Everybody wants to pass their driving test as quickly as possible - as driving lessons
are expensive, and a full driving license can give you independence. However, simply rushing into the
test centre before you’re ready is a recipe for disaster, and will usually result in a fail that
is at best disappointing, or at worst dangerous. In this video, we will share our top ten tips to
help you pass your driving test as quickly as possible, saving you both time and money.
Before we begin please consider subscribing to our channel so you will be notified when
we release a new video - and if you have any questions then please comment below.
Applying for your provisional license to drive a car can be done well before your 17th birthday.
Getting your license early means that you can start your lessons as soon as you turn 17,
perhaps even on your actual birthday! You can easily apply on the official Gov. UK website,
which is where you can also book the theory and practical driving tests later.
Never use other websites as they usually provide a worse service and charge you more.
The average
person takes 47 hours of professional tuition before passing their driving test in the UK.
That is a lot of time to be spent with your driving instructor. Making sure
that you have the right instructor is key and could mean you take fewer hours than average.
When picking an instructor, check their reviews, ask them questions, and make sure
you are happy with everything before booking them. Recommendations are good but be mindful
that we are all individuals and you may not get on as well with an instructor as your friend did.
Make sure their teaching style and your learning style are suited.
If after a few lessons you feel that things aren’t going well, don’t be afraid to change
instructor. In the long run, it will cost you less money and could save you time.
The Theory Test is not easy and would be hard to pass without revision.
Use all the resources available to you - and learn all the rules of the road as soon as you can.
If you want to pass your practical driving test as quickly as possible
then any delay caused by the Theory Test would be frustrating
and may prevent you from booking the test when your driving is good enough.
You can book a theory test as soon as you have your provisional license
even if you haven’t started taking practical lessons. Then once you have passed the Theory
Test you are free to book your Practical Driving Test whenever you want to. Also,
all the knowledge learnt for your theory test will help you progress faster in your driving lessons.
There is no substitute for time behind the wheel. If you are only having one hour-long
driving lesson every week then it will take you on average 47 weeks to pass your driving test.
That is nearly a whole year! We recommend you have two-hour lessons at least once a week,
as this is more productive. Longer lessons allow your instructor to teach you new driving
skills fully and will give you more time to practise, really embedding your learning.
This means you will have a better chance of retaining what you have learnt for your
next lesson. You could even do more than one 2-hour lesson each week, saving even more time.
If you are tempted by a super-intensive course be mindful
that too much information at once can sometimes hinder your progress.
Trying to learn everything in one week is not necessarily the best way of learning
and can lead to increased stress levels, and a reduced chance of passing your test quickly.
At the beginning of every driving lesson, you will always need time to get used to
being back behind the wheel, especially if you are only having one lesson a week.
This is perfectly normal and nothing to be worried about - but if you can practice driving privately
between your lessons then this will help you stay up to speed. Then you will make better
use of the time on your lessons - learning new skills, rather than recapping previous lessons.
We recommend letting your instructor teach you new skills, and then use your private practice
to consolidate what you have been taught rather than trying to learn something new.
Ideally, vary the route you drive on as much as possible - so that
you experience different junctions, traffic levels, and weather conditions.
The more time you can spend driving the better, as this will help get you to your test quicker.
There are lots of resources online that can be useful in accelerating your learning. There are
many written guides, and of course, YouTube has a huge amount of driving tuition videos.
Just use a search engine to look for a specific topic and there will be many websites to
help - just ensure that the advice is correct for the UK, as rules differ in other countries.
Our YouTube channel has over 100 videos covering a huge range of subjects and real-life scenarios
for you to learn from. They cover everything from basic driving skills through to expert skills,
manoeuvres, and even how to deal with nerves and anxiety. Videos can’t replace practical
driving experience but can certainly give you useful tips and help increase your knowledge
level.
Waiting times can sometimes be lengthy, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead and book your driving test
early. If you leave it too late then you might be in a position where you are ready for your test,
but forced to wait weeks or even months to take it. If this happens you will still need to have
lessons, to maintain your current driving standard - which will cost more money and waste time.
We recommend that you discuss with your instructor when is the best time to book a date for and work
towards that date with your lessons. If you later decide that you need more time to get ready,
then it is easy to move the test date back little on the DVSA website. As long
as you give at least 3 working days notice, there won’t be any charge for this service.
Mock tests are an excellent way to determine your current standard of driving and get used
to the format of a driving test. It is often the first time a learner will drive independently
for that length of time and will show whether they are ready to take their test or not. A mock test
will help you identify any problems with your driving, allowing you to fix them before going
to a real driving test. We often carry out more than one mock test with a pupil to ensure we go
to our test as soon as we are ready - saving time and money. So, once you feel you are driving at a
good standard, ask your instructor if you could do a mock test - the experience will be worthwhile.
Knowing what to expect not only helps you prepare for the test but also allows you
to have everything ready in time. Make sure that you have the test day clear by booking a
day off work or college, and have organised anything else such as childcare et cetera.
Not doing this in advance and leaving it to the last minute might mean that you have to
delay your test because you can’t make yourself available. Also, make sure your personal details
are correct on your provisional license, as you wouldn’t want to delay your test because
you noticed your address was wrong and had to send it back to the DVSA to be updated. Planning
for and knowing what to expect will ensure that you are not delayed by any unforeseen events.
Even though you have got to your test day as quickly as you could it is still important to
make this day run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Having a good nights sleep and locating
your provisional license and having it ready to take with you on the day is a good place to
start. Having food and drink before your test will make sure that your mind and body are fuelled.
Arriving a little bit early to meet your instructor will help make the day less stressful.
Finally, having a good warm-up with your instructor, and practising your manoeuvres
before getting to the test centre in plenty of time will keep things running smoothly.
So there you have ten ideas that could help you pass your driving test as quickly as
possible. We recommend planning ahead whenever possible, to offset any delays that could happen.
There is no substitute for spending as much time driving as possible,
so get as much experience as you can. Finally, practice makes perfect - so
take a mock test or two before you attempt the real thing. Good luck!
If you found this video interesting, then please visit our channel as there are over 100 more
tutorial videos to help you improve your driving. If you would like to help us make new videos,
then please consider becoming a member of our channel. Thanks for watching!