Preparing for your driving theory test : Tips and hints

We recommend you to study following -

The Highway Code -

The Highway Code is essential reading for everyone. Its rules apply to all road users: drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians as well as horse riders. It contains most up to date advice on road safety and the laws, which apply to all road users.

Traffic signs -It is important to know road signs and markings that you are most likely to encounter.

Driving theory test questions -

Is a set of latest questions published by DSA from which the exam questions are taken. DSA may change questions time to time it is important that you study the books where latest questions are published.

Preparing for hazard perception test -

It is best to practice hazard perception skills on the computer if you have access to one. There are many websites and PC-CD ROMs in the market, using which you can practice your hazard perceptions skills.

About car practical test :

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is now able to offer tests outside the normal test times at a number of test centres. This provides customers a wider range of appointments over an extended working day.

Driving practical test are generally available at all permanent test centres. Saturday and weekday evening tests, subject to resources being available, are offered at a premium rate. Non premium rate tests are available at various times between 7.30 am and 3.27 pm Monday to Friday.

The driving part of your test lasts about 40 minutes. Throughout the test, your examiner will be looking for overall safe standards of driving, including when you are carrying out the set exercises. You can make up to 15 driving faults and still pass the test (16 or more results in failure). However, if you commit one serious or dangerous fault you will fail the test.

About motorcycle practical test:

Minimum test vehicle requirements:

Any vehicle presented for use in a driving test must meet minimum test vehicle standards. These standards are part of European Community legislation on driver licensing. Great Britain as a member of the European Union is obliged to comply with these requirements. Below are the minimum test vehicle requirements for mopeds and motorcycles.

Minimum test vehicle requirements for mopeds:

A moped must have an engine capacity not exceeding 50 cc, and a maximum speed of 50 kilometres per hour (km/h), which is approximately equivalent to 31 miles per hour (mph). If first used before 1 August 1977, it must be equipped with pedals by which it can be propelled.

Minimum test vehicle requirements for motorcycles:

If your motorcycle is less than 75 cc it is not acceptable for the practical motorcycle test. If you pass your practical test on a motorcycle with automatic or semi-automatic transmission, this will be recorded on your licence. Your full licence entitlement will be restricted to motorcycles in this category.

A light motorcycle (category A1) is defined as a solo motorcycle between 75 and 125 cc, with a power output not exceeding 11 kilowatts (kW) (maximum 14.6 brake horse power (bhp)). Please see note 1.

A standard motorcycle (category A) is defined as a solo motorcycle between 121 and 125 cc, capable of exceeding 100 km/h (62.5 mph). Please note that the BMW C1 motorcycle is not a suitable machine for a practical test. Please see note 2.

Vehicles used for the accelerated access and direct access scheme can have an unspecified engine capacity of at least 35 kW (46.6 bhp), with an unspecified speed. Please see note 3.

The minimum test vehicle requirements for a motorcycle and side-car are the same, as the solo machines, but categories A and A1 must not exceed a power to weight ratio of 0.16 kW/kg. Passengers are not allowed to ride in the sidecar during the test. Only candidates with certain disabilities can use a motorcycle and side-car combination for the test. The licence obtained as a result of this test will be restricted to this combination of vehicle.

Notes: A light motorcycle licence (category A1) will give you full licence entitlement to ride machines up to 125 cc with a power output of up to 11 kW.

A standard motorcycle licence (category A) will restrict you for a period of two years to riding machines with a power output not exceeding 25 kW and a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0.16 kW/kg. After the two year period you may ride any motorcycle.

If you are aged 21 or over you can take the test on a motorcycle with a power output of at least 35 kW (46.6 bhp). If successful you can then ride any motorcycle.

The practical motorcycle test is made up of lots of different elements, an eyesight test, vehicle safety questions, a test of driving ability, a test of specific manoeuvre and a question about riding with a passenger.

At the test centre you must present a valid certificate DL196 unless the test is being conducted on one of the exempted islands. A rider who is upgrading a full moped licence obtained by passing a two part test since December 1990 is exempt.

Vehicle safety check questions and eyesight test:

Before you actually start your practical riding test you will be asked to read a number plate to prove you can meet the eyesight requirements. You will also be asked two machine safety check questions before moving away.

The practical test:

After the usual pre-test preliminaries e.g. licence and identification check the examiner will help the candidate with the fitting of the radio and earpiece. While accompanying the candidate to the machine the examiner will explain how the test will be conducted and how the radio equipment works.

The law requires anyone riding a motorcycle, scooter or moped, with or without sidecar, to wear protective headgear securely fastened. The test cannot therefore be conducted unless the candidate is wearing properly secured protective headgear.

Note: An exemption to this requirement exists for followers of the Sikh religion if they are wearing a turban.

