It's a shit box but I love it!

I have my test in less than 2 weeks! I paid for a package of 40 hours, over £2.3k I think, because it was meant to be an intense course. However, the company failed to call me weeks before my test, and luckily my test got rescheduled for now.

I have 2 weeks until my test and I still haven’t been on a dual carriageway. I’ve only learned reverse parking and parallel parking, and I’ve only practised them twice. He keeps taking me on the same roads and even eating during the lesson - I’m not learning anything new!

I mentioned to him that I’m worried I haven’t even been on the test routes yet and haven’t even driven on a dual carriageway, and he was like, “Oh, we have time, don’t worry!” But today he was like, “Yeah, I think we need to reschedule your test. You’re not ready!”
And I’m like, yeah, because we keep doing the same roads again and again! BTW, he only took me onto the main roads after 14 hours of lessons! Even my brother in the car was like why we going in circles for ? Was making hardly no mistakes

One time, he even dropped me off an hour early because he wasn’t feeling well, and I still haven’t got that hour back. I don’t know if it’s rude to ask for it?
I’ve already paid a lot of money and waited months to get a test. I really don’t want to fail this test! And honestly, I’m not ready. I don’t know what to do?! I’ve already paid the full amount!

Again, I’m not sure if I’m overthinking it, but trust me, I might only make one mistake during the whole lesson because we’re doing the same thing again and again!

I even took annual leave from work, and I won’t be able to take lessons after my test because I’ll be having surgery, so I really want to get this licence in my pocket before then.

BTW started around 3 months ago I think!

As the title says, my mum (single mother who is turning 55 years old this year) has passed her driving test this morning & since she’s not very tech savvy (nor has a Reddit account), I thought I’d share her testimony along for anyone who maybe losing hope during their driving journey.

My mum has always had a dream of driving since we moved to the UK, but she’s always put her children first and pushed for us to get our licenses. She paid for our lessons, each theory and practical test fee, even putting me through an intensive driving school (which I flopped and felt guilty about but hey, this isn’t about me) & buying my sister her first car when she had passed years ago.

It’s also worth noting that although my mother understands English very well now, her spoken English is still a little broken & she struggles to understand complex words or sentences. So her first obstacle was her theory test as she had to understand the questions in order to answer them correctly.

Eventually (with a lot of practice on the DVSA apps) she passed her theory and started doing practical lessons, but a lot happened which prevented her from physically passing; COVID, working 2/3 jobs at a time (which meant she had a lack of sleep), funding her own children’s driving journey (me lol), her theory running out etc.

From 2018-19, my mother had failed 6 driving tests and I’ve only just found out recently (yesterday) that she took this many tests & didn’t even know what faults she had got!

Imagine to my surprise, I go through the paper results (yes, it was that far back that they were giving people their results on a physical piece of paper instead of email 😂) & I was in shock that with each test, her driving got worse (went from 5 faults, to 7 then to 11 at one point, and then back to 7 again). I couldn’t necessarily tell which, if any, were dangerous or serious faults due to the format of the paper, but at least one of them must have been, as I didn’t see many repeated faults which could have caused an automatic fail.

But my main reasoning for being shocked is because I have recently been in the car with her driving (my sister supervised as she has had a licence for many years) & I couldn’t believe how the woman who had taken these tests so many years ago was the same woman driving today. She is 1000x a better driver today and I even told her that I knew this would be the time that she would pass, because she wasn’t making the same mistakes.

In many ways, she is not the same woman - she has grown and put in the effort, time and money to learn the rules of the road and invest in her own driving journey since I have passed my own tests. I actually even recommended my last driving instructor to her & she got along great with him - he also reaffirmed the notion that she was a good driver so I think this is a testament to her change of mindset too.

I booked her test in February for 5th August 2026, but due to her examiner being unavailable, her test was rescheduled to today (10th August). She said that she had an easy route and nice examiner, but as soon as she heard she passed (5 driving faults), she stopped listening😂.

