ahhhh..driving test...advice needed!

nataliehun

Ok well I applied for my driving test recently and have it in a month!

Few silly questions and things I should know..

It's in the morning so if it's an overcast day do I put my lights on?
I prefer driving in my bare feet .. I probably shouldn't do this should I?
Can i have the radio on?
do I chit chat with the instructor?
Do they always ask you to parallel park?
What do youu need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnett?

Any one had theirs recently?

all advice greatly appricated!

Beruthiel

We have a motors forum you know.
Moved.

feylya

All these things should be answered by your instructor. Check out the Learning to Drive forum.

nataliehun

Yes thought there was alright but couldn't find it?

Rev Hellfire

nataliehun wrote: »

its in the morning so ifs an overcast day do i put my lights on?

Put on your side lights, full lights can distract oncoming traffic.

nataliehun wrote:

i prefer driving in my bare feet .. i prob sudnt do this sud i?

I would imagine shoes would be preferable.

nataliehun wrote:

can i have the radio on?

No idea, I would imagine as before you're better of not.

do i chit chat with the instructer?

Thats up to you.

wat do u need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnett?

You should know as a minimum where you put the wiper fluid, break fluid and oil for the engine (and how to measure it).

Beruthiel

nataliehun wrote: »

its in the morning so ifs an overcast day do i put my lights on?

Side lights should be ok.

i prefer driving in my bare feet .. i prob sudnt do this sud i?

No. You should not.

can i have the radio on?

NO

do i chit chat with the instructer?

NO

do they always ask you to parell park?

I was not asked to.

wat do u need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnett?

Get your driving instructer to show you.

Deadeyes

nataliehun wrote: »

do they always ask you to parell park?

Parallel parking it not part of the test neither is an emergency stop, but I think they are coming in next year.

ztoical

nataliehun wrote: »

do they always ask you to parell park?

No its not part of the test - the only set maneuvers are the reverse around the corner, the hill start and turn about.

nataliehun wrote: »

wat do u need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnett?

have a look in the forum, theres plenty of threads about the engine checks.

ergonomics

Have you had many driving lessons? It doesn't sound like you have, which is fair enough I guess, but I would suggest you get some if you have time as they'll show you exactly what is expected of you during the test.

Think about it in terms of the Leaving. You wouldn't turn up to one of the Leaving Cert exams in say, your pyjamas, would you? It's a formal setting and expects certain formal behaviour - shoes, no radio and no talk. If you're talking to the tester/listening to the radio then you're not concentrating properly on the road, or at least the tester will probably see it that way.

blackbelt

You do ask some strange questions.:pac:

My advice is wear your shoes.You are not a kid and driving bare footed could be a risk.

Driving with the radio on and chit-chatting with the instructor are all failure/disqualifier myths but nobody in the right mind would consider either.

Know your reverse around the corner and turn-about and hill starts and as far as the engine is concerned,know about the oil gauge and the water gauge and how to open the bonnet.Know your tire thread depths etc.

If you are nervous,take rescue remedy.It did me the world of good when I did my test.Just 2 sprays on the tongue will relax you.

Victor

blackbelt wrote: »

If you are nervous,take rescue remedy.It did me the world of good when I did my test.Just 2 sprays on the tongue will relax you.

I'd be checking the package for "May cause drowsiness. Do not drive." warnings.

towel401

Victor wrote: »

I'd be checking the package for "May cause drowsiness. Do not drive." warnings.

just take it anyway.

Ciaran500

blackbelt wrote: »

If you are nervous,take rescue remedy.It did me the world of good when I did my test.Just 2 sprays on the tongue will relax you.

Wouldn't be advising that, its 30% brandy.

snickerpuss

It's in the morning so if it's an overcast day do I put my lights on?
Probably if it is very overcast.

I prefer driving in my bare feet .. I probably shouldn't do this should I?
Might be a tad weird but you should be as comfortable as possible doing it.

Can i have the radio on?
Nope.

do I chit chat with the instructor?
As a general rule no, however my instructor talked the whole way through the test.

Do they always ask you to parallel park?
That isn't part of the test. The only mandatory manoeuvres are the reverse around the corner, the hill start and the turnabout (or 3 point turn as it used to be called)

What do you need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnet?
They could ask you where the engine oil, the brake fluid, the windscreen washing fluid, the coolant and power steering fluid are (if you have it, might be electric) They can either ask you to point them out or ask how you can tell if there's enough (check side of bottle/holder or check dipstick for engine oil.

