Driving Test booked !!!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by killerkebab

HOT DAMN I PASSED THE THEORY

34/35 on questions, 53/75 on hazard perception. I count it as pure luck but the guy said that the hazard perception questions on the CD I had were made in general driving, wheras the ones in the test are staged which makes them that much easier

Yay!

I had trouble with the theory test disc I had to practice with as it was set in Swansea so I spent more time trying to work out what part of the city it was rather than looking for hazards! Luckily the actual exam one was set elsewhere!

[killerkebab]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Yay!

I had trouble with the theory test disc I had to practice with as it was set in Swansea so I spent more time trying to work out what part of the city it was rather than looking for hazards! Luckily the actual exam one was set elsewhere!

I found it humorous that 'ARAF' was written all over the floor on my CD

[killerkebab]

Well my test is booked as well... I am nowhere near as lucky as Raymond here, considering I don't get to take mine before February 12th...

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Vixen

That's a lot of money! I didn't realise that instructors charged for the car too! I learned and sat my test in my mums car .

Unfortunately they changed the requirements and now you absolutely must have a car with dual controls and the double mirror setup to be able to take the test.

[Will]

Originally Posted by killerkebab

HOT DAMN I PASSED THE THEORY

34/35 on questions, 53/75 on hazard perception. I count it as pure luck but the guy said that the hazard perception questions on the CD I had were made in general driving, wheras the ones in the test are staged which makes them that much easier

Bravo!

Originally Posted by killerkebab

Well my test is booked as well... I am nowhere near as lucky as Raymond here, considering I don't get to take mine before February 12th...

Well at least you've got it booked - you can always ring up from time to time and see if there are any cancellations.

Originally Posted by Garp

Unfortunately they changed the requirements and now you absolutely must have a car with dual controls and the double mirror setup to be able to take the test.

I can sort of understand the need for that - it's fairly sensible really.

I still feel people should *have* to clock up certain amount of hours before passing their test, or have to have L plates or something. Over 8 years ago when i did my test I have to say I did find it pretty easy - though my bike test I found even easier - but that's probably because of having been on the road for a number of years. I have no idea how hard the test is now, but that hazard perception is a good idea - I wonder if it helps people realise the potential hazards in real world situations. Certainly when I'm on my bike I'm constantly scanning all that's going on - I've had to do more than my fair share of hard braking when idiots don't think of being observant and step/pull out in front of me.

How are the learners here finding it to drive on the road? Did the hazard perception help at all? Do you feel in control or can you take in all the information? I genuinely believe that it's something that comes with practice - i.e. being able to absorb all the information and process the important stuff quickly and discard the superfluous stuff. However a lot of it is instinctive. I think I'm an instinctive driver rather than a conscious one if that makes any sense.

Anyway good luck with it all I'm sure you'll pass and be cruising the streets soon!

[Haly]

When I did the hazard perception last year, I felt it helped. Made me feel a bit more conciously aware. Not that I was ignoring everything to begin with, so maybe it just gave me a confidence boost.
Nothing like practice though, was hugely different going from always having the instructor there to going out on my own. Scared the life out of me at first Fine now, although my parking's rather crap now, got out of practice due to the dodgy shoulder. Once that's healed up though, I'm planning to practice in a few car parks. Pity really, always got told by my instructor I was great at parallel parking.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Le Hoff

How are the learners here finding it to drive on the road? Did the hazard perception help at all? Do you feel in control or can you take in all the information? I genuinely believe that it's something that comes with practice - i.e. being able to absorb all the information and process the important stuff quickly and discard the superfluous stuff. However a lot of it is instinctive. I think I'm an instinctive driver rather than a conscious one if that makes any sense.

Going from my experience a couple of years ago it made little difference. My driving instructor was constantly hammering observation into my head though so I suspect that may be why; that and my Dad is Institute of Advanced Motorists trained and routinely passed on suggestions and the like to both my sister and myself. My instructor would constantly ask questions about things I should have observed until it got to be second nature to have seen it.

I actually found it hard to equate the hazard perception test to real life, maybe its because its a video on a 2D screen but I never felt really part of the situation and routinely missed things I would see under normal circumstances; or I'd perceive things as potential hazards that weren't (no bad thing)

[Will]

I only ever did a practice CD when I was teaching my sister how to pass. I have to say I wish everybody did the IAM test - I did and it really helped pick out things in my driving that I wouldn't have otherwised have noticed. I was asked to become an observer - but I don't think I'm ready for that yet.

It's interesting you didn't think the HP was all that good. I guess the point of it is to introduce learners who haven't been on the road yet or for long about possible hazards. Observation is the most important thing - but you can go over the top sometimes too. It's important when passing your bike test to demonstrate good observation skills. My car driving and IAM really did help from that point of view - but also from the point of view that if you miss something on the bike you could die

[Haly]

Thinking about it, I'd argue it would be better to take the theory test and the hazard perception test before you start learning to drive. Just makes more sense in that order.
You should know all that stuff anyway before getting into a car imo, such as road signs.

[Will]

Originally Posted by Haly

Thinking about it, I'd argue it would be better to take the theory test and the hazard perception test before you start learning to drive. Just makes more sense in that order.
You should know all that stuff anyway before getting into a car imo, such as road signs.

I think you're right for sure.