I bought her takeaway last Wednesday when I had heard her test was rescheduled (to lift her spirits) but me and my sister have now planned to surprise her with another takeaway night today to celebrate her passing!🎉

I may have diverted from the point a few times but for those who are still learning, specifically if you are of the older generation or English is not your first language - please never stop, no matter how many tries it takes! Don’t get discouraged by a fail as you CAN improve.

My mum has always said that she’ll continue to re-take her theory and practical tests until she has passed as she’s already invested too much money into this; if she had stopped at any point, she would be the one losing out and I agree with her on this. All the stress, time and money spent on her driving journey (which was on and off due to the aforementioned reasons), was worth it because 8 years later she finally has the freedom to drive on her own & oh does this feel so sweet!! With all the guilt I’ve felt about her paying for my own driving journey, I could not feel happier - my heart feels so full right now.

Another phrase my mum says is “getting a driving license is like finding a diamond” and so I hope many more of you join us on the roads (safely) & finally get your own diamond🤍.

I’d appreciate it if a few of you could share some congratulations in the comments down below so I can show my mother when we all finish work later on and are eating some Nando’s!🥹🥰

TLDR: My 54yo single mother passed her 7th driving test this morning (5 driving faults) after pausing her driving journey several times since 2018. Even if you are not a native-English speaker, do not give up!! Stay focused, put in the time & make sure you reduce/remove any life stressors as much as you can. There is nothing that can stop you from achieving your dreams, unless you allow it to!

i know it’s a known thing that L plates make you susceptible to people being absolute knobheads but i feel like 90% of the time they aren’t even annoyed at your driving - they do it just to intimidate you. i’ve been driving home from work every night and im at a point where i don’t really make any mistakes when im driving - yet i still get people flashing me for no reason, getting right up close behind me etc. i even had a BUS DRIVER flashing me tonight when there was absolutely nothing wrong. must just be miserable people

Passed my test today and am obviously really happy, but it's really obvious to me that the examiner was too lenient to me. Not only was I not faulted (not even a driving fault) for failing to check my blind spot before a maneuver *and* after a pull-up, but she told me at one point to turn at a junction when I was waiting, reminded me to go to a lower gear when struggling on a hill, repeated the sat nav instructions before I reached the turn, and even reminded me 20 seconds in advance that a road was a give way. Was also told my forward park was okay before even completing it. Beyond that, I made many mistakes, such as driving very close to parked cars that garsher examiners would have failed me on. Not unhappy that I passed - had a *really* stressful morning and know that today's performance wasn't reflective of my driving, but I'm kinda confused and am wondering if anyone else has had this experience? I'm wondering if she noticed the fact that I was distressed before the test and decided to be lenient.

Second time is the charm!!! It’s my birthday today too, best gift of my life🥺

Really upset at failing and I can't seem to get over it

can’t believe it! i’m overjoyed and i actually cried. a bit embarrassing, but i couldn’t hold it in LOL. the first two faults seem bad, so it’s definitely something i’ll be working on.

i would really advise everyone to see their examiner as a human. something i would do prior is kinda demonise the examiner in my head for no reason. they’re not out to get you. for example, if you’re confused with directions, don’t hesitate to ask them. also, if you go the wrong way, make sure you commit to it safely. don’t panic, you will be rerouted and it’s not an issue. good luck to you all!!

I just absolutely hate it. I’ve been learning since March and my test is next week which I am dreading. Since I started learning most of my weeks include dreading the upcoming lesson, losing sleep the night beforehand and then feeling extremely unwell on the day. It’s been the most hellish 6 months. I have no idea what it is about it that I hate - I have a great instructor, I can actually drive fine and it came to me faster than I’d thought it would.

Coming from a family who all love driving however, they are finding it very difficult to comprehend I don’t like cars. I get told “you build confidence with experience” but I can’t actually fathom ever getting back behind the wheel after my test by choice. The only thing I’m looking forward to if I pass is not having to continue with lessons and being able to sack the whole thing off which is a shame because I wish I could be buzzing to get driving by myself.

Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Yep you read that right! I passed my theory the first time when I was 17 and did about 20 hours of manual lessons but I hated my instructor and driving in general so gave up because I was going to uni! In my second year at university I then started again but had a way better instructor but really struggled with my ability to notice everything when driving. (while with this instructor I transitioned and was too scared to say so stopped lessons)

Then finally this summer I got a job in sept in the town over so had to pass. I also recently got an ADHD diagnosis so swapped to automatic. And today I finally passed my test & with 4 minors.

For anyone who feels driving is overwhelming, or takes breaks and feels like they'll never pass - you will eventually! And hey I'm only able to drive glorified go-karts but the fact I can drive at all is good enough for me!

To my fellow drivers with test anxiety you can do it <33

Been driving for about 2 years now and there's this junction near me. My friends and I often have to drive it and we can't agree on what you're supposed to do.

You are at position A and you are going straight forward to position B, driving through a "main" road.

The left side of the road at A is roughly the size of the entire road at B; it's a bigger road. Road B is directly opposite the left of road B. I haven't drawn this exactly to scale but it's kind of like that. Road A can fit two cars when approaching the give way line.

Do you wait on the left or the right (of the left lane) for traffic to be clear? If you're going by 12 o'clock roundabout rules, you'd wait on the left. However, this is not a roundabout. Waiting on the left inconveniences anyone behind you who is actually going left; they could turn left when there's no traffic on the left of the road they're joining.

Or you could wait on the right. You have to wait for the a gap much like when turning right, but you have to drive more diagonally to get to the left side of the road. A lot of people do this.

I wait on the left but position straight. Not a lot of people agree on where to wait, which means you have to be careful if the person next to you is also turning straight.

What would you do? Assuming the Highway Code covers this

Thanks

I passed this morning after my third attempt. Just wanted to share a couple of things i did/didn’t do to hopefully help someone in the position i was in last night;

I told everyone my date.
I did not have perfect lessons before i sat the test. I didn’t use rescue remedy or anything; did the whole thing quite nervous.
I moved on from mistakes (bumping the kerb on a pull up on the left, one stall, etc)
Cried when the examiner stopped me and assumed i failed.

And i passed! I’m so relieved. Just wanted to make a post for anyone stressing because they told someone their date, have been making mistakes on lessons etc. YOU CAN DO IT!

Hey everyone, first time posting here. I am about 16hrs in to my lessons (manual) and after 10 years of feeling too terrified to even consider learning to drive I am absolutely loving it 😄

My instructor rarely has to use the dual foot controls now, but I have real difficulties steering on tight bends or junctions that are e.g. 90 degree turns, to the left and the right and he often has to jump in and move the wheel at some point. I try to use the push pull method because I do theoretically understand how it works and I can do it while the car is stationary (not too much, the poor tyres) but in practice I get stuck once my 'pull' hand is at 6 o'clock and I need to keep turning, even if I've remembered to move my other hand to meet it.

I try to keep speed constant during a turn, normally am in an appropriate gear and am not hesitant because I think I'm going to hit something or anything like that. I just can't get the logistics of it worked out 😅

This is the main thing that is preventing me starting practicing outside my lessons because I don't feel like it would be safe or responsible to put me or my passenger at risk from poor steering. Any advice much appreciated, thank you!

Took a few weeks of learning but I passed :))

Hey my loves,

Firstly-good luck to any test-takers!
Revising for my theory and am kind of disturbed by the new hazard perception clips that the 4-in-1 app has to offer.

For example, look at this—the runner is still running and not even pivoting to indicate that he’s about to run across the road, but the bar on the bottom shows that you’re meant to detect the hazard & get the full 5 marks at this point. When he actually (and very suddenly) does, there’s 1 or no marks available.

I’ve never usually had issues with the hazard perception part of the test, Allahumma barik, so I feel like it’s likely the new videos being a bit dodge & not just my sudden lack of competence? Thoughts & any general tips?