Any one had theirs recently?
Yup, yesterday in Baldoyle.

Wishbone Ash

snickerpuss wrote: »

my instructor talked the whole way through the test

You brought your instructor along during your test! :eek: Didn't the examiner mind?

missmatty

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Wouldn't be advising that, its 30% brandy.

That's what I thought, but I had a pretest last Tuesday in Orwell and the guy I had advised me to use it on the day of the test

Fizman

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Wouldn't be advising that, its 30% brandy.

30 % of the time it works....all the time! :pac:

OT tho.....wear shoes, leave the radio off, and don't speak unless spoken to!
Know the 5 under bonnet checks: Washer fluid, brake fluid, coolant, oil and brake fluid!

raineljm

Fizman wrote: »

30 % of the time it works....all the time! :pac:

OT tho.....wear shoes, leave the radio off, and don't speak unless spoken to!
Know the 5 under bonnet checks: Washer fluid, brake fluid, coolant, oil and brake fluid!

u mentioned brake fluid twice, what's the 5th one?

Wishbone Ash

raineljm wrote: »

u mentioned brake fluid twice, what's the 5th one?

Possibly he/she meant to include power steering fluid.

Fizman

raineljm wrote: »

u mentioned brake fluid twice, what's the 5th one?

Woops, thats a fail for me! :pac:

As Wishbone said, I meant power steering fluid.

kerry4sam

When doing the test route where I am on one section it is 100 ... when out practicing tonight i was doing 80 but not a confident 80 in that i felt the need to slow it down to about 60 ...

On the day of the test what speed on that road would be appropriate without going too far below the limit and being graded badly for being too slow?

Alanstrainor

kerry4sam wrote: »

When doing the test route where I am on one section it is 100 ... when out practicing tonight i was doing 80 but not a confident 80 in that i felt the need to slow it down to about 60 ...

On the day of the test what speed on that road would be appropriate without going too far below the limit and being graded badly for being too slow?

Were you on a dual carriage way? Or just a national road? it's hard to give advise on what speed you should do without knowing exactly what road. The 100km/h is a maximum limit, you would need to consider road conditions, visibility,etc. A rule of thumb would be to keep up with traffic on the road, and leaving a safe distance between yourself and the vehicle infront, Causing an unnecessary build up of traffic behind you would result in a fault for progress. Remembering to keep under the 100km/h limit of course!

kerry4sam

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Were you on a dual carriage way? Or just a national road? it's hard to give advise on what speed you should do without knowing exactly what road. The 100km/h is a maximum limit, you would need to consider road conditions, visibility,etc. A rule of thumb would be to keep up with traffic on the road, and leaving a safe distance between yourself and the vehicle infront, Causing an unnecessary build up of traffic behind you would result in a fault for progress. Remembering to keep under the 100km/h limit of course!

A national road - a by-pass of the town to be exact ... I was advised not to keep up with the cars but go at a comfortable pace without holding up to many

Their is certainly no fear of my going over the limit anyways especially on the test-day ... My test will be on a sarurday in the afternoon so it will be quite busy and i don't want to annoy the tester and/or drivers behind me or loose unnecessary marks

Alanstrainor

kerry4sam wrote: »

A national road - a by-pass of the town to be exact ... I was advised not to keep up with the cars but go at a comfortable pace without holding up to many

Their is certainly no fear of my going over the limit anyways especially on the test-day ... My test will be on a sarurday in the afternoon so it will be quite busy and i don't want to annoy the tester and/or drivers behind me or loose unnecessary marks

If you keep up with traffic on the road and remain under the speed limit, i can see absolutely no faults arising. An all too common mistake made by drivers on test day is over caution. Driving too slow and unnecessarily holding up traffic will result in marks against you on the progress.

HungryJoey

My tester chit-chatted to me several times throughout the test, but I would advise not to try to if he does not initiate in coversation as I found it was a little distracting while driving but it was partly my fault I kept talking back alot. I'm sure they can pick up on certain people who to and not to talk to although I'd imagine they probably shouldn't talk to you.

