Test Day

On the day of your test we will pick you up an hour before the test is due to commence and have an hour warm-up driving lesson. We will practice manoeuvres and anything else you want. We will make our way to the test centre so that we arrive not sooner than ten minutes before the test time, park the car and go into the test centre waiting room with other test candidates taking their test at the same time.

At the appointed time a Driving Standards Agency examiner will come into the waiting room and call your name. He or she will ask for your provisional driving licence, both, picture card and paper counterpart, to verify that they are correct and that you are who you say you are. You will be asked to sign the top of the examiner's test sheet to confirm that the car being used for the test is insured for the purposes of the driving test and that you are a British resident. Once this has been verified, they will ask you to lead the way to the car.

In the test centre car park you will be asked to read a number plate at a distance of 20.5 metres (67ft) for the old style number plate and 20 metres (65.5ft) for the new style number plate. If you can’t read the number plate from the correct distance, the test will not go ahead and you will lose the test fee.

When you reach the car, the examiner will start the driving test with the vehicle checks known as Show me, Tell me. You will be asked one Show me and one Tell me question. For a list of all the questions you could be asked click here. After the Show me, Tell me, the examiner will ask you to get into the car and make yourself comfortable, while they make a note of the vehicle registration number and do a quick inspection of the vehicle to ensure that it is road worthy.

The examiner will then join you in the car and make himself/herself comfortable. He/she will tell you to follow the road ahead unless she/he tells you to turn either left or right. He/she will then ask you to pull out of the car park when you are ready and it is safe to do so. During the driving test you will drive on different types of road and encounter varying volumes of traffic. You will also be asked to complete one manoeuvre and maybe an emergency stop. The test will last about 35 to 40 minutes.

The key points you will be assessed on:

• Move away: safely and under control from the side of the road, on the level, from behind a parked vehicle and, if possible, on a hill, all with correct observations;

• Emergency stop: promptly and under control;

• Manoeuvres: turn in the road, reverse & front bay parking, Parallel Parking, with control and good all round observations with the correct response to other road users;

• Use of mirrors: regular checks to ensure that you are aware of the presence of other road users and act appropriately to their actions. Early use of mirrors should be made before signalling, before changing direction and before changing speed, either slowing down or accelerating as part of the "mirror, signal, manoeuvre" routine;

• Use of signals: appropriate and in good time to warn other road users of their intentions;

• Response to signs and signals: Learners should understand and be able to react to all traffic signs and road markings and react to signals given by police officers, traffic wardens, school crossing patrols and other road users;

• Use of speed: safe and reasonable use of speed according to road signs and speed limits, the road, weather and traffic conditions;

• Following distance: a safe distance must be maintained from the vehicle in front in all road, traffic and weather conditions including stopping in queuing traffic;

• Progress: Learners must show that they can drive at appropriate speed for the road type and speed limit, density of traffic, weather and visibility. All hazards and junctions should be approached safely without undue hesitation, all safe opportunities to proceed should be taken;

• Junctions: the correct procedure to be applied to all types of junctions with the application of the "mirror, signal, manoeuvre" routine. The correct lanes and observation to be carried out and response to other road users demonstrated;

• Judgement: you should not make any other road user slow down, stop or swerve when meeting, overtaking or turning across other traffic;

• Positioning: correct position should be maintained at all times according to type of road, the direction being taken and the presence of obstructions such as parked vehicles;

• Clearance of obstructions: adequate clearance to be given to parked vehicles and other obstructions;

• Pedestrian crossings: Learners should be able to recognise and deal safely with different types of crossings;

• Position for normal stops: Learners should be able to choose a safe, legal and convenient place;

• Planning and awareness: Learners must show that they can plan ahead and anticipate the actions of other road users and drive with due care and consideration to other road users with special emphasis to vulnerable road users.

The examiner will mark any driving faults on the test sheet. You are allowed a maximum of 15 driving faults, no serious and no dangerous driving faults. Should you make the same mistake a number of times, in any one of the above criteria, it will be classed as a serious driving fault as it will be seen as a bad habit rather than just a one-off mistake.

➡️A minor driving fault would be something like a missed mirror check, a badly timed signal or a slight deviation from the normal driving line.

➡️A serious driving fault would be pulling out from a junction and causing another car to slow down, putting a wheel on the pavement during a reverse or not using adequate observation whilst reversing into a parking bay.

➡️A dangerous driving fault would be pulling out of a junction and causing another car to brake or swerve harshly (a near miss), driving through a red traffic light or driving too fast for the road, weather or traffic conditions. If the examiner considers that you are too unsafe to continue the driving test, they are quite within their rights to stop the test wherever you are and walk back to the test centre with you.

A message form DVSA to Learners:

Your examiner wants you to do well and will try to help you relax. If you want to talk during the test, that will not be a problem - your examiner will talk with you but might not say too much because they do not want to distract you from your driving. Do not worry if you make a mistake, keep calm and concentrate on your driving for the rest of the test. Unless it's a serious or dangerous fault, you will not fail on this unless you make the same mistake a number of times. 

You'll pass if you can show your examiner that you can drive safely and demonstrate, through your driving, that you have a thorough knowledge of the rules of The Highway Code and the theory of driving safely.

(From The official DVSA Guide to Learning to Drive)