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Independent Driving:
A1
Learners
covers the
new changes
to the
driving test
and includes
the official
DSA You Tube
video
This page was updated
10 February, 2012
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A1 Learners talks you through the latest change to the UK Driving test
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Independent driving
For about 10
minutes of the test you'll be asked to
drive on your own without any help from
the examiner whilst the car is moving.
The examiner will ask you to park the
car and then will give you up to 3
directions to follow such as "Take the
next left, 2nd right then 3rd right".
Alternatively they may simply ask you to
drive to the nearest train station or an
area of the city which will be sign
posted. You do not need to know the
area, read maps or use a sat nav. Any
locations you're asked to drive to will
be signed. This has been designed with
dyslexia and other medical conditions in
mind so don't worry if you have to ask
for more help.
-
Directions and Instructions
Another way it will be done is a mixture of directions and instructions such as "Take the 3rd left, 2nd right and then follow road signs to Kings Norton railway station". For some of these directions you'll be given a very basic diagram such as shown below to help recognize the layout of the roads you'll come across. The examiner can write down the place name so you know how it's spelt on signs, if you want them to do this then just ask.
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Here are two examples of the kind of diagram you'll be
shown:
- You are not marked for going the
wrong way:
It doesn't matter how many wrong
turns you make or if you end up
in completely the wrong place.
The worst thing you can do on
this part of the test is to
suddenly change your mind. Let's
say you're approaching a left
turn and at the last minute you
see the sign saying that's the
way you want to go. Carrying on
will just mean you take a
different route, suddenly
braking or swerving can cause
chaos. You are only marked as
normal so hitting a kerb,
swerving etc is still bad but
your destination is irrelevant
-
If you start to go the wrong way:
Just carry on if you go wrong and
the examiner will help you get
back on track. If you're coming
up to a roundabout and you miss
the sign, just say you haven't
seen the sign and go left or
continue in whichever lane
you're in. You will not fail and
wont be marked down. The whole
idea of this part of the test is
to simulate being on your own
and there will be plenty of
times when you miss signs or go
the wrong way it doesn't matter,
us qualified drivers do it all
the time!
-
So what's all the fuss about?:
The only real difference is that
instead of being given
step-by-step directions you'll
just have to remember up to 3
directions per time for a short section of
the test. Your Driving Test
now includes more things like
high streets, right turns and
crossroads as there is more time
to cover them.
-
Manoeuvres:
You will only do one manoeuvre on a
Driving Test instead of two. Current
test routes are based on having
to stick around quiet housing
estates to enable opportunities
for driving examiners to carry out the manoeuvres. This
particular change to the
Driving Test will give you the
chance to travel much further
away from the centre so you may
well drive in areas you have
never seen before which will
show you are not just memorising
Driving Test routes!
