Feeling confused and angry after a test fail - www.BIGTOM.org.uk

Driving Lessons in Peterborough.  Driving Lessons in Grantham.

One of the key differences between the Driving Test and a school exam is that the Driving Test is fluid; it is impossible to predict what might crop up in the test, as there are variables that are completely out of your control.  But one key similarity is the feelings you will have pre-test, that nervous, anxious feeling.  To a degree this can be useful as the adrenalin running through your body, being pumped by the higher than normal beats of your heart, mean that all your senses will be heightened.  But there are other symptoms of these test nerves which can become counter-productive. 

One such common symptom is a problem to do with immense concentration that results in you being less aware of the situation around you.  Observe a Learner on test in that state, and you will notice without fail that there is a distinct lack of movement of the head.  They are driving with the ‘blinkers’ on, their sole concentration is on the immediate space in front of their car.  Because they are not turning their head, the eyes have only a restricted view in which to observe, and the consequence of this is demonstrated in a few ways:

The ability to forward plan is severely restricted so dealing with parked cars becomes an issue in terms of judging whether it is safe to pass them, and also judging how close you are to them.  Also reading traffic signs for roundabouts on the ‘independent drive’ section can be a problem, because the eyes have not properly read the sign, and you can find yourself approaching or even on a roundabout and not realising which is your exit.

You will miss speed signs because your eyes are not scanning, they are fixed on the road immediately in front of you, so driving at the wrong speed can crop up.

Not looking at your speedo.  As your eyes are fixed in front of your vehicle, you tend to not realise what speed you are doing, or not assessing what speed you need for the future situation; being in the wrong gear for the speed, taking bends too fast, driving too slowly for the conditions are all symptoms of this problem.

Making positional changes without first of all observing if it is safe to do so.  Exiting roundabouts and entering dual carriageways without using mirrors is a common symptom here as well as the classic of moving off from the side of the road without checking it is safe to do so.

Not anticipating events such as a green light changing amber, or a pedestrian walking on to a zebra crossing, or an oncoming vehicle coming into your lane to overtake a cyclist.

Staring at the vehicle in front and being influenced by what they do.  So you can find yourself easily copying someone in front who is approaching a roundabout too fast, or drifting between lanes on a multi-lane roundabout, or driving over 30 in a 30, or not giving priority to oncoming traffic in a meeting situation.

All of these problems can and will fail you your driving test.  When you get the bad news from the examiner at the Test Centre you inevitably feel cross, upset, disappointed, frustrated and primarily this will be because you KNOW that normally you do not drive like that.  Prior to the test, you will have repeatedly driven not committing any of the above faults, and so your feelings of anger are mixed with feelings of confusion.... “why did I do that?”.  You will go home and say to your Parents or friends, “I’m so cross that I let that happen, I don’t normally do that at all, what is wrong with me?”  You start doubting yourself, your driving ability and this is all not good.

Your only crime is that the ‘occasion’ got the better of you.  Put it another way, you try driving round with your Driving Instructor on a driving lesson, and NOT turn your head once, see how long you get away with that – I guarantee it will be less than 5 minutes!

You need to be aware of what is around you so that you can plan for what is around you.  The only way, the absolutely ONLY way you can be aware of what is around you, is to see it.  Sounds a stupid thing to say I know, but if you do not turn your head, and allow your eyes to feed your brain with the conditions around you, you will be driving reactively and not proactively.  A key difference between a mediocre driver and a good driver is the degree to which they forward plan.  Your eyes play an essential part in your ability to forward plan. 

Find this blog useful?  Any comments, questions, please add below.  Any real life examples you can give of this happening on your test.... others will benefit greatly from you taking the time to feedback below.  Thank you!

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