Quantcast
Published On: Sat, Mar 30th, 2019

The Top Skills You Need to Know before You Take Your Driving Test in the UK

For anyone wanting to learn how to drive in the UK, the first step is to take driving lessons. Driving lessons are crucial if you want to learn how to drive correctly and efficiently, and your driving instructor could well be your best friend if you want to pass that dreaded test with flying colours. Driving courses can be intensive or spread out, depending on how soon you want to get your driving licence, but if you really want to be sure of passing the test, you should be well-prepared. The good news is, many people who take their driving test realise that it wasn’t as difficult as they had previously thought – but these people are probably as prepared as they could be as well. Once you have taken your driving lessons, you can take the test. But if you are worried about the test and need a burst of confidence before taking it, here are the top skills you need to know before you take your driving test in the UK.

England, Wales

Image/CIA

Be prepared for the ‘show and tell’ portion

Before you begin driving, the examiner will ask you several questions pertaining to the maintenance and safety of the vehicle. This is often called the ‘show and tell’ portion because the examiner will request you to show them a particular feature of the vehicle (where it is located); they will also ask you to tell them what you would do in order to perform a specific check. To prepare for this, learn as much as you can about what’s underneath the bonnet of the car, so you won’t get rattled when you are asked to ‘show and tell’.

Practise for the controlled stop

Most practical driving tests will also include a portion where the examiner will suddenly hold up their hands whilst you are driving and tell you to stop. This portion is referred to as the ‘controlled stop’ portion, and it is done so that the examiner will see how you deal with an emergency and how you respond to it. If this happens, try not to panic. Keep calm and bring the vehicle to a halt as carefully and safely as you can, as the intensive and crash course Manchester instructors from Suja Driving School recommend.

Be prepared for various manoeuvres

Since December of 2017, there have been some notable changes in driving tests in the UK, and applicants will now have to perform several manoeuvres to test their driving skills. One manoeuvre you need to practise is bay parking, whether it’s driving into a slot or reversing the vehicle out from a slot. Another essential manoeuvre you need to perfect is parallel parking, and the third crucial manoeuvre you have to practise is pulling up on the road’s right-hand side, reversing, and then rejoining the road’s traffic.

Practise your general driving skills on different roads

Another portion of the test will be your general driving skills, which will test your capability of dealing with various kinds of roads and different traffic situations. This portion usually lasts for about 20 minutes, and the examiner may have you drive on both high-speed limit road networks such as carriageways as well as urban roads. Prior to taking your driving test, you should, therefore, practise as much as you can on different road types so you can familiarise yourself with them. The test is also meant to show the examiner how conscious you are of varying road situations and how considerate you can be of pedestrians and other drivers and road users.

Author: Joana Green

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Outside contributors to the Dispatch are always welcome to offer their unique voices, contradictory opinions or presentation of information not included on the site.

Displaying 1 Comments
Have Your Say

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives