My driving test

suki

I have a driving test tomorrow at Tallaght, can u guys give me some advice to how to ace it?

BigEejit

Dont make any mistakes:D

Seriously though, dont brake hard (always come to a gentle stop), when reversing around a corner, stop halfway and check the front of the car, dont go faster than 30mph (you would be amazed how many people fail for that, they are just used to driving faster) ... get someone else to sit in with you and do some practicing tonight, they may see something wrong that you dont even notice...

seamus

Tallaght has a few tricks......

There's a turn in an estate that's a Y-junction. You have to turn onto the other 'arm' of the y, which is almost a U-turn, it's so sharp. The stanard rule of "start to turn when you're halfway across the road you're turning onto" applies. It seems really weird when you do it, but it makes sense, it's still easy, but you can fail for it.

There's also a hill, with a T-junction & stop sign at the top, and a bike lane on the main road, coming from right to left in front of you. While you're waiting for a gap in the traffic, so you can turn onto the main road, you cannot stop on the bike lane. It's a little tricky, but you have to wait behind the edge of the bike lane until you get a gap, or you'll fail.

they're the only main 2 I can remember. I'd strongly advise you to go get a pretest today. Most places should be able to squeez you in late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

leeroybrown

The best advice I can give you is to try to relax before the test. If you're relaxed you'll be able to concentrate on the driving bit of the test. The only thing you should be worried about is your mirrors ... it will make you look in them!

Blitzkrieger

Most important thing is to relax. It's always hard to drive properly when stressed.

MarkR

And if you DO make a mistake, like hitting a kerb while reversing, stop. Don't keep going! Take it easy, go for a spin the hour before, and enjoy yourself..

suki

i failed my test , feel so bad , but i know when i first make the turn out of the test centre , i made a big mistake ( i did not look carefully on my right side) , well nothing i can do about it now , just wait for my next test.


P.S : Never have a driving test in windy and raining day :P

MarkR

Hard luck, mine was on a rainy saturday, tipped the kerb during the reverse around the corner (first time EVER, should have wiped the window!)

I'm sure you'll do better next time...

Move to shannon, highest pass rate in the country! Industrial estate, 20 mins on a saturday with noone around, every goes off into limerick shopping!

Mark

The_Bullman

how will the wind affect your driving??

as for the rain, use your wipers..


as for passing the test.

get lessons

it doesn't matter how good a driver that a) you are, or b) you think you are. get lessons until they say that you are good enough. Chances are that if you are getting lessons off someone who is a friend or family they will have a few bad habits that they might pass onto you.

That's about it

MarkR

Ouch!

Dead right though, proper lessons are the only way to go, and if you get them from a registered driving instructor you can actually wind up getting a nice deduction in your insurance premium! I'm muddling through this now, hopefully it will give me a 1 year no claims bonus.

Fingers crossed!

Stephen

Originally posted by Legbreaker
Move to shannon, highest pass rate in the country! Industrial estate, 20 mins on a saturday with noone around, every goes off into limerick shopping!

Mark

You can actually apply to take your driving test at any test centre in the country, no matter where you live

MarkR

Really? Wonder why people bother doing tests in either ennis or Limerick, when both are a damn sight more difficult to drive in!

Chimaera

Possibly the best places to go are the ones in small towns out the country e.g. in Limerick, Croom and Newcastle West have fairly high pass rates and they don't have a huge waiting list. I did my test in Limerick 4 and a half years ago and passed first time. Getting plenty of lessons from a professional instructor pays off bigtime if you want to pass first time out. I took about 22hrs of lessons and went from novice to passing my test in 8 months. After that you need plenty of practise in the car you intend to take your test in - it's always much easier to drive a car that you're familiar with.

sceptre

Pass rates and waiting times from around the country

Shannon has slipped a bit - the rate used be about 75%. Still quite high though. Shannon basically has no hills (which will suit some), visibility is quite good. I suspect the roadworks over the past six months have had a small effect on the pass rates. Tallaght is relatively low at 50.7%.