Is it Possible to Pass the First Time?

Today we have a guest article written by Robin Piggott. Robin wrote a quite long article, but it's very interesting to read. Here it is:

Is It Possible to Pass Your Driving Test First Time?


The simple answer to this question is that it is simple but not easy to pass your Driving Test first time out. Simple in as much as it’s not Rocket Science or Quantum Physics or Nuclear Fusion but a calculated sequence of techniques and checks that put together in the correct order should ensure success.

Planning is the key to success in anything in life and the Driving Test is no different …no different at all! You don’t Plan? ...You don’t Pass! ... it really is that simple! So what is there to plan you might well ask.

Before we look at all that we ourselves have to do let’s look at the Transport. For sure… what is there to be bothered with when looking at your Car? Quite a lot actually!

(1) You need to know your Car inside out. Quite literally. The new Technical checks to the Irish Driving Test were introduced on the 14th February 2005. They consist of three questions taken at random by the examiner out of 12 categories and will include all the major systems that you find under the Hood which we in Europe call the Bonnet! These include Oil; Coolant; Brake fluid; Screen wash; Power Steering Fluid; Tires; Lights; Foot Brake; Parking Brake; Brake Lights; Steering Wheel;

(2) Secondary Controls…all the knobs and switches that are present in every Modern Car and some that are not found in all models. You will not only need to know their respective functions but will be expected to operate all equipment adequately during the Test without taking your eyes off the Road. This is best described as Touchy-Feely!

(3) Paperwork requirements…which in Ireland are Road Tax…Compulsory Insurance…and in the case of all cars over three years old the NCT certificate (MOT) in the U.K. Not forgetting your Provisional License of course. If you have just bought a car in the lead up to your Driving Test the failure of a Garage to provide you with the necessary documentation to enable you to Road Tax your Car will not carry any weight. If your car does not comply with the legal requirements your Driving Test will not be carried out under any circumstances!

(4) Worse still you will lose your fee and be put to the end of the long waiting list. And it is long, very long and getting longer by the minute! Lack of attention to the details mentioned in this article is one of the main reasons for the lengthy delays in getting a Driving Test appointment.

(5) Changing a car at the last minute prior to your Driving Test is also a recipe that will prevent you from passing the Driving Test First Time. It takes even an experienced Driver quite some hours to acclimatize to a new car. A learner will take even longer and will not have the necessary skills set to cope with dramatic differences in a strange car. A Driving Test is difficult enough without shooting yourself in the foot.

(6) If repairs are necessary to your regular car during the lead up to a Driving Test then don’t leave things to the last minute since spare parts sometimes are not always available off the shelf and your beloved Motor could be sunning itself on the top of a ramp when you should be piloting it to your First Time Driving Test Pass. In an emergency it will take at least eight hours tuition and practise for a person who is absolutely ready for the Driving Test to switch cars and have a hope of passing. As a general rule no Professional Driving School will hire out a car for the test without having assessed the Pupil’s skills and then insisting on at least eight or ten hours practise to qualify for hire. If you are on the borderline in the skills department a Driving School may well decide not to offer you the car for hire for the Driving Test. There are safety and reputation implications to be considered in this scenario.

(7) You need to be very familiar with the general area where Driving Tests take place and should practise regularly at different times of day and different days of the week. You won’t know the significance of different traffic flows unless you do. If you are caught out in particular spot because it’s Friday afternoon and the whole Universe is heading down this particular stretch of road to get home after a gruelling week then you only have yourself to blame for making a mess of things. Here we have the planning aspect (or rather the lack of it) rearing its ugly head again. Any one badly or dangerously executed manoeuvre due to stress in heavy traffic will mean the dreaded Grade Three fault and a “Sorry you haven’t been successful this time “ remark from the Examiner when back to the Driving Test Centre. Guess whose fault this result is? It certainly isn’t the Examiners or the heavy traffic!

(8) If you have along way to drive to get to the Driving Test Centre then leave ample time in order to arrive at least ten or fifteen minutes early .Arriving early could mean that you will be taken out a little earlier which may prove to be beneficial and there again it may not. Either way if you are six minutes late (for whatever reason) its bye, bye Test and come back next year! Oh yes and that will be another 38 Euro please!

We haven’t even begun to talk yet about the various manoeuvres and the Techniques that will ensure your First Time Pass but we have covered the main elements of the Car requirements and certain protocols surrounding the Driving Test. We will discuss the various techniques and skills required to satisfy a Driving Examiner in an accompanying article.
Get all these things sorted out first!

Robin Piggott is a Professional Driving Instructor based in Limerick, Ireland. Visit his web site and Blogs for the inside track to safe Driving and successful Driving Test outcomes.

Hope you made it this far, and of course that you enjoyed the article.

Good luck,
Nadav

nadavs

Failure to Stop - Failure in the Test

Stop signs, red arrow lights, school buses and others all require a complete stop. However, some drivers just don't do it. When it comes to the driving test, it means a failure.

Here is a video by the California DMV that explains about this serious issue:



Now, armed with more knowledge, go implement it!
Yours,
Nadav

nadavs

My Ideal Driving Conditions

Today, on a more personal note, I want to tell you about my ideal driving conditions. The conditions that should be in the car when I drive.

