Help! I failed my driving test Q&A by BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne

In response to a very good question from a viewer of the BIG TOM Learner video channel Tom (Owner of BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne 01778 309 773) gives the following help to viewers who might be struggling to come to terms with a driving test fail.


Here is the question from the viewer Hannah486:

"I failed my first test the other day for going 33mph in a 30 for what could only have been a few seconds before I realised and corrected and my position on a round about ( when going straight). Apart from those two I only got 1 minor for mirrors. I didn't even realise anything had gone wrong so I was very surprised at the end of the test! What is your opinion/advise about this? Any advise would be welcome for my next test :)" Hannah486


First of all, here is the video that is the subject of the question, take a few minutes to see what is said, it will help you to understand the answer I give to the above question.....

There are 2 parts to Hannah's question.  The first is to do with speeding, and the second is to do with incorrect position when going straight over at a roundabout.  

I observe over 95% of the driving tests that are conducted for BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne.  That helps me and it helps my customers.  It helps me to keep up to date with how errors committed on driving tests are assessed, it deepens my knowledge so that I can accurately replicate this same standard when I do my mock tests for my customers.  It is very rare indeed for a customer of BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne to fail a mock test, but pass the actual driving test - that's how accurate they are.  But perhaps more importantly, when I observe a driving test in Peterborough or Grantham, I can see for myself precisely what happened, so I am able to recollect where the fault occurred and what the precise circumstances were that led up to the fault occurring.  Do not underestimate how powerful this is, as for some people who have just taken a driving test, it can be very tricky to actually recollect even where the fault arose, let alone the circumstances leading up to it - such is the "event".

The reason why this is so important when attempting to answer the question from Hannah, is because it is important to know what the positional error on the roundabout was, what was the consequence of the error, was there anything about that roundabout, the approach, or even on it, that was unusual or unfamiliar to Hannah.  There can be a wide range of answers to that question, only Hannah will know for sure, how she genuinely feels about spiral roundabouts, mini-roundabouts, roundabouts with traffic lights on them, multi-lane roundabouts, lorries on roundabouts near her etc.  But a Driving Instructor like me sitting in the back observing the driving test, will have seen what the speed and gear was on the approach, what the vision was like on the approach, what vehicles were doing to the side or in front of Hannah when she went on to the roundabout, literally what the position of the car was when on the roundabout.  This might well tend to be crucial information for being able to "root cause" a driving error, in the way that I describe it on the video.  

And this ultimately is a key concept of effective learning; being really honest with yourself, reflecting on how you feel in certain situations when driving, and communicating those feelings, concerns or anxieties so that coping mechanisms can be developed to help deal with the situation.  If you take ownership of your learning experience, and effectively analyse how YOU think and feel in certain situations, you are far more likely to build up rock steady techniques to help you should something crop up.  For sure, you can attempt to ignore them, and hope that the situation does not arise on the driving test, but think long term, even if it doesn't crop up on the driving test, how are you going to feel dealing with it post-test?  The DVSA tell us that one of the key differences that they intend to introduce to the new driving test in 2016 will be to test the ability of the candidate to prioritise and manage situations.  It is in your interests not only for the driving test, but for the safety and comfort of all your years driving post-test, to be honest with yourself; don't buckle under peer-pressure and attempt to get to the driving test like it's some kind of race.  For your learning to drive experience to be an effective process, it needs to take as long as it takes, we are not all the same.  I recently did a road safety talk to 170 Yr 12 pupils at Bourne Grammar School, and if I were to re-visit them in 2 years time, and ask out of the 170 what was the average number of hours taken actually driving, either with a Driving Instructor or with family, I would get a wide range of answers.  There would undoubtedly be an "average" figure, but we must be very careful to not allow any pre-determined figure that might be heard between peers, to become the "goal".  A recent pupil of mine, openly stated that she had a bet with her group of friends to see who could pass the driving test with the least amount of driving lessons.  This is the kind of talk that flies in the face of an "effective learning experience", and goes some way to explaining why the national average driving test pass rate is under 50% and also why 1 in 5 newly qualified drivers are having an accident within 6 months of passing the driving test.

