.

I would let her go and take the test. If she fails she will know what she needs to improve on. She has obviously already done the theory test so knows the Highway Code, stopping distances etc..

My worry if she has been taught solely by you is that if you have any bad habits at all, even little ones, then she has learned to drive the same way and that would be enough for a fail. Your driving test is learning to drive to pass the test, your actual driving after that is where you really learn to drive. She’s sort of done it backwards in that she might not have or know the little things for passing.

A large chunk of the test now is sat nav following, it’s not following verbal instructions now.

My son is having lessons, but he has a friend who just passed his test without proper lessons. I’m sure there will be tutorials on you tube.

You can use reversing cameras and sensors. You can use any driver assistance system, but not driver replacement systems. You do still need to maintain good all around awareness though, so don't just stare at the screen.

i passed 18 years ago and alot has changed for instance i didnt have to use a satnav check tghe car or bay parking

my di said parents have very bad habits they pass on to their kids and he always has to correct them-just because she can drive doesnt mean shes test ready