When shall I book my driving test?

Organising when to book your driving test so that it fits in neatly to your training programme is very important to get right.

 

Let me give some guidance as to how it can be done.

Let’s say that it is early September and I want to pass my practical test by Christmas.

I want to do my practical test training so that it coincides nicely with the test date.  I know that my local test centre runs about 4 weeks in advance.  So that I’m under no pressure, I want to plan to take the practical test by the end of November. 

In order to book the practical test, I know I need to have passed my theory test.  So therefore I know that I need to have passed my theory test AT LEAST by mid-October.

I want to do this for as cheap as possible, and preferably pass both tests first time.  So, my plan is to do the following:

Study for the theory test starting in September, for 4 weeks, I am going to book my theory test in mid September as I know my local test centre has a 2 week lead time for test slots.

I then have a 30hr 1 week intensive course planned in with Tom for early November.  This then gives me a 3 week buffer immediately after the in-car training before I take the test – just in case I’m not completely ready.

So once I pass my theory test in early October, I can then plan to book my practical test so that I will be given slots in early December.

This then means that after passing my theory test in October I have a full 3 week buffer to properly prepare for the intensive driving course without any time pressures.   

Some points to note about this planning:

 

This is a 4 month planned programme.

4 weeks study time for the theory at the rate of 1 hr focussed study per week day is a good sensible amount of study that I feel I can fit into my daily schedule.

Should I fail my theory test, I still have a full month to take another attempt before starting my in-car training.

After my 30 hrs in-car training in early November, I have planned in a 3 week cushion to ensure I’m feeling really confident.   If appropriate, I can pull forward the test date using a late cancellation (Tom's diary allowing).

Even if I were to fail my first attempt in early December, I still have 3 weeks to have another attempt before Christmas.