Make sure that you have both parts of your driving licence ready to pick up in the morning. You need to put them where you can pick them up with out thinking about them.  The last thing you need tomorrow is the stress of finding them.

Some of my clients ask me if the way that they dress affects the way the examiner marks them.  The short answer is no.  You wear clothes that you feel comfortable in and the shoes that you normally wear for driving lessons.  Think about being comfortable and relaxed.

Now sleep – try to get some. 

The Hour before Your driving Test

Your driving instructor will probably have arranged a two-hour lesson for your driving test.  The forty or so minutes before your test are your chance to shake out those last minute butterflies.  Just drive the car and enjoy the drive.  You can take some time to practice anything that has been worrying you.

I can guarantee that you will make two or three horrendous mistakes before your test.  This is normal.  We all did it before our driving tests.  The truth is that they are not such bad mistakes.  It is the adrenaline kicking in.  Your body is getting ready for the driving test.  Adrenaline can produce courage or fear – your choice – make it now.  If you really want a driving licence, opt for courage. 

Your instructor will make sure that you arrive at the test centre ten minutes before the test.  Park the car so that you can drive straight out at the start of the test.

In the test centre

The test examiner will work into the room and call out your name.  The test examiner is easy to recognise – the yellow vest and the fact that they are calling your name should give you a hint.

The examiner will ask to see your licence, which they will check using a UV lamp.  Genuine driving licences have a special logo, which only shows up under UV. 

They will ask you to ‘read and sign the declarations at the top of the form’.  These say that the car is insured for the driving test and that you live in the UK.

The examiner will lead you out to the car park and ask you which your car is.  They will then ask you to read the number plate of different car.  Be warned –if after three attempts you cannot read the number plate at the minimum legally required distance you will fail your driving test.

Driving Test

The driving test starts with the show me tell me questions.  The examiner will ask your two questions about vehicle maintenance.  Your instructor will have told you about this.

Once the examiner is in the car, the driving test begins.  The examiner will explain what will happen on the driving test.  ‘This is a test of your ability to drive.  The test will last approximately 35 minutes and cover a variety of road and traffic conditions.  Follow the road ahead unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise.  If I want you to change direction, I will give you instruction in plenty of time.  During the test, we will carry out two manoeuvres and possibly the emergency stop if it is safe to do so.   Drive on when it is safe to do so.”

That long quote tells you that the examiner will tell you where to go.  If they do not just follow the road ahead.

On the test drive, the examiner will tell you when they want you to turn left or right.  Listen to the way they say it.  There is a clue in every direction that they give.  Take the next available means look out for no entry signs.

The same goes for the manoeuvres.  The instructions will tell you what to do, and not to do.

The examiner will ask you to park up and drive straight on a few times.  They haven’t lost it.  They are checking that you can park the car safely.

Back at the Test Centre

Half an hour or so later, you will arrive back at the test centre.  The examiner will mark the sheets and give you the result.  No matter what the result listen to the examiners debrief.  Better still ask your instructor to listen to it as well.  They are more likely to remember what you need to work on.

Faults

There are three types of driving fault. Minor serious and dangerous.  You can pass with 15 minor faults.  You fail as soon as you have a serious or dangerous fault.

Dangerous – you, the examiner or another road user had to act to avoid an accident.  You can be marked as dangerous if the way you drove was dangerous or illegal.

Serious – could have cause an accident if another road user had been present.  If the examiner had to instruct you that is a serious fault

Minor – These are things a good driver would not do.  If you repeat the same fault, the examiner has the right to mark it as a serious fault.  This is called a bad driving habit.  If, for example, you failed to check your mirrors three times that is a bad driving habit.  The fourth time the examiner could mark it as a serious fault.

I am sorry to be so blunt about it, but fog is a killer.  If I were more accurate, the way people drive in the fog gets them killed.  Every time there is fog on the motorway, there is a crash.  It need not be like this.