At the end of the driving test:

When the practical test is over, the examiner will tell you whether you passed or failed. You can request feedback on your test from the examiner, who will then go through your performance during the test.

If you pass…

If you pass and have a photocard driving licence issued after 1 March 2004, the examiner will ask you,if you want your full driving licence issued to you automatically. If you want to use this service, the examiner will take your old licence off you, scan the details and send them electronically to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). You will then be given a pass certificate to prove you passed your test. DVLA will then send you your new full licence by post within three weeks of you passing your practical test.

If you pass your test but do not want to use this automatic service, or have a licence issued before 1 March 2004, you will be given a pass certificate by the examiner. On the back of the pass certificate it tells you what you need to do next. This involves sending your licence to DVLA who will then check your application and issue you with a new full licence.

Once you pass your standard motorcycle test you are restricted to machines of 25 kW (33 bhp) with a power to weight ratio of 0.16 kW/kg for two years.

If you fail…

If you fail the test you should ask the examiner for some feedback to help prepare yourself for your next test. Your driving report form will also show you where you made any mistakes. You must wait 10 clear working days after your practical test before you can book another one.

Driving practical test vehicle requirement

Minimum test vehicle requirements for a car and trailer test

The minimum test vehicle standards for a car also apply to a car and trailer test, with additional requirements for the trailer. Vehicles that do not meet the minimum test vehicle requirements are not suitable for the purpose of taking a driving test, and your test may be cancelled with loss of fee.

Test vehicle requirements for a car practical test and car and trailer test Category B - cars and vans.

Cars or vans presented for test must be:

• A four wheeled vehicle of no more than 3500 kilograms (kg) maximum authorized mass (MAM)
• Capable of a speed of at least 100 kilometers per hour (km/h) or 62.5 miles per hour (mph)

The car or van must also be fitted with:

• A seatbelt for the examiner
• A passenger head restraint, this need not be adjustable but must be fitted as an integral part of the seat - 'slip on' type head restraints are not permitted
  
• An interior mirror for the examiner's use
• L-plates displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle but not interfering with the driver's or examiner's view
• A speedometer that measures speed in miles per hour and kilometers per hour

The vehicle must be legal and roadworthy and have no warning lights showing i.e. the airbag warning light.

Convertible vehicles

The Ford KA convertible and Mini convertible due to the lack of all-round vision for the examiner are not suitable vehicles for a Driving practical test vehicle requirement.

Category B1

A motor powered tricycle or quadricycle must have an unladen weight of not more than 550 kg and be capable of at least 60 km/h (37.25 mph).

Category B + E - car and trailer

Cars or vans presented for test must be a category B vehicle towing a suitably braked, unladen trailer of at least one tonne MAM . The examiner may ask for evidence of the trailer MAM, for example the manufacturer's plate. All vehicle combinations must operate on appropriate brakes and utilize a coupling arrangement suitable for the weight.

Please Note about Driving practical test vehicle requirement:

Irrespective of the date vehicles were first registered, from 1 April 2006 externally mounted, nearside and offside mirrors for use by the examiner or any person supervising the test must be fitted.


In the case of a category B+E vehicle first used on or after the 1 October 2003 the following additional standards will apply:


The cargo compartment of the trailer must consist of a closed box body which is at least as wide and as high as the towing vehicle; the closed box body may also be slightly less wide than the towing vehicle provided that the view to the rear is only possible by use of the external rear-view mirrors of the towing vehicle.

Source - Driving Standard Agency

Practical test online booking and appointment confirmations changes

Now onwards you can receive your driving test booking confirmation details online. While registering yourself for driving test you will need to provide a contact email address in case if you want to book or change your practical test online in case of change in circumstances. While booking practical test online you are required to produce your -

• Theory test pass date and certificate number
• Credit or debit card details
• valid Great Britain or Northern Ireland provisional driving licence number.

There is no need to bring your appointment confirmation to the test centre on the day of your practical test.

Examinee can check details of practical test for past, present and future bookings, along with venue, date and time. If you want to check your practical test booking online, you must produce two of the following three details:

• A valid provisional driving licence number of Great Britain or Northern Ireland
• Reference number of an application
• Pass certificate number of theory test.

Examinee can make changes in your practical test if it is related to date and time. You will have to pay a supplementary fee if you modify the test booking within three clear working days of your original test date. You must produce two of the following three details if you want to change your practical test:

• A valid provisional driving licence number of Great Britain or Northern Ireland
• Reference number of an application
• Pass certificate number of theory test.

Examinee can cancel your practical test booking without losing your fee if it is more than three clear working days before the test date. You must produce two of the following three details if you want to cancel your practical test.

• A valid provisional driving licence number of Great Britain or Northen Ireland
• Reference number of an application
• Pass certificate number of theory test.

On your practical test examination day, you need to carry few documents to the driving test centre without which you can lose your fee.

