Practical Test

How long will it take to pass my driving test?

The Driving Standards Agency state that the average learner takes 45 hours of professional tuition to pass their driving test coupled with, hopefully, some effective practice time with an understanding relative!
Whilst the driving test itself has remained much the same over the 70+ years of its existence, everything around it has changed profusely.
In 1999 the test was extended to 40 minutes in length, the number of ‘minor’ faults was restricted to 15 (previously you could accumulate any number provided there wasn't a pattern to them.

At present a consultation is underway to improve both the testing and training of novice drivers, which will increase the need to be better trained and prepared before taking to the road independently.
Whilst some instructors teach ‘to pass a test’ there is absolutely no substitute for good thorough, varied training. No training programme however, can prepare you for every eventuality you will face on today's roads.

So what do I teach in those 45 hours?

• Understanding the controls of the car, clutch control, gear changes up and down, moving off and stopping safely, basic safety checks, steering exercises.
• Simple road junctions, turning left and right and emerging at t-junctions.
• Turning left and right and T-junctions with anticipation and judgment of other road users. Hill starts are introduced at this stage along with angled starts.
• Basic roundabouts, mini-roundabouts and pedestrian crossings.
• Town and urban driving, experiencing different times of day and different volumes of traffic.
• Meeting traffic, parked vehicles and narrow back roads.
• Country roads. I teach how to deal with the fast 60 mph country roads and how to deal with rural hazards and in particular how to anticipate sharp bends.
• Dual Carriageways/ Overtaking.
• Night Driving.
• Emergency stop. Discussion of factors involved in stopping the car safely. We carry out the ES from 20 up to 60mph.
• Mirror use. Effective use of mirrors and the MSM routine.
• Reversing Manoeuvres including turn in the road, left corner reverse, parallel parking, bay parking (left and right) and multi-storey car parking.
• All-weather driving and basic maintenance. If the opportunity to drive in bad weather has not occurred then this is an opportunity to discuss this along with very basic car maintenance.
• Mock test. Warm-up for the real thing! We have a pre-lesson and test and de-brief after.
• Driving Test. 1 hour pre-test and the test itself

How will you know when you are ready?

You will be ready when you can show that you have reached Level 5 (independent) in all of the key skills on your Driver's Record. If there is a long waiting time for tests at a particular test centre then an estimate of the progress you will make over the length of time of the wait will be taken into account to give you the best estimate of when you will be ready
The national pass rate for the car test is approx. 42% - the reason for such a low success rate is because candidates are not properly prepared.
You must be able to drive consistently well with confidence and without help or guidance from your instructor. If you can't - then you are not ready.
Who will books the test?
I will book your test for you (I do not charge for this service )


TOTAL HOURS 45 - 55 Hours *
* This is, of course, highly dependent on the individual pupil. It could be quicker, it may well be longer, but these are the number of hours I would consider to be ‘average’.