When, as instructors, we are teaching people to drive we very often come across some common questions and myth's relating to the subject of the Northern Ireland Driving Test and what to expect. A lot of learners do trust the advice of friends, relatives and acquaintances in relation to what you can expect to be put through your paces on. Honestly, just ask your or any Qualified Driving Instructor! Most people you know only do one or maybe 2 tests in their lifetime. A Driving Instructor will have done hundreds depending on when they qualified with most doing anywhere from 60 to 100 a year. That level of experience brings with it some knowledge and understanding of the subject that most will never have.
In this short blog post I am going to try and give you a steer on some of the more common questions I have been asked in my time doing the job.
The Emergency Stop is NEVER sprung on the learner as a surprise. It might sound a bit weird but Examiners do pull you over and brief you before starting the mandatory process of testing your Emergency Stop procedure. It is never the case that it can be landed on you at any time during the test. It has to be done in a safe and controlled way/environment to keep you, the car, them and other road users safe. And, Yes, the Emergency Stop is something that needs to take place in every single test.
The Emergency Stop. Parallel Parking is not done between 2 parked cars closely parked together. One of my favourite misconceptions. You, the learner, are not expected to carry out a Parallel Park the same as an experienced driver would. You're a learner after all so a little leeway is given. Normally there is a considerable gap of 3-4 car lengths given to allow you space to carry out and complete the manoeuvre safely.
Parallel Parking Reversing into a Parking Bay is not done in a Public Car Park or between 2 parked cars. This ones an easy one to dispel. All Parking Bay exercises are carried out in the car park of one of the DVA's Driving Test Centre's. These spaces are specifically painted and used for test purposes only. There shouldn't be parked cars in or around the spaces either in order to keep things safe for everyone involved.
Bay Park Reverse Hill Starts are not what you think they are. Everybody thinks that a hill start is something you are marked on on a test. You will be asked to start on a hill at some point during your test. What you are actually being watched on is your ability to move the car off from the side of the road in a safe manner and in that scenario it becomes more about clutch control than actually starting on a hill. Get your clutch control right and moving the car uphill from a stopped position is a piece of cake.
Hill Starts Hesitation and Undue Hesitation are not the same thing. Another favourite. You are not hesitating if you are sitting stationary and you have no ability to move the car forward safely. That's just you awaiting a safe opportunity to make progress. And that is the key phrasing here "a safe opportunity to make progress". Undue Hesitation is defined by the driver "NOT MAKING PROGRESS WHEN THERE IS A CLEAR AND SAFE OPPORTUNITY TO PROCEED".
There are loads and loads of simple questions that a driver instructor is educated to help you understand. If you are in any doubt about anything take the time to reach out to them or ask them during your next lesson. That's what we are here for. Please use us as a resource as most of us are only to happy to answer and understand that there is never any such thing as a stupid question when it comes to driving, testing and driver safety.
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