What to expect from the practical driving test
Once you have made your way to an official test centre and begun your practical exam, there are five parts that will be covered. They are as follows:
- An eyesight check. Here you are required to read a number plate from 20 metres for vehicles with a new style plate or 20.5 metres for vehicles with an old style number plate. New style plates are those which have two letters followed by two numbers. For example, AB63 ABC. If you fail to read the number plate, your test will end.
- ‘Show me, tell me’ vehicle safety questions. You will be asked one ‘show me’ and one ‘tell me’ question during your test. The first will be a ‘tell me’ question at the beginning of your test. The ‘show me’ question will be asked whilst you are actually driving. For tips and examples of these, scroll down the page.
- General driving ability. During this section of the test you drive in various road and traffic environments – excluding motorways. The examiner will provide directions for you to follow, so there is no stress there, but to keep people on their toes the driving test routes are not published.
- Reversing your vehicle. You will be asked to do one of the following: parallel park at the side of the road, park in a bay or pull up on the right-hand side of the road and reverse for roughly 2 car lengths. However, that last one has been subject to some controversy.
- Independent driving. The final section of the test is independent driving, which lasts for about 20 minutes, following either a sat nav or traffic signs, you will be told which one by the examiner.
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