Your examiner will give you directions to follow through a number of traffic conditions to see how you perform in a variety of situations. In this part, you’ll drive along various types of roads, depending on your location. Assessing your general driving abilityįinally, you’ve made it to the point in your test you’ve been most anticipating: the driving section. If you get one answer or both answers wrong, it will result in one minor fault against you. Typically your examiner will not tell you if you’ve passed or failed these questions. They could ask something like “When it’s safe to do so, show me how you’d demist the front windscreen?”. You’ll need to show them how you would carry out a safety task. The ‘show me’ question will happen when you’re driving as it would be something you'd come across on the road. An example question could be “Tell me how you’d know if there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system”. This is where you need to explain how you would carry out a safety check. You’ll tackle the ‘tell me’ question first, after the eyesight check. Often referred to as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions, you’ll be asked two vehicle safety questions. That means if you need glasses to improve your vision, it’s really important that you wear them. This is the first important section of your driving test and if you fail the eyesight check, your test will end. This will be from a distance of either 20 metres for vehicles with a new-style number plate (introduced in 2001), or 20.5 metres for vehicles with an old-style number plate. Your examiner will point out a car and ask you to read the number plate. From the car, you’ll then continue to perform the eyesight check. Once you’ve met your examiner and completed any necessary paperwork, you’ll make your way over to your driving instructor’s vehicle. Here are the main sections of the UK driving test explained. What happens during a driving test?ĭuring your driving test, you will need to complete five important sections which will assess your eyesight, knowledge of the car and driving ability. So, if you continued to hesitate and chose to pull out at an unsafe time, your minor would turn into a major fault and you would fail.
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If you keep on making the same fault during your test, it could turn into a serious fault (major). For example, excessive hesitating at a junction. For example, this could be failing to use your mirrors when required.Ī driving fault (minor) is an action or behaviour that is not potentially dangerous. This could be driving too close to a vehicle in front of you, speeding or poor lane discipline.Ī serious fault is driving behaviour that’s potentially dangerous. But, if you conclude with one major fault, you’ll fail your driving test.Ī dangerous fault is any behaviour or action that involves actual danger to you, the examiner, the public or property. For example, if you end your test with 5 minor faults, you’ll pass. You are allowed up to 15 driving faults, known as minors, and zero serious or dangerous faults, known as majors. What are driving test faults?ĭuring your test, you’ll be evaluated on the number of driving faults you make. To ensure that each test is fair, every examiner will need to follow a strict driving test structure. The driving test will take around 40 minutes depending on any traffic and will include 20 minutes of independent driving.
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With this in mind, here’s all the information you need on what your driving test involves, from driving test faults to manoeuvres to what happens after you pass.
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In 2017, driving tests changed to meet the growth in technology by testing you on how well you can use a sat nav to reach a destination during one segment of the test. Preparing for your practical driving test can be nerve-racking as you’ve already invested a lot of hours perfecting your driving ability.
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You’ve taken the driving lessons, passed your theory and now you’re feeling confident that you can safely navigate the roads, which means you’re ready to take your test.