• An appropriately insured and licensed vehicle.
• The appropriate theory test pass certificate.
• Both parts of your photo card licence.
• If you have an old-style paper licence, you must take your signed driver licence and a valid passport - no other form of photographic identification will be accepted
• You must present your compulsory basic training certificate (CBT) for both modules of the motorcycle test.
• You must present your motorcycle module one test pass certificate for module two of the motorcycle test.
Source: direct .gov.uk

How To Choose A Driving Instructor?

In the UK, only Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs), and licenced instructors under training, can give instructions. It is illegal for anyone else to charge you for driving lessons. Two types of badge are issued by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) for display in tuition vehicles. A green, octagonal badge shows the instructor is fully qualified and approved. A pink, triangular badge shows the instructor is licenced under training and is not yet fully qualified.

The DSA authorised ADIs should be having the following qualifications.

• Must be having a full driving license for the last 4 years.
• Passed successfully the complex theory test
• Registered with DSA.

A good driving instructor must be

• Reliable
• Punctual
• Should have a good reputation/references
• Registered with DSA
• And a well maintained car

Take absolutely no notice of pass rates at all. They are so easy to fake, twist, abuse they should not be taken as any guide to how good the instructor is. If an instructor is prepared to show you the report they recieved from the Driving Standards Agency, then you can have a good look at it and make your own mind up, but even then it may not be an accurate reflection of their performance.

A 100% pass rate may mean that the instructor has got all of his customers through their test. What it doesn't say is that out of the 10, 9 of them took it more than 3 times in order to pass! Or that they have only had 1 customer. Or in the worst cases their first customer to test has passed, so for the rest of that year they have removed their badge from the window so that as far as the DSA can tell they only had 1 customer all year.

A good driving instructor? Book your driving lesso should provide you with advice on the following

• All aspects of driving
• When to appear for your driving test
• How to prepare for theory test
• Finding the best way to practice and improve your driving skills
• Understanding The Highway Code, road signs and marking
• Driving tips and skills and guide you to drive safely
• Improving your hazard perception skills

The price is always the first question we are asked, and the average price for a one hour driving lesson around the UK at the moment seems to be vary. So visit our site and choose best instructors avilable among all.

Important factors to consider -

• For how long have he/she been a driving instructor?
• Is ADI fully qualified? (i.e. Green Badge Holder)
• What is your preference male and female instructor ?
• Same instructor will be available for the complete course?
• Duration of one lesson
• Types of car, age of cars, are they dual controlled?
• Same car for every lesson?
• Individual pick up service
• Lessons on weekends
• Discounts on block booking?
• Which centre does he/she use?
• Average pass rate?

Looking for driving instructor free quote? Book your driving lesson with local driving instructor, driving schools. We provide you the best driving instructor all over the uk. With us you can get your driving licence with ease, and you will guided by our experienced professionals. Visit driving instructor website here.

Get free quote for choosing a good driving instructor here. You will get here all driving maneuvers or driving instructions you need during driving a vehicle.

Attempting driving practical test? First choose a right driving instructor

If you are a learner for driving any vehicle, being taught by a Professional driving instructor is highly important. Today many family members or friends helping a learner driver will say "I can teach driving lessons in the same way as the professional instructor does!!" But the fact is many professional drivers sometimes fail to do so as they have bad driving habits.

For example: a large number of drivers do not use the interior mirror while driving. Also they do not rotate hands positioned on the steering wheel correctly.

An expert driving instructor knows safe driving rules, and will teach you to drive safely. Always some learners are nervous while driving, so these experts should know how to handle these types of learners.

While choosing the driving instructor, don’t go for the cheapest option. Always give priority to those to whom you go by reference. Referred driving instructor is the best way to search the professional instructor. Always discuss with friends before you choose driving instructor.

During these lessons, the learner driver needs to remember what they have been taught by their driving instructor and should accordingly follow the same methods into practice. Compressing as many lessons as possible in a short period of time may not be good for all learners. If time and money allow, the learner should try to book in at least one lesson per week with a driving instructor and preferably two, for 1-2 hours per session.

When the driving instructor feels that the learner is ready for the full practical driving test, it is always good to perform a mock test. This will involve the driving instructor to act as the examiner and for the learner driver to take instruction and execute a number of procedures that will be given, such as turning the car in the road. This will give the learner a good example of what to expect on the actual test, so that he can be prepared as well as possible.

Finding the right driving school is important for succeeding in learning to drive and passing your practical driving test. It is important to find a suitable local driving instructor that makes you feel comfortable and confident while you are learning to drive.

123driving.co.uk provides you with all the information of driving course and related driving activities. It also provides free driving lesson booking service for students looking for local driving instructors, ADI, schools within your local area.

Reasons for failure in driving practical test

Most of the people fail driving test each year, though DSA publishes the reasons why learner drivers fail in practical theory test still many of us don’t pay much attention to it.

