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Practical Test / Help / Booking
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The Practical Test is your opportunity to show the examiner that you can put into practice your knowledge of the road and driving skills to be able to drive safely, without supervision.

What's the test like?
If you're well prepared from your lessons and practice and you can apply your theory knowledge, then the Practical Test is really straightforward. It's designed to see whether you can drive safely on the roads and can demonstrate your knowledge of the Highway Code. The test lasts about 40 minutes and is conducted by a DSA examiner. They'll tell you where to go and ask you to carry out a range of exercises. You'll be asked to drive on a test route that's designed to test your skills to the full and where possible it will incorporate everyday road and traffic conditions, including hills, traffic lights and junctions.

The DSA regularly publish the top 10 reasons why learners fail their Practical Test. To maximise your chances of passing first time, here are some of the big things to look out for:

Making effective observations and good judgement when emerging out of side roads
Correct use of the controls and/or good observations when reverse parking
Making effective use of the mirrors well before changing direction or slowing down
Correct use of the controls and/or good observation when reversing round a corner
Correct use of signals including cancelling signals and not giving misleading ones
Moving away correctly from stationary positions, including good observation
Correct road position, particularly on bends, and good lane discipline on roundabouts
Good steering control, such as when making left or right turns
Correct position when turning right such as in one-way streets
Not hesitating or causing delay, particularly by pulling out promptly at junctions.

The video below has some advice on the booking of your practical test plus some valuable information on the top ten reasons for failure and how to avoid them.


For information on the day itself have a look HERE