I wouldn't go driving in bear feet, you shouldn't be having any problems driving with shoe's on.

kerry4sam

HungryJoey wrote: »

... I'm sure they can pick up on certain people who to and not to talk to although I'd imagine they probably shouldn't talk to you...

I'll agree with you on that one and no doubt he'll get that message too on the day

sweetbubbly

Hi Natalie

It's in the morning so if it's an overcast day do I put my lights on?

Yes, your side lights and if its very heavy rain put your dims on.

I prefer driving in my bare feet .. I probably shouldn't do this should I?

Not advisable, Choose a pair of shoes that you are comfortable in and will not slip off your feet, very high heels, slip ons and flip flops are definate no no's. But make sure you practice driving with your shoes on, otherwise you may have difficulty driving on your test.

Can i have the radio on?

Definately not.

do I chit chat with the instructor?

I wouldnt advise it, if they speak to you, by all means talk back but I wouldnt try and begin a conversation with them, they are they to test your driving and tend to see talking as a distraction. They dont tend to talk too much because if they fail you, you could turn around and blame them for distracting you.....

Do they always ask you to parallel park?

It all depends on what test centre you are doing your driving test in, if you do your test in Finglas RSA or SGS you will not be asked to parallel park, as their parking spaces within the test centres are both box parking spaces, however if you are doing your test in Raheny, you will more than likely be asked to parallel park as that is the only available parking around the test centre.
You will definitley be asked to do a turnabout, a reverse around a corner (on the passenger side of your car) and generally a hillstart.

What do youu need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnett?

Generally they ask 4 things, where the oil, the coolant, the brake fluid and the water for you window wipers go. You should also know how to dip the engine for oil, They wont ask you to do it, but they might ask you to tell them how you do it.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to do a pre test about 2 weeks before your test. If you have any seriously bad habits you are giving yourself time to fix the problem. I wish you the very best of luck. Any more questions please feel free to PM me.

J_R

Hi Natalie

Put your dipped lights on irregardless of the weather and there is no problem driving barefoot.

Radio/music. Turned on very low - ask his permission, he can only say no. However, it might interfere with you hearing his instructions, so best to practice driving in silence. But there is no problem with asking him/her before moving off.

Engine checks. You may also be asked to point out the battery

Alanstrainor

sweetbubbly wrote: »

Hi Natalie

It's in the morning so if it's an overcast day do I put my lights on?

Yes, your side lights and if its very heavy rain put your dims on.

It is illegal to drive with your parking lights on, so do not put them on under any circumstances. If you want you can put on your dipped headlights.

J_R wrote: »

Hi Natalie



Radio/music. Turned on very low - ask his permission, he can only say no. However, it might interfere with you hearing his instructions, so best to practice driving in silence. But there is no problem with asking him/her before moving off.

Turn off the radio completely, no point on keeping it on, it only acts as a distraction for both you and the examinor.

J_R

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Turn off the radio completely, no point on keeping it on, it only acts as a distraction for both you and the instructor.

Did say radio/music, my shorthand for music. Radio yes, could be a distraction, due to commercial breaks, news, different music etc., but appropriate background music provided just about audible above the engine noise should not be a distraction.

There is no law against having music playing softly in the background and provided OK with the EXAMINER, why not ??. It might help steady the nerves.

But completely up to the examiner, there are no guidelines.

J_R

Alanstrainor wrote: »

It is illegal to drive with your parking lights on, so do not put them on under any circumstances. If you want you can put on your dipped headlights.
.

Parking lights are totally useless if they are used in an attempt to increase visibility of the car during daylight. Very often you will see the car first, then the fact that the parking lights are lit.

But news to me that they are illegal to have them on whilst driving. Would love to know the reasoning behind this legislation

Alanstrainor

J_R wrote: »

Did say radio/music, my shorthand for music. Radio yes, could be a distraction, due to commercial breaks, news, different music etc., but appropriate background music provided just about audible above the engine noise should not be a distraction.

There is no law against having music playing softly in the background and provided OK with the EXAMINER, why not ??. It might help steady the nerves.

But completely up to the examiner, there are no guidelines.

I meant examiner, even the best of us make mistakes:pac:!. Anyway, i would not recommend leaving the radio on, to say it will calm the nerves is ridiculous, there's only one thing you should be concentrating on and that's your driving. You're right there's no Law against it, but i can't see any examiner allowing it.

fletch...

