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15:58:35 05/06/12
Driving Test Arriving Late
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 15:58:35 05/06/12
According to a report in the DSA's online despatch magazine, driving examiners have seen an increase in the number of people arriving late for their practical car tests. This is surprising considering the current economic climate where a no show will at least cost a candidate a minimum of £120 (assuming they were using their own car, not taking lessons and excludes holiday or loss of pay due to time off work).
If you arrive more than 5 minutes after your scheduled driving test appointment , it will not go ahead and you will lose your test booking fee , no matter what excuse you give, as the examiners have a very tight schedule and can not risk cancelling the next appointment.
The best time to arrive is about 10-12 minutes before your driving test appointment, this should leave enough time for you to do the bay parking exercise while at the same time not being in the way of any examiners who might be finishing off a car test. You can then take a few minutes to relax and refocus for the next crucial 40 minutes once called by the DSA examiner.
The most common reason a lot of people arrive late is not knowing how long it takes to get to the test centre because they are not local or take into account if there was an incident on the way. Another reason is arriving at the wrong test centre especially when there are 2 close to each other like is the case with Mill Hill and Hendon Test Centre .
Driving Test Advice : Let me give you some good advice when it comes to booking a driving test centre. Do not choose a centre or time just because you can get an early appointment. You should take your test in one of the centres closest to where you normally take driving lessons, not only because you will have a local instructor familiar with the area and what the examiners expect, but it means when you are nearer test standard it will be must easier for your lessons to include test routes without you having to book a 3 hour lesson. I have heard of people in Hackney driving all the way to Mill Hill just because they want to avoid the long wait at Wood Green test centre. Not everyone is able to still learn and remember skills after a 3 hour lesson, and you must remember that to have a good chance of passing the driving test (by avoiding a major driver fault) you need to arrive at the test centre fresh and alert.
Having to drive for 1.5 hours through busy traffic conditions is no good for you as a candidate especially if there is a chance of you arriving late if there is an incident on the way, and the instructor does not have the local knowledge to get round the back streets. It is not in your own interest to arrive for a test stressed, drained or exhausted so make sure you have planned your journey and know what it takes to arrive early at your chosen driving test centre. Do not forget both parts of your driving licence either!
Independent Driving on the Test Video Advice
If you require high quality affordable driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032
Thinking about becoming an ADI? Read my article on why I advice Do Not Become a Driving Instructor . I you still do want to, then carry out a proper and thorough research and know all the ADI training options available to you.
Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don't miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email . The service is provided and powered by Google Feedburner, so I don't personally keep your email addresses, and you can remove yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click, you can also follow UKADI on twitter or join my UKADI Facebook page. Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at http://www.ukadi.co.uk
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15:23:45 04/26/12
Driving Unsupervised
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 15:23:45 04/26/12
As an ADI instructor I have had many provisional licence holders come to me admiting that they have been driving a car on the road in the UK unsupervised, so it is nothing surprising to me, however yesterday I saw something that I never expected from a professional.
I was in a supermarket car park practising the reverse bay parking exercise, when I noticed someone (who later turned out to be the driving instructor) get out of car of a well known national driving school and walk into the supermarket. Not too long after this, the car started to move (there was definately only one person in the car) and continued to carry out the bay parking exercise.
Now I know that the supermarket car park is private land, and therefore not covered by the Road Traffic Act, but there are 2 potential issues.
Insurance : If the learner driver unsupervised is involved in an accident with a 3rd party while the instructor is not present, the insurance would be void, and the driver could face damages running into thousands of pounds. Remember it is your responsibility as the driver of a vehicle (learner or not) to make sure you are insured and abide by the law.
Are you actually learning? : If your driving instructor is allowing you to practise an exercise alone or leaving you to drive around town while he/she is on the phone or busy reading text messages, you as a learner might be thinking that it is because you have reached a good driving test standard and are trusted, but the truth is that they are not doing their job properly and you are being short changed.
It only takes one driving error for you to fail a test, therefore everytime you are in the car, the instructor must be making sure that every move you make is according to the DSA standard and the only way this is possible is if they are paying attention to what you are doing. One common driver error a lot of my learners make (especially during independent driving) is not checking the left mirror when exiting a multi-lane roundabout after turning right, other faults include inadequate observtions during a manuever or looking but not seeing. If you are driving unsupervised how will you know you are making these mistakes? It is easy to pass the driving test if you have the right habits, but you can't be the judge of that for 2 reasons. First of all you might not be completely honest with yourself about your skills level, but secondly and more importantly you do not know what the examiner is looking for!
