Unsuccessful - post here

dennyk

Mac-Chops wrote: »

To add to what seems a common location... Mrs. was unsuccessful in Finglas today.

4 x Grade 2's while changing lanes on the dual carriageway for turning her head very slightly while checking the blind spot.
Was told by the tester that "Your mirrors are sufficient for changing lanes."

I'd appeal that just on principal; you might not get **** out of it except a lot of time in court, unless your wife is willing to wait ages for it to be settled before booking another test, but you might at least get that tester called out. That advice is flat-out wrong, period; you should *always* check your blind spot when changing lanes. Tester shouldn't even be driving themselves if that's what they believe, much less grading anybody else on it.

Urindanger

Mac-Chops wrote: »

Said to her in test feedback and RSA SoM seem to be backing it up also.
IF you are checking your blindspot, it's a flick of the eyes if anything.

Told that they "used to teach that alright, but not any more".

I'm reluctant to even post this as I'm in such disbelief.

I suppose advice to others is to double check with your instructor!

That's awful suss, I'd definitely try to appeal anyway.

My copy of the ROTR is very new and it still says to check for blind spot when changing lanes with a quick glance. It's a shame that she didn't show him in the book where it says it and see what he has to say in response.

J_R

Mac-Chops wrote: »

To add to what seems a common location... Mrs. was unsuccessful in Finglas today.

4 x Grade 2's while changing lanes on the dual carriageway for turning her head very slightly while checking the blind spot.
Was told by the tester that "Your mirrors are sufficient for changing lanes."

I feel personally responsible for this one and annoyed considering ROTR states:

"How to change lanes safely
If you have good reason to change lanes, use your mirrors and check in
plenty of time to ensure that the way is clear. To check your blind spot
when travelling at speed, take a quick sideways glance to check the
position of a vehicle that may have disappeared from your view in the
mirror."

/vent

Hi,

Did she take lessons with an Instructor. ? If so, it should be up to him/her to immediately seek guidance, clarification from the RSA, Otherwise how would they prepare any future pupils for the driving test.

They would have to teach them two different lane changing procedures. If you get examiner X, when changing lanes do not check your blind spot, all others, quick shoulder check.

Gonad

I failed my first test , thought I had breezed it . Got one to many grade 2’s .

Was pissed off because one of my Mark downs was very unfair , I was coming up the Belgard road towards the square from Burger King and came to the little round a bout . He told me to take the 2nd exit and I took the exit that brings you towards the hospital . I asked why he marked me down and he said I took the 3rd exit and not the 2nd and that my position was a correct for the exit he asked me to take

The first “exit “ is a turn into Tallaght college which I didn’t realize was classed as an exit .

All he had to say was “staight through “ when we were approaching the roundabout and there would not have been any confusion .

He was a grumpy fecker and made me so tense but still thought I breezed it . He marked me 2 times for speeding and if I did go over it would only have been very little on the straights .


Got a cancellation a few weeks later after hounding them in the phone every day and got a young guy tester . He was soundest tester you could possibly get and completely put me at ease. Passed with 2 grade 2’s due to lack of concentration cause I was chatting away with him most of the test .But he was so cool and if everyone got a guy like him they would do much better then when they get a grumpy guy that you feel is trying t make you tense

dennyk

Yeah, marking you for taking a wrong turn was incorrect; they are explicitly not supposed to mark you for that unless you also committed an actual fault in the process (e.g. if you had actually entered the roundabout on the left before taking an exit past 12 o'clock, or you didn't signal properly for the exit you actually took or something). If you thought he meant the 3 o'clock exit for whatever reason and you drove the roundabout appropriately for taking that exit then you should not have been marked down.

Glad your next try went better, anyway!

beatricebutrus

Failed yesterday. The route was about 70% totally familiar to me, and I didn't do dual carriageway which I generally do well with. I made a total mess of by corner reverse, when I was joined just after going around the corner by two cars coming from either side of the road I started on and then two behind me, all at once. That gave be a grade three fail me for right of way, as when the two cars came around the corner and let the first car behind me pass me out, I went to tidy up when the second car was coming towards me behind me. I totally lost my nerve, and had come around wide. My driving instructor had been training me to do this move using mainly over my shoulder looking, as opposed to mirrors, but this gave be a grade 2 for observation as I should have been watching the cars in front of me more. A total mess of a maneuver basically.