Fog is a dense formation of water droplets near the ground.  It is, in effect, a cloud on the ground.  The ground absorbs heat during the day.  It releases the heat at night.  This causes the moisture in the air to form water droplets.  If there are enough water droplets in the air, a fog forms.  You are most likely to find fog in valleys and near rivers.

The problem with fog is that it reduces the distance that you can see.  I have experienced fog where I could only see the end of the car.  I slowed right down and pulled off the road as soon as I could. 

The golden rule of a good driver is “I will be able to stop safely in the distance that I can see to be clear.  This is the key to your fog routine.  The fog routine works on all types of roads.

It will take you longer to get to work or school in the fog.  You have to reduce your speed if you are to keep a safe distance from the car in front.  So, you need to leave earlier in the fog. 

Before you leave, you must check that all your car lights work and the windscreens are clean.  Fog reduces the distance that you can see.  You need to make your car more visible to other drivers. 

You need to make sure that you can see.  That is why you need clean windscreens in fog.  It is also, why you must keep your screens demisted.  You car will be warm, the air outside will be cold.  Your windscreens will mist up.

As you approach the fog, turn on your headlights.  Turn them onto dipped beam – side lights are neither use nor ornament.  Do not turn your lights onto main beam.  The moisture in the air will break up the light and create a whiteout in front of your car. 

If the distance you can see drops to about 110 yards, you must turn on your fog lights.  110 yards is about the length of a soccer pitch.   These intense lights to the front and rear of your car will help make you visible.  You must turn the fog lights off as soon as you can.  Rear fog lights are painful to look at.

Slow down and increase the distance between you and the car in front.   If you can see their lights then you are too close.  You are in great danger if you can clearly make out the car in front.

Driving in the rain

Driving in the rain can cause some drivers problems.  They drive too fast for the road conditions.   They close up on the car in front.   They make other drivers panic.  And, suddenly crash.

Driving in the rain is not difficult if it is done well.  In this article I will tell you the best way to tackle driving in the rain.

When you are learning to drive your driving instructor should talk to you about driving in the rain.  Most driving school do cover driving in bad weather.

In my other articles, I mentioned the idea of a safe gap.  This is the gap between you and the car in front.  You should be able to stop safely in the distance that you can see to be clear.  This safe gap is also known as your stopping distance.

Your stopping distance is made up of thinking distance and breaking distance.  You do not need to learn your stopping distance.  Can you tell what 100 yards looks like at 60?  I work on a safe time gap – do I have time to stop if…

A safe time gap for a good driver on a good road in good weather is two seconds.  I teach my student drivers to keep four seconds gap.  As the car in front passes a fixed landmark, start to count.  Count – 1000 and 1 etc. When you reach the same point, you should have the correct safe time gap.

A fine film of muck and oil lies just under the surface of the road.  It floats on the top of the rain and puddles.  It is the shine on the road when it rains.  It makes it harder to stop in the rain.

You should double your safe time gap when it rains. 

Rain makes it harder to see.  This why you put your wipers on.  This also means that other drivers are struggling to see.  If your wipers are on your lights should be on.

 I am going to give you the same advice as I give all my driving school clients. Driving is a complex business. MSPSL makes it easier. Get into the habit of using the routine – it may save your life.

The human mind is a very powerful instrument. It is made up of millions of connections. Each of these connections is part of a neural pathway. Every time your mind thinks it uses up one or more of these pathways. Your mind can process millions of neural pathways without you noticing.

Unfortunately, it is not so good at conscious thought. You can only process seven conscious thought actions at any one time. There are more than 20 thought processes involved in making a turn. This is why drivers use a driving routine.

The MSPSL routine is seven easy steps to every hazard.

Imagine that you are on a drive and we are coming up to a junction. I would like you to turn left. How are you going to make that turn safely?