I have no problem with a student demonstrating that they are now independent, but a driving instructor or whoever is supervising you needs to keep an eye on what you are doing, so going shopping while you do parallel parking exercises or arranging driving lessons with other clients on the mobile phone is not good for you and could be illegal and dangerous.
Driving School Video - Meeting Traffic
If you require high quality affordable driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032
Thinking about becoming an instructor? Don't just make a decision based on the red driving school TV advertisement, do the proper research and know all the ADI training options available to you.
Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don't miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email . The service is provided and powered by Google Feedburner, so I don't personally keep your email addresses, and you can remove yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click, you can also follow UKADI on twitter or join my UKADI Facebook page. Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at http://www.ukadi.co.uk
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10:26:34 07/26/10
Failed driving test emerging at junction
[LESS INFO] 16 VIEWS | ADDED 10:26:34 07/26/10
Following on from my junctions driving lesson post, I recently received an email from a provisional licence holder who had been failed on the driving test by a DSA examiner for undue hesitation while emerging at a junction, so I'll answer the email here, as it might help other learner drivers as well.
Here is the email:
On arriving at a junction preparing to turn left, there was a queue of at least four slow moving cars approaching from the right, with many, including the first two, indicating to turn left. I waited a few moments until all vehicles had passed, believing that this is the correct course of action, since the highway code clearly states that you must not assume a car indicating to turn left will actually do so. I was surprised to learn that this caused me to fail the test, as the examiner marked it as a serious fault. He explained that as it was "very obvious" from the cars' speed that they were turning left, and that since there was a vehicle behind, that I should have pulled out and not waited.
He marked this as "undue hesitation". This is confusing for me, because over the course of my learning to drive, I've been led to believe that you should not pull out of a junction with a car approaching from the right, even if it is indicating to turn left. Both my instructor and I are very surprised to learn that this is not only allowed in a test, but that I was required to do this in order to pass. I spoke for a while afterwards with my instructor about it, and he was unable to explain why that might be considered a serious fault. The highway code appears to be very clear about this scenario, but the examiner was also very clear in explaining why he considered waiting to be the incorrect action. I'd be very grateful if you could explain to me in detail the exact rules in this situation during a test, and when it is permitted, not to mention necessary, to pull out rather than wait. Thank you very much.
Now as I wasn't present on the test, my answer will be based on my training and experience of how examiners have marked candidates on the various tests that I have sat in on.
This was a case of emerging at a junction to turn left which is slightly easier than turning right where you actually need a SAFE gap from both the LEFT and RIGHT.
As was stated, the highway code advices when at a junction you should never assume that a car indicating will turn in the direction indicated as many people do forget to cancel signals, however there are other signs/things that you need to consider when deciding if you can proceed at a junction or not.
SPEED of the approaching traffic when you arrived at the junction , position of the car (this is very important at roundabouts ), direction wheels where pointing, where is the driver looking and steering? All these can add up to give you a picture of what is happening and if it will be safe for you to go or not.
Now since I wasn't there I can't say what exactly happened, but if all four cars turned left, and you still were waiting at the junction, that could have been the reason for the driving error being classified as serious . Also because you said the cars were slow moving and the 2 closest were already indicating, it might have been clear that they did intend to turn especially if the 2nd car made no attempt to overtake the turning car. Also what was the gap between the 2nd and 3rd car or the 3rd and 4th, and did these cars also indicate to turn left?
Being able to deal with junctions safely requires a lot of practice and experience and you can't always apply one rule ALL the time to every situation. Just because there is a car approaching from the right as you arrive at a give way doesn't mean you have to stop. The car could be far away, travelling slowly, so it might be safe and you can only know this with experience and many hours on the road dealing with various road users and conditions.
It is not easy to pass the UK driving test but with the right training and enough practice you will gain enough experience to be able to find the right balance between being safe and over cautious/hesitation.
I wish you the best at your next attempt with the DSA examiner.
For high quality driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor in North West London, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032 , please leave a message if I don't answer you car, as I don't take calls while giving learner tuition.
Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don't miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email . The service is provided and powered by feedburner, so I don't personally keep your email addresses, and you can removed yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click. Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at http://www.ukadi.co.uk
