Driving test stories - update 1

     As part of Fineline driving academys attempts to interact with a nation of learner drivers, we like to share stories about driving tests which our instructors have been present in, in order to ensure you know what to expect in terms of things that will result in a pass/fail result. Every week, our instructors have a meeting where various items are discussed and any changes or improvements taking place at the driving school are shared, we also discuss the results of any driving tests taken during that week. Please use this for reference only, remember, every examiner is different and therefore something deemed a minor fault for some cases can be a serious/dangerous fault for another examiner.


Case study 1 -
                 During minute 23 of the driving test, a meeting situation arose where a double decker bus wanted to pass and there was not enough room for both the driving test candidate and the bus to pass at the same time. The bus drove around the parked car on their side of the road, however the driving test candidate did the same and thus causing the examiner to brake and fail the test by acquiring a serious fault in the 'meeting' segment of the driving test marking sheet.

Remedy -    When a meeting situation arises, if the vehicle you are waiting for is some distance away, then you should take the initiative to pass the parked vehicle safely ensuring you have check the center/right mirrors when overtaking and center/left when returning to your normal driving position. If you feel the other feel may cause you a problem, wait for them to go around their obstruction first, and in this case the vehicle in question was a large vehicle and therefore some extra vigilance should be applied. A bit more patience and this learner would have a full license!


Case study 2 -
                During minute 7 of the exam, the examiner instructed the driving test candidate to take the next road on the right. The road in question had a small section in the middle of the road to wait in if you are turning right that allows vehicles behind to pass on your left safely. The driving test candidate failed to notice this turning section and stopped in the same position with his indicator on and caused tailing traffic to beep.

Remedy -     If turning right into a road and there is a section containing a right arrow in the middle of the road, you must use this to wait in if there is oncoming traffic whose path you are about the cross. The reason for this section is to wait in, (normally the road is quite busy and doesnt need obstructions to cause). Try to plan ahead to avoid this situation happening, the examiner will give you plenty of notice if your are turning right, so check on approach if there is a waiting space and move into it if you can, if there is no oncoming traffic to wait for then simply take the turning as you normally would in a safe and controlled manner.