True or False?

md99

Anan1 wrote:

While a bad driver can pass the test, a good driver won't fail it. Face it, the test is a pretty basic affair. Anyone incapable of passing it is a bad driver, period.

Who agrees with this?

Car Mad

md99 wrote:

Who agrees with this?

depends how many times you try it:D If you cant pass the test within 3 goes you shouldnt be on the road, but saying that some people are really good drivers but when it comes to the test they get stage fright and cant drive to save ther life:cool:

Guy:Incognito

You could maybe pass one and at a stretch two fails off as somethign tester related (bad mood, general moan, dislike of people with all their fingers still attached etc) or just you having an off day. After that no, you shouldnt be on the road. So you should be passing on the 3rd go at the very putside and in excepional circumstances.


For the record, I passed first time. (in a 92 civic saloon that had been in a bit of a crash so to go straight the steering wheel was set a 90 degree turn to the right, so that it was alligned. My dad passed staright after me with the same tester and the same car)

Alun

I know someone who decided, after failing their test multiple times, that driving was just not for them and just gave up. He's otherwise a highly intelligent person, a much published author in the software engineering field with a Ph.D., but for some reason he just can't cope with processing all the multiple inputs that a good driver needs to do, gets in a tizz and freaks out. Strange really, but a clever decision on his part I think. I'm convinced that there are many other drivers on the road that fit into this category.

BostonB

md99 wrote:

Who agrees with this?

I don't. I've seen to many dodgy passes and fails over the years. Bad drivers passing and good drivers failing etc. Seems to be quite a lottery if you pass or fail. Quite a lot of driving comes down to common sense and making a judgement call, which can be quite subjective, and I don't see that the test allows for this. It leaves a lot up the discretion of the tester.

You have a different perspective on it when you've been driving a long time. You forget all your experience has come over time, and someones not going to pick that all up a year or two. That said people forget stuff after they do the test.

Guy:Incognito

Alun wrote:

I know someone who decided, after failing their test multiple times, that driving was just not for them and just gave up. He's otherwise a highly intelligent person, a much published author in the software engineering field with a Ph.D., but for some reason he just can't cope with processing all the multiple inputs that a good driver needs to do, gets in a tizz and freaks out. Strange really, but a clever decision on his part I think. I'm convinced that there are many other drivers on the road that fit into this category.

I see people regualarly that are having mini breakdowns , not to point fingers but they are often women. A lot of the time it comes in the form of severe hesitation at non signal controlled junctions. They go to pull out, panic,stop in the middle of the junction and freak out. They then can move till all traffic in a 1 mile radius comes to a complete stop.

ninty9er

The word capable in that sentence makes it true, whether the examiner passes them or not is often juast an issue of the mood he/she is in!!

Its a terrible test dating back to the days of yore in this country which has changed little since it was introduced.

It is outtdated, badly run and examined by overpaid, jobsworth, relics of civil servants.
Remember when they were going to go on strike when the gov tried to bring in other companies to clear the backlog?
Or why there have been no extra features on the driving test even when it is as outtdated as it is?

The test is a joke its not even a consistant joke judging by the wildy varying failure rates accross the country. The gov needs to grow a pair and get to grips with the public sector.

junkyard

False, I worked as a driver tester for two years and allowances have to be made for people who crack-up on the day.Some people are just bad candidates for testing full stop and can be very difficult to deal with. Others put on an act for the day and can be too cocky for their own good and are more likely to fail than the others. At the end of the day you have to make your own mind up and decide who passes and who fails. It is only a test and not set in stone so your going to have causalities along the way in the shape of dodgy drivers slipping through the net. I think as a general rule though there should be a follow-up test every 4 or 5 years to catch the few bad drivers who slip through and keep the rest on their toes. Most bad driving is a result of bad driving habits built up over the years and not checked on.

md99

66.67% are on my side, I'm glad to see I'm not going mad after all.

colm_mcm

it's very hard to see how good a driver is by just doing a test. more education is surely the key - some of it would have to go in. Hazard awareness and a persons ability to react to a situation are very hard to gauge by doing a short test.

maidhc

colm_mcm wrote:

it's very hard to see how good a driver is by just doing a test. more education is surely the key -

I see you are trying to educate drivers to the hidden dangers that lurk within Mondeo LXs!

Anan1

md99 wrote:

66.67% are on my side, I'm glad to see I'm not going mad after all.