I was totally rattled after, and slipped in to a old bad habit I had worked hard to get rid of, which basically meant 8 grade 2s for observation as I was checking over shoulder too soon when taking off and changing lane.

I had been working so hard at this, and had thought I would do much better, which is why I crumbled when I messed up the corner reverse so bad. But got good feedback from the tester who was happy with my driving in general.

One helpful hint for those doing lessons and using a keyless car for test - learn how to switch the thing off!

CurryFlavoured

Failed again yesterday. First time around I drove poorly but was only a couple marks off a pass. Yesterday I drove well, although I made one silly error, but the things that I did poorly first time round (progress and right turns) I did much better in yesterday, but I wasn't close to passing (15 G2s). Somehow I got 5 progress marks yesterday and only 3 the first time around when I drove like a cautious granny. I'm not going to whinge and say that I should have passed because I definitely need to work on a few things, but he gave some very harsh marks, and his marking method was much different to the first tester I had. To be fair to him he went through my faults in detail which he didn't have to, but there were a few I found very harsh. There is no way in hell that my progress was worse yesterday.

chatticusfinch

You would feel at times that the RSA is out to get you so that you have to pay that 85 euro all over again. I failed again recently, and my confidence as a driver is totally knocked.

Really hate that lecture you get afterwards too; it never helps.

Failed my first test yesterday. I'm really disappointed not that I failed but that it went as badly as it did. I felt my driving beforehand was decent and I've been able to drive independently for most of my recent lessons without much input from my instructor. However my nerves totally got to me during the test, I screwed up my reverse around a corner in the first 5 minutes and it threw me for the rest of the test. Even though I knew I had failed on that alone I tried to put it behind me and continue the test as best I could but I was still very flustered and made a lot of mistakes with controls etc that I wouldn't otherwise have made.

I know I had been really stressed with work deadlines etc this week so not sure if that affected me or not, I hadn't been overly nervous beforehand but my mind honestly went blank for a lot of the test I've never experienced anything like it before!! I know I can drive and am capable of driving to test standard but my confidence is knocked a bit, I'm worried about the anxiety affecting me again next time

Spectacularly unsuccessful in Gorey today, however I have never driven in Gorey. My two lessons I was supposed to have in the test route were cancelled because of snow. I practiced the reverse around the corner for weeks on end, and didn't get a single fault on that. I drove so terribly I was almost laughing by the time I got back to the test centre. I was very nervous, but really didn't expect to pass. My only advice is to be as familiar with the test route as possible! Also, don't assume you've failed early in the test just because you've had a major f-up. Looking over my report, I hadn't done as badly in certain aspects as I thought I had. I'm not used to driving with a stranger in my car which put me on edge. Will be applying for retest asap and be prepared this time. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, as they say.

SCOOP 64

Were your lessons else were, why did you pick Gorey test center , less waiting time?

SCOOP 64

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

Were your lessons else were, why did you pick Gorey test center , less waiting time?

My lessons were all in north Wicklow/south Dublin cause that's where I work. I needed to fit my EDTs around work. I picked Gorey on advice of my driving instructor. I'll be picking Wicklow this time around for sure! Gorey and Wicklow both have horrendous waiting times. If it hadn't been for the snow, twice, having to cancel lessons I might have had more of a chance.

hasdanta

Deleted User wrote: »

My lessons were all in north Wicklow/south Dublin cause that's where I work. I needed to fit my EDTs around work. I picked Gorey on advice of my driving instructor. I'll be picking Wicklow this time around for sure! Gorey and Wicklow both have horrendous waiting times. If it hadn't been for the snow, twice, having to cancel lessons I might have had more of a chance.

Just keep ringing everyday for that cancellation :P

Achasanai

Deleted User wrote: »

My only advice is to be as familiar with the test route as possible!

This is really good advice, but also (and I'm sure you know it) they can take you on a couple of different routes, so it's good to have as wide experience of the area as possible.

