Who will be with you in the car
The examiner will be with you at all times. Sometimes the examiner’s supervisor may come along. It’s nothing to worry about if you they do come along, they will be watching the examiner’s performance, not yours. The supervisor won’t have any say in how you’re tested or in your result.
If you want to, you can ask to have your instructor or any other person to sit in the car as well.
Before the driving test starts
Before you start the driving ability part of your test, you’ll have an eyesight check and be asked 2 vehicle safety questions (these are also know as the ‘show me tell me’ questions).
Eyesight check
You’ll have to read a number plate from a distance of:
20 metres for vehicles with a new-style number plate
20.5 metres for vehicles with an old-style number plate
You can write down what you see if you can’t speak English or have difficulty reading.
Remember, new-style number plates start with 2 letters followed by 2 numbers, eg AB51 ABC.
If you can’t pass the eyesight test, you will fail your driving test and the test won’t continue.
Vehicle safety questions: ‘show me, tell me’
You’ll be asked 2 vehicle safety questions. These are also known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions. These questions are chosen from 19 possible questions
The examiner will ask you one ‘show me’ question, where you’ll have to show them how you’d carry out a vehicle safety check.
You’ll then be asked one ‘tell me’ question, where you’ll have to explain to the examiner how you’d carry out the check.
Driving ability
The driving part of your test will last about 40 minutes. The examined will be checking the overall standard of your driving throughout your test. If you’re taking an extended test pass because of a previous driving disqualification, the test will last 70 minutes.
During your test the examiner will give you directions that you have to follow. You’ll drive in various road and traffic conditions. Remember your training and use what your instructor has taught you,
The driving test will include:
- normal stops
- an angle start (pulling out from behind a parked vehicle)
- a hill start
- You might also be asked to carry out an emergency stop.
- Reversing your vehicle safely -
- One of the following: reversing around a corner, turning in the road or reverse parking – either into a parking bay, or parallel parking at the side of the road
Independent driving section
Your driving test will include around 10 minutes of independent driving. It’s designed to assess your ability to drive safely while making decisions on your own.