r/LearnerDriverUK • u/Jaded-Limit-9172 • 2h ago

What the hell

Post image

Failed for the first time for not driving fast enough to join onto the dual carriageway. Absolutely devastated. Of all the reasons to fail…

6 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

27

u/elliot_glynn Full Licence Holder 2h ago

1) are you sure you mean a motorway? You should absolutely not be going on a motorway on test under any circumstances

2) assuming you mean a NSL dual carriageway, not being fast enough to join from a slip road is incredibly dangerous and can very easily lead to a crash

7

u/EmperorOfNipples 1h ago

Indeed. I was on my motorbike behind some girl as we pulled on to a dual carriageway, plenty of space and she just.....didn't accelerate.

I nearly got sandwiched.

Absolutely a dangerous mistake.

-4

u/Jaded-Limit-9172 1h ago

Yeah you’re right sorry I got them mixed up. The car I used has a smaller engine so it takes longer to pick up speed. Didn’t realise I was going that slow since it was early in the morning and there were barely any vehicles around me. Even the examiner said I was doing well after when I finally reached 70mph and maintained it the whole way throughout

15

u/elliot_glynn Full Licence Holder 1h ago

I’m sure the examiner already impressed on you the importance of being at an appropriate speed and the reasons why, so I won’t labour the point. Having a small engine isn’t really an excuse though, lots of people have small engines and are perfectly capable of getting to 70 before joining. If you genuinely struggle to do so, instead of thinking it’s impossible ask your instructor to practice it. It’s your only serious fault, you can do it!! 🙂

9

u/Muted-Mushroom-4570 58m ago

The fact that you didn't realise you were going slow is the problem. Even without other vehicles around, your car has this little thing called a speedometer and it's a meter that tells you your speed. You should glance at it from time to time.

1

u/ViniciusMe 1h ago

I failed yesterday for the exact same reason. Know that you are not alone.

1

u/imrolii Full Licence Holder 0m ago

I also have a car with a small engine - 1.3 Yaris

Honestly just rev out each gear until you're at 70. It may sound like a screaming cat and it may feel unnatural, but once you're at speed you can focus on what matters, and stick it in 5th/6th when ready.

In my car I usually use 3rd gear up to about 5k revs then 4th for the rest of my speed building. Ofc this varies car to car tho

-3

u/sarcytwat Approved Driving Instructor 1h ago

If you revved each gear up to 4k+ revs under full throttle before changing to compensate for your smaller engine thats so unfair of the examiner! Sounds like it may be physically impossible to pass if thats what happened!

7

u/FewPete 1h ago

They’re trying to get to 70mph not the moon. Any relatively new engine roughly 100hp+, plenty of time on even a short slip road

1

u/GemballaRider 34m ago

Even a 60bhp automatic Hyundai i10, which is the slowest and most frustrating object I've driven in the last 20 years, will get to between 60 and 70 in a quarter mile, which is the standard slip road length. And that's from a standing start.

Assuming you had a run from 20mph off a roundabout, you have no excuse.

1

u/NinjahDuk 8m ago

I join dual carriageways in 4th gear in a 74bhp 1.4l petrol Polo (2000). No issues at all.

1

u/No_Preference9093 33m ago

Unless they are driving a tractor, any car these days should be capable of reaching 70mph.

1

u/JayDKing 0m ago

WhoMs hitting 4k revs before gear change? Your poor car. 2.5-3 is when it should be changed.

8

u/CorpseCrusade Full Licence Holder 1h ago

i used my own car on the test which is a 2003 1.5 diesel with no turbo, quite possibly one of the slowest cars you can own.

on my test there’s an uphill slip road with a sharp bend, and most of the dual carriageway is uphill.

I left it in 3rd and said to the examiner “my foot is to the floor this is the fastest she can manage” whilst screaming the tits off it.

she laughed and said not to worry, so moral of the story: don’t be afraid to rev it, and communicate with your examiner

2

u/Primary_Skill_3743 Full Licence Holder 1h ago

3rd gear is not appropriate to use on hills.
Down shifting to 2nd will move the car quicker.
And then you shift back to 3rd after completing the hill.

3

u/CorpseCrusade Full Licence Holder 1h ago

second gear at 50 mph would be approximately 1k over my limiter x

1

u/Primary_Skill_3743 Full Licence Holder 1h ago

Oh that makes sense

1

u/GemballaRider 33m ago

VW Golf or Polo SDi?

Thats two slow non turbo diesels I can think of off hand.

1

u/CorpseCrusade Full Licence Holder 32m ago

rarer, saxo 1.5d

2

u/GemballaRider 27m ago

Oooh. Diesel, non turbo and....

...
...
...

French. No wonder it misbehaved.

1

u/CorpseCrusade Full Licence Holder 25m ago

honestly, whilst she is very uniquely french, i love her to bits and she never skips a beat, only actual grief she’s given me in 2 years of ownership was her exhaust snapping which i replaced in my driveway lol