 Here is how. -MSPSL

 See the junction – You need to know where the junction is before you can make your turn. It could be signed; it could be a gap in a fence or houses. It could be a gap in the kerb.

Assess the junction – think traffic and vision. How much can I see and how busy is it? A junction where you can see a lot is an open junction. A junction with little chance to see into the new road is a closed junction.

Mirrors – Check to see what is behind you and to the left.

Signal – left in this case.  This will attract the attention of anyone around the corner and behind you. 

Position - slightly to the left of your normal drving position

 Speed – Redcue your speed and select an appropriate gear before you start to turn.  Make sure that your clutch is up before you turn.  make sure you can stop if……

Look – look into the new road and see what is there.

Nighttime driving includes nighttime, dawn or dusk. Nighttime driving skills start as soon as the light changes for any reason.
Before you leave the house, make sure that your car is fit to be on the road. Do all the lights and indicators work? Is the screen clean inside and out? Make sure that you are fit to be on the road. Make sure that you are not too tired or have had any alcohol.

Some night time survival tips
• Lights are for being seen by as well as seeing by.
• Make sure that you can stop in the distance that you can see.
• Dark coloured cars are harder to see at night.
• Silver cars are harder to see at dawn, or dusk.
• You must make sure that your lights are clean and in working order.
• You cannot see as much or as far at night.
• So reduce your speed and increase your hazard awareness.
• Let your eyes adjust to the light.
• Use main beam on unlit roads, but do not dazzle other drivers.
• Avoid being dazzled by looking well ahead and slightly to the left.
• Flash your lights if you have to warn someone of your presence. It is an offence to sound the horn, in towns, between 1130 and 0700.

Parking at night
If you can you should avoid parking on the road at might. If you have to then there are strict rules about parking at night. If you are parking on a road with a speed limit of 30 or less you may switch your lights off. You may not park opposite a junction or within 10m of a junction. Make sure that you park in the left. If you are parking on any other road, make sure that you leave your sidelights on and park on the left.
Try to park in a well-lit area with lots of people passing by. Your car will be harder to damage or steal

You could try asking friends and family who taught them to drive. This does work – if your cousin liked the instructor, you might like the instructor. It might not work. I started with the same instructor who taught my elder brothers. They didn’t mind being shouted at and sworn at. I wasted nearly a year of lesson, before I changed to an instructor who treated me as a learner. Recommendations work, but be prepared to change your instructor.
You could try the internet and adverts in the local paper.
Make a list of instructors and call them on the phone. At this stage, I just want you to ask their price per hour. Sort this list by prices.
You now have a list of driving instructors and their prices. Lets reduce that down to likely candidates.
Cross off the cheapest three or four. Can they really make a living at that rate? Cross out anyone who gave you a special offer price. What is the price after the offer ends? Ignore the most expensive – nobody’s that good.
That should leave you with the mid-price instructors. These are the ones that are good enough to make a living teaching people to drive and not so good that they are charging a fortune.
That raises an important question. How do I know if they are any good? Well, here are a few questions to ask and our answers to them.
1. Are you a fully qualified ADI?
An instructor must be on the DSA register of driving instructors to teach. There are two levels on this list. PD,I or trainee, and ADI. PDI’s can teach you to drive – but still have to pass their final examination. There is nothing wrong with being taught by a PDI if you can trust the driving school.
2. What grade are you?
Instructors are regularly inspected by the DSA. A specially trained examiner will watch an instructor teach a driving lesson every couple of years. Grades 1, 2 and 3 are considered to be in need of retraining. Look for grades 4, 5 or 6.

3. What is your approximate pass rate?
This tells you how successful that instructor is. The national average pass rate floats between 40 and 45 %. You can find the pass rate for your test centre online. Try to get an instructor with a pass rate higher than your local test centre. Some instructors will refuse to discuss their pass rate. They don’t have to tell you. Some will claim a rate higher than 70% – doubt these claims
4. Did I like the instructor when I spoke to them?