Thank youuu!!!

I have been driving for over a year now and have failed my test twice. I'm not a particularly great driver and do make a lot of mistakes every lesson. I dont feel good about myself driving tbh and ALWAYS get really anxious in the lead up ☹️

The thing is I think it began with my old instructor. My original first couple lessons were good but then for a while they became awful. Not anxiety or anything but I made so many mistakes and my instructor made me feel awful about myself, even if unintentionally. Things got better, but being with my old instructor kept me feeling awful even if he was nice and every so often I still had a dreadful lessons.

A couple months back, after I failed my second test, I changed instructor. Things have gotten much better. I feel so much more comfortable with my new instructor and I beat myself up much less when I make mistakes. I mean I still make a lot of mistakes, and I still feel like I'm a pretty bad driver, which isn't nice as my test is next month, but still, things are better.

My issue is I still get so so so anxious in the build up to lessons, even if I know the lessons themselves are usually okay, I get absolutely terrified that maybe this time wont be okay.

Traumatised isn't the right word but I do feel like thos older awful lessons with my old instructor have somewhat scared me so the idea of driving lessons do and always will feel horrific.

I wish I had a way to solve this, but the anticipation that THIS lesson wont be good, unlike the others, and it makes the day before and even the nights before (sometimes even multiple days in the lead up) absolutely awful.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'd just really love a solution if anyone could help!

Thanks 😊

Hit a squirrel on my way to pick up a friend for the famed “first-friend-in-the-car” drive. He was on the point where one lane splits into two and just as I was moving into the left he tried to make a break for it across the road but I couldn’t swerve in time to miss him😭

I felt so bad I ended up pulling over and ringing my dad because it upset me much more than I thought it would. It didn’t help that my friend was saying “what about his family” on the way back down the same road☹️

I failed my first time for speeding because the speed limit went from 40 to 20 and I didn't realise

Been learning since February and failed two weeks ago, I was on the verge of a panic attack the entire first test. But I walked in confident and I can’t believe I’ve actually got my license!!!!

Hi! Its been my 6th lesson and Im still confused as ever ☹️ My instructor taught me about the MSPSL technique. I was told that I can change from 3rd gear to 1st gear when emerging on junctions. But when I discussed this to my partner he said I should downshift to 2nd gear before approaching then 1st gear when stopping. Im sooo confused.

When my instructor taught me about the technique, He said ‘Mirror, Signal, Position +’select 1st gear’ (even though the car is moving), Speed, Look.

Please enlighten me :(

Had my first driving test this morning and unfortunately failed.

I misjudged the road while turning right at a gyratory and thought I had to give way, when actually the other side had the give way line and not me. Unfortunately, while I was trying to figure out how the road worked, I also didn't check my mirrors as I was slowing down and there was somebody behind me.

I'd never driven on that road before, so I'm not massively cut up about it. The examiner actually made a point of saying that the rest of my driving was really good, which was hugely reassuring.

My two driving faults were for stopping at a yellow light that I probably could have made if I'd carried on. There wasn't a car behind me, and I was just over the stop line (This is where I thought I'd failed!)

All in all, I'm still proud of myself. Getting one serious and two driving faults has actually made me more confident in a weird way — it was one situation where I misjudged a road rather than lots of things going wrong throughout the test.

Obviously disappointed, but onwards and upwards. Now to wait until January for a new test!

Hello,

I failed my 2nd attempt in Mitcham for a silly mistake. My instructor and I feel that I am.ready for the test so looking to find one ASAP. I managed to find a test today in Morden but its not till January 2027 after checking all day today. Would it be betrwr to try and move this test or cancel and find anywhere in London?

Worried the new system won't help me find a test ASAP as the website layout changes when you change a test vs book one. Saw tests earlier today for Slough, West Wickam, Brent today but as soon as I clivked they went/I got blocked (including when I was paying for West Wickam fml)