Nerves destroying me on the day

ps3man

Ok I have done a few tests at this stage (3) and failed each of them, i have taken lessons with a few people and everyone in their professional opinions have told me that I should not be failing, on the day I get real easily worked up and my nerves destroy me.. anybody any ideas how to help this?

Raskolnikov

ps3man wrote: »

Ok I have done a few tests at this stage (3) and failed each of them, i have taken lessons with a few people and everyone in their professional opinions have told me that I should not be failing, on the day I get real easily worked up and my nerves destroy me.. anybody any ideas how to help this?

What sort of things are you getting marked on? My wife used to have serious problems with her leg shaking on the clutch when she was taking her test. She found though, that with more practice, it slowly got better. The more practice you have, the more driving situations that you'll be comfortable with, and the easier you'll be able to handle them.

Reloc8

What you have found helpful in coping with other stressful situations in your life ?

I hear of people taking something called rescue remedy before a driving test with some success, whether its a placebo effect or not I don't know.

mikemac

Rescue Remedy is great stuff. Just to be used for special occasions.

OP, keep doing the mock tests. There are no shortage of instructors so find a great one.
If they are professional and to be the point then better still.

Some instructors might be great with nervous beginners but you want an instructor who will point out and list your faults and won't hold back.
Just saying that not all instructors are great, that's all so ask around

Maybe you are nervous as the tester won't chat to you and seems distant and abrupt. They're just doing their job so don't take anything personally. I'd say you know this already

Stark

feelingstressed wrote: »

Rescue Remedy is great stuff. Just to be used for special occasions.

Is that not alcoholic?

af_thefragile

Well, I was quite pissed off after I failed my test the 2nd time and when I did my pretest the day before my test and my instructor pointed out that most of my mistakes were because of me being over cautious, I said screw it. I decided I'm just gonna drive like I normally would pretending its not a test. I've driven cautiously on two occasions for my test and I failed. So might as well drive normally and see what happens this time. If I fail again well, I'll just have to try again and if it works, I might just pass. And it worked!!

My instructor told me after my pretest that one of the things driving testers hate is when the person drives too cautiously and slowly. They want to see how you would normally drive and if you just drive like you normally would, you'll be much more likely to pass.

Easier said than done but best is to take it easy, just pretend its not a test and merely just a driving lesson. Don't get turned off if you see the tester writing stuff on the test sheet. It could just be a grade 1 (I got a good few grade 1s in my test) or the tester could just be writing something else (I noticed a few times the tester lifted up the test sheet and wrote something on another sheet underneath it). So don't think every time the tester takes the pen to the paper that its a grade 2 fault. Just take it easy. Pretend it didn't happen. Pretend its not a test and you're just driving around normally. The worst that can happen is you'll fail your test in which case nothing is gonna change from what it is now, just apply again and next time you might do better. But just take it easy.

cantdecide

How I cope with similar situations is thinking 'Tonight, I'll be sleeping soundly in my bed no matter what happens today'.

Helps me. I don't know if it helps you...

whatdoicare

Plus one on the rescue remedy (my instructor made me drink half the bottle before my test) worked a treat!

Naked Lepper

I was a nervous wreck all three times, so much so that I even went through a red light on my third attempt.. two minutes into the test!

I could have given up then and conceeded another failure, I was sure that would be an automatic fail but it was just one grade 2.. I kept my nerve for the rest of the test and proved that I was capable of driving, and passed..

(was a filter light that went red just before i got to it.. i could have stopped but not sure itd have been entirely safe - i failed last time for stopping suddenly in a similar situation! he did give me a grade 2 for it though, said i should have seen that it was going to turn red)

fergpie

a few pints before the test ill do the trick :rolleyes:

breakfast roll

I've got my test today and nerves are doing me in as well ! A nightmare really Trying to keep a cool but it's easier said than done ! Fingers crossed

af_thefragile

breakfast roll wrote: »

I've got my test today and nerves are doing me in as well ! A nightmare really Trying to keep a cool but it's easier said than done ! Fingers crossed

Take it easy mate. Just practice a lot. Do a few mock tests with a good instructor. Remember if you're nervous, you're much more likely to fail the test than if you're cool and not over cautious. So just take it easy and drive like you would drive everyday for the test.

I know its easier said than done which is why ask your instructor to do some mock tests with you and try to drive like you normally would for those mock tests. This should get you used to driving in a test situation and you shouldn't get too nervous for your driving test.