However, you can avoid this by taking enough driving lessons and practice from your driving instructor. You should always give the test when your instructor feels you are well prepared. Do not ever give the test, just to gain experience. Following are the areas where is more likely to fall short of the DSA standards.

• Reversing around a corner incorrectly.
• Problems with parking
• Driving too slowly
• Hesitation causing delay, usually by not pulling out promptly at junctions
• Not making effective observations and poor judgment when emerging out of side roads
• Failure to make effective use of mirrors
• Incorrect road position, usually on bends, and poor lane discipline on roundabouts
• Failure to move away correctly from stationary positions
• Poor steering control, such as when making left or right turns.

Motorcyclist Driving faults in practical test :

• Failure to perform a 'u' turn correctly;
• Inadequate control at slow speed;
• Incorrect or inadequate hand-signals.
• The list of faults highlighted above is by no means exhaustive.     

 You should, as indicated previously, study carefully the Rules of the Road and get as much practice as possible, in all types of traffic situations, in preparation for your driving test.

Minimum ages and rules for learner drivers and riders

Before you learn to drive or ride a new vehicle make sure you know about the rules and restrictions that apply to you. Different vehicles have different minimum ages and restrictions.
It is important to learn safe driving practice from the beginning of your driving career because bad habits are hard to break.

It is unlikely that anyone except an approved driving instructor (ADI) would have the experience, knowledge and training to teach you properly. Learning safe driving habits from the start will improve the safety of yourself and other road users.

Minimum age you can take a test

You can take your driving test once your provisional license becomes valid.
Normally, for car drivers, the earliest date your provisional license can become valid is your 17th birthday, however you can apply for the license up to three months before your 17th birthday.

So, if you apply for your provisional license before you are 17 you will still have to wait until your birthday before you can take your theory test.

Motorcyclists Direct access scheme

Direct access is a scheme which allows a person over the age of 21 to avoid the two year/25 kW restriction by taking a test on a machine of at least 35 kW (46.6 bhp). A pass allows you to ride any size of bike. Any instruction given on a machine that exceeds the normal learner motorcycle specification must be supervised at all times by a certified motorcycle instructor who should be in radio contact. You should also wear fluorescent or reflective clothing and follow all other provisional license restrictions.

Choosing a driving instructor

In the UK, only Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs), and licensed instructors under training, can give instructions. It is illegal for anyone else to charge you for driving lessons. Two types of badge are issued by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) for display in tuition vehicles. A green, octagonal badge shows the instructor is fully qualified and approved. A pink, triangular badge shows the instructor is licensed under training and is not yet fully qualified.

The DSA authorized ADIs should be having the following qualifications.

• Must be having a full driving license for the last 4 years.
• Passed successfully the complex theory test
• Registered with DSA.

A good driving instructor must be

• Reliable
• Punctual
• Should have a good reputation/references
• Registered with DSA
• And a well maintained car

Take absolutely no notice of pass rates at all. They are so easy to fake, twist, abuse they should not be taken as any guide to how good the instructor is. If an instructor is prepared to show you the report they received from the Driving Standards Agency, then you can have a good look at it and make your own mind up, but even then it may not be an accurate reflection of their performance.

A 100% pass rate may mean that the instructor has got all of his customers through their test. What it doesn't say is that out of the 10, 9 of them took it more than 3 times in order to pass! Or that they have only had 1 customer. Or in the worst cases their first customer to test has passed, so for the rest of that year they have removed their badge from the window so that as far as the DSA can tell they only had 1 customer all year.

A good driving instructor? Book your driving lesson should provide you with advice on the following

• All aspects of driving
• When to appear for your driving test
• How to prepare for theory test
• Finding the best way to practice and improve your driving skills
• Understanding The Highway Code, road signs and marking
• Driving tips and skills and guide you to drive safely
• Improving your hazard perception skills

The price is always the first question we are asked, and the average price for a one hour driving lesson around the UK at the moment seems to be vary. So visit our site and choose best instructors available among all.

Important factors to consider -

• For how long have he/she been a driving instructor?
• Is ADI fully qualified? (i.e. Green Badge Holder)
• What is your preference male and female instructor ?
• Same instructor will be available for the complete course?
• Duration of one lesson
• Types of car, age of cars, are they dual controlled?
• Same car for every lesson?
• Individual pick up service
• Lessons on weekends
• Discounts on block booking?
• Which centre does he/she use?
• Average pass rate?

Looking for driving instructor free quote? Book your driving lesson with local driving instructor, driving schools. We provide you the best driving instructor all over the uk. With us you can get your driving license with ease, and you will guided by our experienced professionals. Visit driving instructor website here.

Get free quote for choosing a good driving instructor here. You will get here all driving maneuvers or driving instructions you need during driving a vehicle.