Could I still pass my driving test? Thirty years on

[Mark_P]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/30/driving-test-pass-young-drivers

[Bper]

Passing depends on knowing the updated Highway Code, and any bad driving habits would need to go. However, you probably wouldn't know what those habits are until you failed. Probably eco friendly driving would be part of it as well. To me that would be don't hit a tree.😂

 

 

[Mjolinor]

It is a lot easier now than it was 50 years ago.

[AndyN01]

When the "new" test with the "hazard awareness - click on the screen" was being trialed they gave it to Class 1 police drivers and riders. They failed as they saw way too many hazards and clicked accordingly upsetting the machine which told them there were too many clicks and concluded that they were randomly clicking so weren't assessing the hazards correctly. 🤪

[Bper]

10 minutes ago, AndyN01 said:

When the "new" test with the "hazard awareness - click on the screen" was being trialed they gave it to Class 1 police drivers and riders. They failed as they saw way too many hazards and clicked accordingly upsetting the machine which told them there were too many clicks and concluded that they were randomly clicking so weren't assessing the hazards correctly. 🤪

Apparently, they decided to make the test easier for the police. So, they asked them to drive in an emergency situation, and they all passed with no faults. This had never happened before. However, once the emergency situation was revealed, it turned out to be a special offer on a two-for-one deal at Greggs bakers.😂
 

[Cyker]

That's what caused me to fail it first time - I was clicking too early as I spotted the hazard approaching well outside the click window. I think it needs work, as unless you know the trick to it, you've no guidance on when you're supposed to click.

36 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

It is a lot easier now than it was 50 years ago.

It absolutely is not! There are so many bizarre nonsensical things now (Like that new manoeuvre nobody knows what to call where you pull up on the wrong side of the road, reverse, then drive off again) vs what you had to do back in the day, and it's much stricter, plus there's a lot more stuff like the GPS guidance, show-me-tell-me etc. in the test now.

The theory test back then was they just asked you some random questions and if you got most of them right you passed, but now it's its own proper test and maybe 80% of it is just common sense, the other 20% a lot of people would get them wrong because of the way they're worded.

It also depends where you take the test - If you take it out in the country, easy street. Take it in some parts of London and if you pass first time, you should honestly get extra recognition  

 

I really don't like all this punitive stuff for young new drivers though - If they are as bad as reported, then why were they given licenses in the first place? This suggests to me the problem lies more with the training and testing, and the DVLA/SA/WTFA should be looking at their test procedures and trying to understand where it's failing to filter out bad drivers.

[Mark_P]

1 hour ago, Mjolinor said:

It is a lot easier now than it was 50 years ago.

I passed first time in 2015, being 54 now. I look back and think i was lucky I passed. I was my instructors final pupil, and he was going to be a driving examiner. I kind of screwed up the reversing into a parking bay at the test centre instead of following his instructions that we had done a few times which was to drive forward into the opposite bay and then reverse into the requested bay.  I bounced a few times as i tried to fix the reversing 😂. He gave me a bollocking afterwards.

 

Thankfully though, i do drive now as he taught me, even though i might have one or two possible bad habits, but nothing like how my wife drives which causes me no end of frustration and lots of internal screaming 😂😂😂

[Mark_P]

The wife drives holding the gear stick, I've threatened to stick a hollow dildo on to the stick if she's so fond of holding it, she soon takes her hand off it. 😂😂🤣

[Primus1]

Wait, your supposed to take a test..!

[Mjolinor]

4 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

Wait, your supposed to take a test..!

Not at your age, grandfather rights. 🙂

 

[Primus1]

45 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

Not at your age, grandfather rights. 🙂

 

But I’m not a granddad so what do I do..?

[Mjolinor]

Well it all starts with the birds and the bees but if it aint happened by now it may be too late.

I am supposed to become a grandad on the 6th of November for the first time.

 

 

[Mark_P]

5 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

Well it all starts with the birds and the bees but if it aint happened by now it may be too late.

I am supposed to become a grandad on the 6th of November for the first time.

 

 

Congrats on becoming a gramps!