Maybe I didn't explain myself properly, i'll try again. The test is a measure of basic competence behind the wheel, observation, positioning, reaction to hazards etc. These things are the foundations of being a good driver. The mere fact of having passed the test implies that the driver has mastered the basics of driving, no more. By the same token, an inability to pass the test demonstrates that the driver has not yet mastered the basics of driving. How could anybody describe this person as a "good driver"?

colm_mcm

maidhc wrote:

I see you are trying to educate drivers to the hidden dangers that lurk within Mondeo LXs!

especially ones with missing wheel trims

ninty9er

colm_mcm wrote:

especially ones with missing wheel trims

and of course what woud a Mondeo LX be without 4 arials:p

colm_mcm

Any time a Mondeo is behind me, I look out for front fog lights, if it has none, I'll know it's an LX model, If it's a rubbish colour like navy or maroon or green, I'll be especially careful whilst trying to cop any extra aeriels!

cantdecide

i passed first time but i believe being prepared isn't a guarantee of a pass. there is enough play in the system.

Anan1

cantdecide wrote:

i passed first time but i believe being prepared isn't a guarantee of a pass. there is enough play in the system.

I can't really agree with this, the marking system on the test is quite specific.

JohnCleary

colm_mcm wrote:

Any time a Mondeo is behind me, I look out for front fog lights, if it has none, I'll know it's an LX model, If it's a rubbish colour like navy or maroon or green, I'll be especially careful whilst trying to cop any extra aeriels!

Not forgetting the D reg

wildswan

I think the test is totally crap, however, I don't think an experienced /competant driver should have a problem. I think that most fails are probably due to lack of PROPER experience.

My own test featured a large road works at the intersection outside the test centre gates. But I still passed, because I had plenty of experience of stressful driving, and it wasn't exactly something I hadn't encountered before.

I do genuinely feel sorry for people who panic and fail because of that, but can you really eliminate that in a test I wonder if people would be as nervous if they didn't have to wait so long for their test?

Also, the test should be more realistic - i.e. faster speed limit.

md99

wildswan wrote:

I think the test is totally crap, however, I don't think an experienced /competant driver should have a problem. I think that most fails are probably due to lack of PROPER experience.

My own test featured a large road works at the intersection outside the test centre gates. But I still passed, because I had plenty of experience of stressful driving, and it wasn't exactly something I hadn't encountered before.

I do genuinely feel sorry for people who panic and fail because of that, but can you really eliminate that in a test I wonder if people would be as nervous if they didn't have to wait so long for their test?

Also, the test should be more realistic - i.e. faster speed limit.

wildswan wrote:

I do genuinely feel sorry for people who panic and fail because of that, but can you really eliminate that in a test I wonder if people would be as nervous if they didn't have to wait so long for their test?

Also, the test should be more realistic - i.e. faster speed limit.

Re: Speed Limit... Definitely true! If it wasn't for the test I'd barely know the first two gears existed...

As regards the nervousness... You're right, it is largely due to the fact that if you fail over a MINOR error ie 1 extra Grade II mark, you have to wait as long as the person who has had 5 Grade III errors... Which is HARDLY fair! Why should a 95% qualified driver have to wait for the same time as a 5% qualified boy racer who doesn't even want to pass? The fact that if you fail, even on one or two marks, you'll end up paying higher insurance AND being *legally* unable to drive unaccompanied for around another year...

If the wait was only say, a 3 month one, it would hardly be as nerve-wrecking an ordeal..

Anan1

md99 wrote:

Also, the test should be more realistic - i.e. faster speed limit.

Re: Speed Limit... Definitely true! If it wasn't for the test I'd barely know the first two gears existed...

Why, do you take off in third?:D

md99 wrote:

As regards the nervousness... You're right, it is largely due to the fact that if you fail over a MINOR error ie 1 extra Grade II mark, you have to wait as long as the person who has had 5 Grade III errors... Which is HARDLY fair! Why should a 95% qualified driver have to wait for the same time as a 5% qualified boy racer who doesn't even want to pass? The fact that if you fail, even on one or two marks, you'll end up paying higher insurance AND being *legally* unable to drive unaccompanied for around another year...

Part of being a good driver is being able to make split-second decisions under pressure. If someone can't deal with the pressure of the test, how will they react when they get cut up by a van while a motorbike passes them on the other side?

md99 wrote:

If the wait was only say, a 3 month one, it would hardly be as nerve-wrecking an ordeal..

We all agree with this. That said, if people prepared better for their tests it would remove a lot of the backlog.

Seth Brundle

Anan1 wrote:

if people prepared better for their tests it would remove a lot of the backlog.

many of those on the waiting list don't even bother turning up for their test and negect to inform the DoT of their intention so effectively that place was wasted!

Alun

kbannon wrote:

many of those on the waiting list don't even bother turning up for their test and negect to inform the DoT of their intention so effectively that place was wasted!

Yes, I remember reading somewhere that in 2005 this amounted to 14% or almost 19,000 wasted tests, which is just plain crazy.