Another good idea (which helped when I passed) is to have a quick drive around the immediate area of the test centre prior to your test. You'll be able to note if there are notable hazards or road works or things like that.

Rainislove

Failed with 11 G2... I did the worse driving in the near past and I think I have accumulated half of the points during the initial 1 KM. Started in 2nd gear on my way out of test center and I tried to keep my morale up after knowing the mistake. But the fate was something different. The traffic was worse and a lady jumped in-front of my car in a round about from some traffic stuck in the round about. That knocked me down and I got 3 points back to back for harsh braking, and kept in 1st gear while thinking of the incident and sharp shifting to 2nd grear after knowing that I am in first gear. Had some confusion with the tester. He asked me to keep my car nearest to the kerb after a road for reversing, "when it is safe to do so". At the time, another car was reversing in the same spot, so I thought its safe to let him/her to finish and I am still thinking I did the right thing. But the tester thought otherwise, he asked me the same thing again with the phrase "when it is safe o do so". So out of confusion I moved off with out checking the blind spot and got another grade... It was a terrible outing...

Galbin

Rainislove wrote: »

The traffic was worse and a lady jumped in-front of my car in a round about from some traffic stuck in the round about. That knocked me down and I got 3 points back to back for harsh braking,

Only in this joke of a test would you get marked for harsh braking in order to avoid an accident.

dennyk

Galbin wrote: »

Only in this joke of a test would you get marked for harsh braking in order to avoid an accident.

Sounds like the incident unsettled the OP and they had a few unrelated incidents of harsh braking and poor gear changes afterwards due to nerves. I doubt a proper tester would mark anyone down for a successful emergency maneuver to avoid an accident, though they could possibly get marked for failure to anticipate a hazard if they had to make a sudden and abrupt maneuver as a result of not paying enough attention to potential dangers.

Sand

Rainislove wrote: »

Had some confusion with the tester. He asked me to keep my car nearest to the kerb after a road for reversing, "when it is safe to do so". At the time, another car was reversing in the same spot, so I thought its safe to let him/her to finish and I am still thinking I did the right thing. But the tester thought otherwise, he asked me the same thing again with the phrase "when it is safe o do so". So out of confusion I moved off with out checking the blind spot and got another grade... It was a terrible outing...

I think you did do the right thing by choosing to wait. The reversing car was in your way. If you moved, they would have to stop, still blocking you so you couldn't reasonably progress to the position you needed to be in on the next corner.

I had the exact same occurrence in my test. I made a point of telling the tester I was waiting for the other driver to complete their manoeuvre (I had seen advice to always state your intention to the tester if you believe you need to wait before progressing). I moved forward to the start position for the reverse after the other driver had reversed into the minor road, and then began my own reverse after they had exited the minor road and driven off.

I got zero faults on the reversal (and passed) so the tester had no issues with any of the decisions. Of course another tester could have an entirely different view.

Dravokivich

To add to the above, on my third test when doing the turn about. I was waiting a while to watch what someone was doing behind me, because I wasn't sure what they if they were going to come by me or turn about themselves. When I noticed it taking a bit, I just mentioned it to the tester, as I didn't want to become an obstruction.

Idjit

Unsuccessful this morning in Finglas. The nerves got so bad I mucked up everything I'd been practicing completely. After I'd made my first mistake (on the tight turn left after coming out of the business park on the right - which I'd practiced 20 mins before) my confidence evaporated and I got sloppy. Ah well, back to practicing.
Just to say, the tester was very professional and has to be commended. I was afraid of the stoney-faced robots I'd been hearing about but he was actually very good.

spurious

Jade182 wrote: »

Unsuccessful this morning in Finglas. The nerves got so bad I mucked up everything I'd been practicing completely. After I'd made my first mistake (on the tight turn left after coming out of the business park on the right - which I'd practiced 20 mins before) my confidence evaporated and I got sloppy. Ah well, back to practicing.
Just to say, the tester was very professional and has to be commended. I was afraid of the stoney-faced robots I'd been hearing about but he was actually very good.

