PREPARATION
You should arrive 10 minutes before your practical driving test. This
will give you time to relax and calm your nerves. Before you leave your
house for the test, make sure you have your photo card or ID and your
theory test pass certificate. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, make
sure you take them with you. Failing to produce any of these items at the
test will result in failure and you will not be eligible for a refund.
When it is time for your driving test, the examiner will enter the waiting
room and introduce themselves. Your papers will be checked and you will be
asked to sign a declaration to say the car you are driving is insured. You
can ask for your instructor to sit in the back at this stage. It is also
possible that a supervising examiner will sit in the back to examine the
examiner. Then you’ll be escorted out of the room and to the car park.
Contrary to popular belief Driving Examiners are human and they do have
fathers. They know that you are going to be nervous and will do everything
they can to put you at ease. BUT they are testing you to see if you are
ready to take to the roads by yourself.
Before your practical driving test starts the examiner will ask you 2
questions called "show
me tell me questions". For these questions go to the
‘links’ opposite or scroll to end of page.
When you take to the road the Driving Examiner will be looking to see
that you drive with:
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RESPONSIBILITY towards other road users
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CONFIDENCE in driving on your own
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AWARENESS & ANTICIPATION of hazards and dangers
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CONSIDERATION and ATTITUDE to others, especially the vulnerable
road users
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Add to this a set of MANOEUVRES
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If you can show the Examiner you can control these you will have no
difficulty in passing your driving test FIRST time
While you are on your test the Examiner will be watching for faults
with your driving and will record those faults as they occur. Every
departure from a standard of 'Perfect Driving' needs to be assessed on
whether the fault is of car control, or road procedure. In assessing the
degree of fault the Examiner will first ask themselves the following
question as each fault is observed:-
Question
'If
this candidate's driving had been perfect up to this point, and this were
the only fault made, would this fault be sufficiently serious enough to
justify the failure of the Driving Test?'
If the Examiner without doubt or hesitation answers 'NO' to the
question then the fault is recorded as a MINOR (/) fault. Minor faults on
there own will not not normally entail failure unless under the totting up
procedure there are 16 minor faults or more made.
If the answer is 'YES' then he must assess whether it was a SERIOUS or
a DANGEROUS fault.
Just one Serious or Dangerous fault will bring a failure. The main
difference between these two is that a Dangerous fault is a fault which
actually causes another road user to brake, swerve, or take some form of
evasive action. A Serious fault is one that might have caused another road
user to take action if there had been one present at the time.
If the Examiner is forced to take action either Verbal or Physical he
will also mark in the Examiner took action section. This is as well as the
failure mark alongside the item that failed the candidate. One in eight of
all driving tests the Examiner will take some form of action. Below is a
list of each item on the DL25 and what would fail the candidate.
1(a) EYESIGHT TEST - COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS OF EYESIGHT TEST:
Unable to read a number plate at 67 feet or 20.5 meters which is about
5 car lengths.
2. CONTROLLED STOP - (STOP THE VEHICLE IN AN EMERGENCY):
PROMPTLY:
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Slow reaction to signal
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Not stopping quickly enough
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UNDER CONTROL:
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Uses footbrake and clutch together
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Clutch pedal used too soon
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Harsh application of footbrake
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Uses handbrake to stop
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Locks front or rear wheels
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Induces a skid by braking and steering at the same time
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Loses control by skidding
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3 & 4. REVERSE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT INTO A LIMITED OPENING:
UNDER CONTROL:
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Poor Clutch control
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Stalls the engine
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Excessive acceleration
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Footbrake not used when required
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Erratic use of steering
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Touches kerb
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Mounts pavement
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Over centre of the side road
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Unable to enter side road
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Too far from kerb at completion
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Car not parallel to the kerb
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WITH PROPER OBSERVATION:
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Does not look out of rear window
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Does not take all around observation throughout.
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Uses nearside door mirror for observation.
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Does not observe other road users.
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Does not give way to other road users.
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Does not pull forwards to allow vehicle to emerge from the side
road.
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5. REVERSE PARKING:
UNDER CONTROL:
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Poor clutch control.
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Stalls the engine.
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Excessive acceleration.
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Insufficient or excessive steering.
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Harsh use of footbrake.
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Too close to parked car.
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Strikes the kerb with front or rear nearside wheel.