With regards to the question about doing 33 in a 30 mph zone.  This is also very tricky to accurately assess, Hannah is suggesting that the speeding element was only for a few seconds and in doing so confirming that she knew that she was speeding.  There is recent talk from certain Police authorities that they are considering removing the current allowance of 10% + 2mph over the speed limit before prosecution takes place.  But in any case, sometimes I think it would help if you just consider what message you are giving to an Examiner by any amount of speeding on a driving test.  If you feel like you can get away with it on a driving test, the Examiner must well be thinking what that says about your general attitude to speeding.  It would be a bit like failing the driving test for failing to check your blind spot before moving off.  The car is not even moving, and yet, the driving test can be failed purely and simply as repeatedly failing to make effective observations before moving, sends a very clear message to any Examiner assessing, how safe you are going to be for all of the years of driving ahead.

I very much welcome this question from Hannah, and I hope I have gone some way to answering it for her.  I do hope that she will respond again if needed.  Please feel free to add any comments at the bottom of the video or this blog.

BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne   Bookings: 01778 309 773

Driving School in Bourne publishes weekly motoring news

Tom Ingram, Driving Instructor from BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne (01778 309 773) has been offering his readership a weekly motoring news update since 15/7/15. There can be found some rather interesting little snippets of information that you could easily have missed in your daily intake of news. Here are a collection taken from the blog of the driving school in Bourne.  Some of the following will be sad to read, some funny, and some will be very odd indeed, to the point of wondering whether it is true!  All of the following were genuinely reported in our local press from Bourne, Spalding, Peterborough, Grantham, and Stamford and are 100% authentic.  Happy reading!

• The crossing on the A1 between northbound and southbound carriageways at Great Ponton was scene of a near miss when local press witnessed a lorry attempting to cross blocking the southbound carriageway forcing vehicles to slam on brakes. Only a few days before this, a white van careered off the A1 into a garden after a collision with a lorry. Cameras are planned for the stretch of A1 in 2016.

• ‘Black box’ telematics technology was successfully used by a newly qualified driver to prove that he had not been illegally parked in a car park in Grantham for 7 hrs and 25 mins as was claimed by the private company who had instigated the fine.

• Young farmer from Norfolk on charge for causing death by dangerous driving, does not dispute expert evidence regarding position of his tractor at time of fatality, but denies he had set speed limiter to illegal setting of 40mph. Driver of the car involved in the collision with the tractor died as a result. He also denied being under the influence of drugs, having admitted to use of cocaine. (Case continues).

• An inquest has discovered that a road traffic collision that occurred on Christmas Day on the A606 Oakham Road near Langham was possibly as a result of one of the drivers phoning his Mother and wishing her merry Christmas. Lynda Wade and Mark Price were the drivers involved in the double fatality. The mother of Mark Price heard him wish her merry Christmas, then there was a pause and then he said “Oh no” and then she thought she heard an impact before the line cut off. A set of headphones were found in the drivers footwell and the mobile had been placed on the dashboard.

• 72 yr old male from Long Sutton is given a night-time curfew by Boston Magistrates and banned from driving for a year after fatally injuring a man in an electric wheelchair after a collision while he was crossing London Road in Long Sutton. The court heard how it would have taken 9 seconds to cross the road, and in that time, the driver did not respond to the male crossing in his wheelchair with his wife and family dog. The collision occurred at 10.30am.

• Councillor from Spalding receives parking ticket while busily helping on flower beds for Spalding in Bloom
• The average speed cameras located on the A52 bypass between Grantham and Boston have reduced collisions by over 55% and casualties by over 70% since they were introduced 5 years ago. A success story for the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, and has now led to a similar system being installed on the A15 near Metheringham which goes ‘live’ on Monday (21/09/15)
• Magistrate in Grantham hears case of locally residing female drink driver and mid-case realises he actually was her driving instructor. Case proceeded, and she was given 12 month driving ban and £435 fine.
• Landlord of pub in Spalding calls Police and follows lorry for 1.5hrs after seeing driver jump 2 red lights and cut up traffic only to be told it was not a priority.
• 75 year old male driver from Wilsford, denies endangering safety of a person upon the railway, and driving dangerously, after court hears he allegedly turned left at a level crossing in Wilsford, onto the tracks. Case continues.
• Cambridge Utd player clocked doing 156mph on A1 (M) gets his 2nd ban from driving, this time for 6 months and a £1400 fine. He joins a Nottingham Forest player who was also banned 3 weeks ago after doing 115mph on same stretch of road.
• Desperate call from Mother in Grantham to Police to help release her trapped baby from inside her car was not acted on. Fire brigade crew eventually arrived to release baby from vehicle.

BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne keeping you up to date with all local information in Bourne and surrounding areas.  Intensive driving course in Bourne 01778 309 773