Keep at it. You will get there. You know where you went wrong, which many people are still left in the dark about. Nice long evenings now for practice.
Next time.

Idjit

spurious wrote: »

Keep at it. You will get there. You know where you went wrong, which many people are still left in the dark about. Nice long evenings now for practice.
Next time.

Thank you Spurious!

J_R

Jade182 wrote: »

Unsuccessful this morning in Finglas. The nerves got so bad I mucked up everything I'd been practicing completely. After I'd made my first mistake (on the tight turn left after coming out of the business park on the right - which I'd practiced 20 mins before) my confidence evaporated and I got sloppy. Ah well, back to practicing.
Just to say, the tester was very professional and has to be commended. I was afraid of the stoney-faced robots I'd been hearing about but he was actually very good.

Jade182 wrote: »

Unsuccessful this morning in Finglas. The nerves got so bad I mucked up everything I'd been practicing completely. After I'd made my first mistake (on the tight turn left after coming out of the business park on the right - which I'd practiced 20 mins before) my confidence evaporated and I got sloppy. Ah well, back to practicing.
Just to say, the tester was very professional and has to be commended. I was afraid of the stoney-faced robots I'd been hearing about but he was actually very good.

Hi,
If you make a mistake and you lose concentration, provided it is not an obvious instant fail pull over, take a break.
Open the window, take a few deep breaths.  when you have regained your composure, drive off.
Good luck

Glaciey

Another unsuccessful test in Finglas today. 4 grade 2's on reaction to hazards which were all speed bumps. He told me I was too fast on them and my instructor the day before told me I was too slow on them... Bit frustrating. Ah well, onwards and upwards. Hoping to hop on the cancellation list; does anyone know the procedure how?

FowlBard109

Glaciey wrote: »

Another unsuccessful test in Finglas today. 4 grade 2's on reaction to hazards which were all speed bumps. He told me I was too fast on them and my instructor the day before told me I was too slow on them... Bit frustrating. Ah well, onwards and upwards. Hoping to hop on the cancellation list; does anyone know the procedure how?

Just keep ringing them and asking if theres a date available. I'd wait the 3 weeks that you're suppose to though because a lot of them on the phone will just dismiss you straight away.

I did find there's the odd sound one on the phones though so you never know. Just like the test itself, its down to luck sometimes haha

Glaciey

FowlBard109 wrote: »

Just keep ringing them and asking if theres a date available. I'd wait the 3 weeks that you're suppose to though because a lot of them on the phone will just dismiss you straight away.

I did find there's the odd sound one on the phones though so you never know. Just like the test itself, its down to luck sometimes haha

I reapplied online and asked to be put on the cancellation list. If I don't hear anything for that 3 week period I'll start ringing them. Want a new test asap since I failed on so little, while its still fresh. Thanks for the feedback

Galbin

J_R wrote: »

Hi,
If you make a mistake and you lose concentration, provided it is not an obvious instant fail pull over, take a break.
Open the window, take a few deep breaths.  when you have regained your composure, drive off.
Good luck

Honestly, a lot of testers would hold that against you and find some excuse to mark you down for taking an unauthorised break.

J_R

Galbin wrote: »

Honestly, a lot of testers would hold that against you and find some excuse to mark you down for taking an unauthorised break.

Hi,

Absolutely not.

I used to just tell my pupils to stop, but after one of my pupils stopped it was the examiner who told her to open the window. Ever afterwards always added the "open window".

Do not now remember exactly how many of my pupils stopped, but NONE were marked. One even got out and walked around the car. Now I did not and do not recommend leaving the car. It was his own idea, he did not get marked and he also passed.

Just knowing that they could stop I believed helped the candidate.

Damo 2k9

Failed today in Finglas, 11 grade 2's and 7 of them were under 'Progress'. Didnt drive fast enough, turning right I didnt take my chances which I was a bit unlucky with, a big JCB digger coming from my left and loads of cars were overtaking that, I felt a grade 2 for not overtaking a bike which would leave me with very little time to get back in before reaching a lollipop lady was a bit harsh. He was very nice and very detailed feedback tbh, gutted with the result but happy everything else went perfectly.

spurious

Next time Damo, for sure.