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Too far away from the left hand kerb at completion.
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Car finishes up at an angle to the kerb.
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Unable to complete within two car lengths.
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WITH PROPER OBSERVATION:
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Does not take all round observation before exercise.
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Does not look out of rear window while reversing.
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Uses door mirror to observe while reversing.
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Ignores passing traffic and does not give way.
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Reverses back with pedestrians passing by on the pavement at
rear.
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6. TURN IN THE ROAD:
UNDER CONTROL:
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Poor clutch control.
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Stalls the engine.
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Excessive acceleration.
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Harsh use of footbrake.
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Not applying the handbrake properly.
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Strikes kerbs with front or rear wheels.
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Mounts pavement with front or rear wheels.
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Overhangs the kerb with front or rear of car.
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Unable to complete exercise within five moves.
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Turns the steering wheel in the wrong direction.
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No attempt to correct steering on forward or reverse moves.
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WITH PROPER OBSERVATION:
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Lack of all round observation before moving.
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Moves forwards or backwards when unsafe to do so.
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Does not look to the rear while reversing.
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Only looks back over one shoulder while reversing.
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Lack of all round observation during each movement.
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Continues with movement, does not give way to passing traffic.
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Does not allow pedestrians to proceed safely on the pavements.
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7. VEHICLE CHECKS
Unable to answer the safety check questions put by Examiner at the
start of the test (Currently marked as a minor fault and not a failure if
questions are answered wrong)
8. TAXI MANOEUVRE... NOT APPLICABLE TO CAR TEST
9. TAXI WHEELCHAIR... NOT APPLICABLE TO CAR TEST
10. VEHICLE UNCOUPLING / RECOUPLING... NOT APPLICABLE TO CAR TEST
11. PRECAUTIONS - TAKE PRECAUTIONS BEFORE STARTING THE ENGINE:
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Jumping forward while attempting to start the engine with the car
in gear.
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Rolling backwards or forwards while attempting to restart the
engine.
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Adjusts seat/mirrors on the driving test route when should have
been already properly set
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12. CONTROLS - MAKE PROPER USE OF:
ACCELERATOR:
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Excessive pressure causing wheel spin.
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Erratic pressure causing surging.
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Not removing pressure while changing gear.
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Applying pressure too soon after changing gear.
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CLUTCH:
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Jerky control.
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Lack of control.
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Releases too quickly.
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Riding the pedal.
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Not pressing fully to the floor.
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Not used when stopping.
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HANDBRAKE:
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Not applying when necessary
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Not releasing properly.
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Moving away with it partially on.
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Not applying properly.
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Applying on the move.
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Rolling backwards or forward after stopping.
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GEARS:
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Incorrect gear selection.
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Reluctant to select higher gears.
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Labours the engine.
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Does not match gear with road speed.
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Excessive speed in gear.
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Unnecessary gear changes.
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Used to reduce speed instead of brakes.
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Selected too soon for hazards.
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Selected too late for hazards.
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Coasting with clutch down.
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Coasting in neutral.
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FOOTBRAKE:
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Not used when required.
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Late use on approach to hazards.
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Harsh use by pressing too fiercely.
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STEERING:
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Incorrect hand position on the wheel.
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Losing control by crossing hands.
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Allowing wheel to spin back after turning.
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Retaining hand on the gear lever for too long.
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Removes both hands from steering wheel.
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Overshooting right turns.
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Over steers on corners.
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Under steers on corners.
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Steering with the right arm on the window ledge.
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Striking kerb when stopping.
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13. MOVE AWAY:
SAFELY:
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No attempt to look around.
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Lack of observation ahead and to the rear.
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Moves away when unsafe.
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UNDER CONTROL:
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Stalls the engine.
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Moving away at too high a speed.
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Rolls back.
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14. USE OF MIRRORS / REAR OBSERVATION WELL BEFORE:
SIGNALLING:
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Does not use Mirror Signal Manoeuvre routine.
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Signals before using mirrors.
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Looks and signals at the same time.
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Does not take appropriate action after observing traffic in
mirrors.
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Signals regardless of following traffic situation. CHANGING
DIRECTION:
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Does not consult mirrors before turning left.
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Does not consult mirrors before turning right.
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Does not consult mirrors before changing lanes.
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Does not consult mirrors before overtaking.
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