earning What is it about the word test that makes our hearts speed up and our hands clammy? Could it be a regression to our childhood and the sometimes recurring nightmare that you’ve got an exam at school you haven’t revised for? Well, in our line of work tests are back and there’s no getting around it I’m afraid. But this time, you pass that lorry or bus test, you’ve got that licence for life! So yes the reward is great, but is it the end of the world if you don’t pass the first time? Probably not. Let’s dive deeper.
I have been watching people train and take tests nearly every day for 9 years now and I’ve learnt a lot from observing what works, and what maybe doesn’t.
How people set themselves up for driving test success
- They put in the work. Driving Instructors know when they’re being listened to. They also know when a student is actually taking in what’s being said and absorbing it. They improve each and every drive with less mistakes and they become more confident in their ability. This is then positively reinforced by praise from the instructor – so you know you’re on the right track!
- They get to training on time, if not early, and are always ready to go. If you’re rushing to get to your course each day and maybe run late, that starts your day off on the wrong foot. You’re flustered and a bit all over the place. Not the ideal headspace to be in to then go out and calmly drive a large vehicle to a high standard.
- There’s pressure, but not too much pressure. Yes it’s important to each person for whatever their reason for being there, but it’s not life and death, and there is always another chance.
At NDC we’ve seen people cry before tests, throw up, have panic attacks – quite an array of big physical responses to the pressure they’ve put on themselves! But if you’ve put in the work during training and tried your very best, the universe has a way of rewarding those people. If it doesn’t happen the first time, we make sure at NDC a retest doesn’t break the bank and you can take that retest as soon as possible. I can confirm after failing two car tests at 17, the sun still came up the next day… - The DVSA is not out to get you. They don’t have quota’s they need to hit for failing people. As our wonderful Chief Instructor Paul McIntyre says – “They don’t need to see the perfect drive, they just need to see a safe drive”. Amen to that. An examiner will have a far nicer working day passing all their driving tests and seeing the excited and grateful emotions that brings, so why would they set out to make people miserable? They don’t believe that.
A few tips to help you along the way with the other members of your driving test in the high-vis and clipboard (now iPad…)
They may try and make conversation about why you’re doing this or the Great British weather to ease your nerves. That’s great, but if you need to concentrate and you know from training that conversation leads to mistakes, don’t be afraid to tell them you drive better in silence. It will help you and them, because we all like being saved making small talk now and then ayy.
Secondly, also never be afraid to ask the examiner to repeat an instruction. If you’re not sure where they want you to go at the upcoming junction, ASK AGAIN! There are always clues on what lane to be in, indication needed in the command by the examiner. Make life easy for yourself and clarify if you need to.
Did we mention we have a YouTube channel? Since this is a hot topic we all relate to, of course we’ve made a video about it. Two actually.
I’ll finish this driving test focussed post with some personal thoughts that I know are equally shared with my colleagues.
My goodness it’s hard watching people fail. I feel the pass or fail emotions every time. Luckily my office isn’t in the direct eye line of the main office and returning students or I would crumble 3 out of 5 days of the week I reckon. I can’t help it, I’m a romantic for this process and when it goes ‘wrong’, your job then turns into a supportive friend rather than a training provider. You pick them up, dust them off and give them the confidence to know they can do it next time. Often they do.
Around 6 years ago when I worked in the main office I remember a lovely man called Michael who’d already failed once or twice if memory serves, paying for his retest with the largest number of pound coins I’d ever seen on our desk. Another student saw and heard the pound coin commotion on the desk and jokingly asked “have you raided your child’s piggy bank?” and I’ll never forget the look he gave him and said “Yes”, followed by saying “this is my last chance.” Gosh even writing this now makes me well up a bit. I watched the clock for the next hour until he returned and looked out the office window, nose practically pressed on the glass to see the result.
He passed and the office collectively celebrated with him like it was all of our tests. The day we don’t care that much about test results, is the day I’ll give up. But trust me, that’s no time soon. I even put a pass bell for students to ring in the main office, so I may not always see the success, but I’ll always hear it.
