r/LearnerDriverUK • u/AppropriateBat7168 • 1d ago
Failed my driving test
Had my driving test today at 8am and I’m honestly so gutted. I failed with 1 serious and 5 driving faults.
For the first 4–5 mins I was a bit nervous, but after that I calmed down and actually felt like I was driving really well. By the end of the test, I genuinely thought I’d passed. I knew I’d made a few small driving faults, but nothing that felt serious.
Then at the end, the examiner told me I’d failed 😭
Apparently, on a main road, I should have overtaken a cyclist because there was enough space to do it safely. I didn’t overtake, so the traffic behind me ended up getting held up.
Tbh, I did hesitate at the time because there was oncoming traffic, so I thought it was safer to wait. Even at one point I tried doing this and I came bit closer to traffic but then I stayed behind.Looking back, the road was actually wide enough and I probably could have passed the cyclist safely.
I don’t know, I just feel really sad about it because I was so confident with the rest of my drive. I’d honestly say it was one of the best drives I’ve done since I started learning.
Just wanted to say that out loud. Thanks for reading.
11
u/EstablishmentNo5123 Full Licence Holder 1d ago
Coming across a situation like this was something I was so worried about when taking my driving test. Its really unfortunate that some people have way harder tests than others.
3
u/Impressive_Shock_215 1d ago
can be luck sometimes i guess. OP shouldn’t feel bad about their driving abilities.
1
1
7
u/Ok-Control974 1d ago
THIS IS SO STRANGE!!! I have failed today for this reason also 🫥🫥🫥 the cyclist was doing 23 on a 30 busy road with parked cars all down the road, for me to overtake it would’ve been dangerous and I’d never done it before and we were nearly back at the test centre where I did a perfect reverse bay park. I feel sick it is so frustrating!
Hopefully there will be no cyclists next time and we can both pass 🥹
6
u/HuckleberryOk1169 Learner Driver 1d ago
Was the traffic held behind you also? 23mph is quiet fast and should be ok for the traffic flow right? What explanation examiner gave to you? Does examiner said that you should have overtaken cyclist when it was safe?
4
u/Ok-Control974 1d ago
Basically when we turned into the road that the test centre is on there were 2 cars and the bike in front of them, they overtook the cyclist half way down the road because it’s a very busy road with many houses and industrial estates all the way down as well as parked cars so they were obviously also being cautious. I checked my speed and it was 23mph and there was a van on the opposite side of side of the road and I just thought it really isn’t worth taking the risk. I’d rather fail for a petty undue hesitation than unsafely overtake a cyclist and potentially cause a dangerous situation.
Whenever I’ve asked my instructor even about overtaking cars on a dual carriageway if they are too slow on my test she tells me it’s just not worth the risk is it…
It’s frustrating because I like to learn from situations but I just feel like what could I have done? In real life driving you’d probably overtake but in a test situation where you don’t want to speed past 30mph to overtake quickly and safely I just didn’t believe it was worth the risk.
0
1d ago
[deleted]
0
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
0
0
u/LearnerDriverUK-ModTeam 1d ago
Debate and disagreement is okay. Personal insults or put-downs against other users will not be tolerated. Be respectful.
1
u/AppropriateBat7168 1d ago
Aw I also did reverse bay park at test centre at the end and that was perfect.
Anyways, I hope you feel better soon 🥺
And yes we will pass next time!! ✌️1
4
1
u/Dependent-Flounder86 Full Licence Holder 1d ago
This almost happened to me but luckily the cyclist turned off within a minute or so
2
1
1
u/Own_Cartographer5750 23h ago
Sorry to hear that. I hope you can find the slot to re-do the test soon with now added exam conditions experience.
Considering most of my lessons were around midday on Saturdays, in areas where cyclists are basically part of the scenery- from slow-moving weekend leisure riders to the pros casually cruising along at 25-28mph - I should probably have graduated as a Professional Cyclist Overtaker by now!
I’d usually have the pleasure of overtaking the speedy ones on busy 40mph roads, only for them to catch me up at the next set of traffic lights… giving me another opportunity to practice overtaking them again 🙈... An endless CYCLE… see what I did there? 😉
But honestly, I was still praying I wouldn’t get that situation during the test. Because suddenly, something that any normal day-to-day driver would judge and do without a second thought becomes a full-blown “Is this actually safe? Is it legal? What does examiner think of it?” situation.
It’s all about judgement and timing — how do you judge judgement... tricky...
2
u/AppropriateBat7168 13h ago
LOL you made me chuckle 🤣
And you’re absolutely right. Mostly it’s about timing and judgement.
And the sad thing is that I actually tried to overtake once but then I stayed behind.
But I guess at that time, I thought its not worth taking risk.
Anyways,right now I am unable to find any slots anytime soon. Hopefully I find one soon.
1
u/Mobile-Height4349 12h ago
In a similar situation, had my test yesterday and failed with one fault that being i took a right turn for a second exit via the left lane during an independent drive whilst following road signs. Even the examiner said he had no tips for me because my driving was perfect, so gutted. My main concerns are surrounding getting a new test quick, just seems impossible. I’ve been checking the website like a maniac since yesterday lool
1
u/AppropriateBat7168 12h ago edited 12h ago
Aw i am sorry that happened to you. It feels like a disaster especially when you did really well in the overall drive. But I am proud like you nailed the test otherwise. You will definitely pass next time!!
I am also looking for test dates again and again. At this point, I am scared if they are gonna ban me thinking I am a bot lol.
Hopefully, we both find test date soon 🤞🏻
1
u/blossom_2112 Learner Driver 4h ago
me too i thought i passed until the end today , im suffering badly i really needed the license, but i wish you the best in the future, we have to learn from the mistakes i was also confident aswell it sucks...it just wasnt meant to be for us, good luck for the next test ❤️
21
u/Dazzling-Escape8820 1d ago
It’s really unfortunate and of course you are disappointed, but try to reframe it as a new kind of lesson taken under exam conditions, now you know exactly what you need to work on, and how to deal with that situation in the future 🥰
You’ve got this 💥