1) Be alone. Sometimes I have to take someone with me, but the ideal for me is driving alone. This way I can set all my other conditions.

2) Low temperature. When it's hot, I'm getting sleepy, and that's really distracting from driving. When it's cold (but not freezing), I'm more awake and able to concentrate more.

3) Calm music on the radio. If the radio has loud music (like rap) or talking (like news), I tend to ignore it and my thoughts start to wander. When there is good music I'm more concentrated. No idea why, but it works.

These are the three conditions for an ideal driving for me. Of course, low traffic volume always helps.

How about you? What atmosphere do you like in the car when you drive (or practice driving)? Let us know.

Have a great weekend,
Nadav

nadavs

The Back Up Test

Today I want to talk about backing up. It's a mission that many drivers have trouble with, so here are some common mistakes done when backing up. Use wisely:

A Back Up Plan for the Road Test

Cars can move in two directions - forward and back. Forward driving is easy for most drivers, but backward driving is giving much trouble to many beginner drivers. Since it comes up on any driving test, it is a cause of many test failures and disappointments. It has been found that some backing up problems repeat more often than others on road tests.

The biggest mistake of backing up is steering. Some driving students just don't know how to steer their car when they back up. They try to move it left and right, but at the end they have no clue where they should turn the wheel. This shows lack of steering ability and lack of practice. This can be marked as a minor error, but it is taken seriously.

Another mistake of backing up is not looking back when doing it. Some drivers think that anything behind them will just move away, so they don't need to look. If a back up is done this way, even if nothing was hit, the failure in the test is almost guaranteed and well deserved.

Unlucky drivers who back up without looking back might hit something, or worse, someone. When that happens, the test is immediately stopped. If the examinee hit a car, he or she is required to leave details to pay for the damages later. If a person is hit, even slightly, it's not only illegal, but also feels very awkward and bad.

Improper mirror usage is also common in back ups. Some driving students look to the back when they back up, but look only through the rear window. They don't use the side mirrors, and sometimes miss something that will be hit from the side of the car. Like not looking at all, this is a critical error.

Backing up requires practice with a good guide. A regular, plain practice may be wrong and instill wrong back up habits that may be illegal and cause driving students to fail their test.

You can find a good guide that also deals with backing up at the Pass Your Road Test area of Great-Info-Products.com. This website also provides a free course about driving test mistakes and tips.

Article source: my article at EzineArticles.com.

First Time Driving: Cara

Today's first time driver is a girl named Cara (why are all first time driving videos about girls?). In her video you can see how nervous a person can be on his first drive:



See how slowly she goes when she backs up, and how inconfident she is when she goes forward.
According to YouTube, this video was uploaded on October of 2007, six months ago. If she practiced, by this time, Cara should be a much better driver.

Good luck Cara!
Yours,
Nadav

nadavs

Chelsea's Driving Test: Part 2

Today we have another part of Chelsea's driving test. On today's episode: Chelsea is making last-minute preparations before starting the test with a DMV examiner:



Next week: the third and final part of the driving test. Will Chelsea get her license? We'll have to wait and see.

Yours,
Nadav

nadavs

Mirror Mistakes on the Driving Test

Today is the first day of April, which is known as a day of lies. So for today I have an article about something that never lies - mirrors.

Avoid Mirror Usage Mistakes That Could Ruin a Driver's License Test

Mirrors are a huge part of driving. They allow drivers to know what is going on around their car without the need to actually look in that direction. As a result, the proper use of mirrors is tested on the driver's license test. Some drivers taking their driving test don't know how to deal with mirrors, and thus fail their test. There are some common mistakes that keep repeating on driving tests, yet students do nothing to avoid them.

Wrong mirror adjustment is one of the biggest mistakes that can happen on a driving test. When the mirrors are not aligned properly, the student driver is pretty much clueless about his surroundings on the road. This is a very dangerous situation. Examiners can notice when mirrors are not positioned well, and often fail drivers for it.

Another mistake made on the driving test is not using the mirrors. Drivers should glance in their mirrors every few seconds, but some just don't do that. There are also situations, like lane changing and braking, that require a quick look in the mirror, yet some drivers ignore that requirement. When it happens on the driving test, an examinee can fail for not using the mirrors correctly, or even worse, not using car mirrors at all.

Even when looking at the mirrors, some student drivers don't know how to interpret what they see there. Some of them just take a look at the mirror, see a car, and do nothing. That happens because they don't know how to estimate distances using their car mirrors. This is a serious fault in driving, and so in the road test.

Contrary to not using the mirrors, there are the student drivers who stare at the mirrors for too long. Looking in the mirrors is good, but when it becomes staring it can distract the driver from the road and cause an accident. Many accidents happened because of a fraction of a second of not being focused, and staring in the mirror is just that - not being focused on the road. This is a serious mistake and almost a guaranteed test failure.

Mirrors should be used in every driving practice. They are an essential part of driving and one of the most important safety devices of the car. Every driving student should get a guide that explains how to adjust the mirrors and use them correctly.

You can find a guide that will help you accomplish just that, using mirrors correctly, at the Pass your Driver's License section of Great-Info-Products.com. There is also a free course offered there with more mistakes to avoid and tips for the driving test.

Have a great month,
Nadav

nadavs