My examiner asked the odd chatty questions just near the end of the exam -what do I work at and things like that. It actually made me feel more relaxed but im now thinking could it be part of the exam to see if you can progress safely while being distracted? can anyone clarify?

Wishbone Ash

fletch... wrote: »

but im now thinking could it be part of the exam to see if you can progress safely while being distracted? can anyone clarify?

No it isn't part of the test nor is there any 'trick' questions/parts.

Personally speaking, in all the various tests I've done, none of the examiners spoke to me other than to give instructions/directions. That is exactly the way I wanted it. I don't understand why some posters are delighted to get a chatty examiner. I would feel like telling him to 'shut up'!

sxt

Hi.Is it ok to drive on the wrong side of the road/cross the single white line if theres cars badly parked on the road?

Do you need to indicate as well even if there no cars behind you

Alanstrainor

sxt wrote: »

Hi.Is it ok to drive on the wrong side of the road/cross the single white line if theres cars badly parked on the road?

Do you need to indicate as well even if there no cars behind you

It sounds odd putting it like that "driving on the wrong side of the road", but yes if there is a continuous white line and there is a badly parked car blocking the road you can of course cross the white line. And always indicate around obstacles and the likes, even if there's no one behind you!

bigpinkelephant

Alanstrainor wrote: »

always indicate around obstacles and the likes, even if there's no one behind you!

My instructor told me to only indicate if there is someone to indicate to. He said if you indicate and there is no one behind you, to the tester it looks like you are not aware of your surroundings as you don't seem to realise there is no one behind you. On the day of my test I went around loads of parked cars and didn't indicatr unless there was someone to indicate to and I didn't receive any faults for signals.

Alanstrainor

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

My instructor told me to only indicate if there is someone to indicate to. He said if you indicate and there is no one behind you, to the tester it looks like you are not aware of your surroundings as you don't seem to realise there is no one behind you. On the day of my test I went around loads of parked cars and didn't indicatr unless there was someone to indicate to and I didn't receive any faults for signals.

I would disagree with the only indicate if there is someone behind you statement, even the most observant of drivers can fail to see cyclists coming up behind them, especially since cyclists will be on your "inside" or far left of the road.
Perhaps my statement about always indicating was a bit black and white if you get me, had i come to a stop behind the obstacle as there was traffic coming the opposite direction, i would indicate my intention when there was a gap in the traffic. But i suppose indicating around every obstacle might be a bit extreme.

giddynurse

Definitely wear shoes..
Spoke when spoken to..
OVER TAKE BUSES WHEN THEYRE STOPPED..
look in your mirrors every ten seconds..
keep your hands at ten and two o'clock..

the highest thing to be failed on, is observation

i did my test 2months ago and passed first time..
just look in your mirrors loads, girls are good at that anyway

best of luck in it..
just drive as best as you can and dont concentrate too much on being observed.

nataliehun

giddynurse wrote: »

Definitely wear shoes..
Spoke when spoken to..
OVER TAKE BUSES WHEN THEYRE STOPPED..

really? OVERTAKE BUSES WHEN THERE STOPPED?

SHOULD I NOT JUST WAIT BEHIND THEM THEY ONLY EVER STOP FOR 1 MINUTE AT A TIME

Dublin's Finest

nataliehun wrote: »

Ok well I applied for my driving test recently and have it in a month!

Few silly questions and things I should know..

It's in the morning so if it's an overcast day do I put my lights on?
I prefer driving in my bare feet .. I probably shouldn't do this should I?
Can i have the radio on?
do I chit chat with the instructor?
Do they always ask you to parallel park?
What do youu need to know about the engine when they ask you to open the bonnett?

Any one had theirs recently?

all advice greatly appricated!

Fred Flintstone never had any problems doing this.

nataliehun

thanks man
least someone is on my wave lenght!

Wishbone Ash

nataliehun wrote:

SHOULD I NOT JUST WAIT BEHIND THEM THEY ONLY EVER STOP FOR 1 MINUTE AT A TIME

No - you'll be expected to pass then if it is safe and legal to do so. Otherwise you may incur a 'progress' fault.

(No need for all upper case letters Natalie).

giddynurse

nataliehun wrote: »

giddynurse wrote: »

Definitely wear shoes..
Spoke when spoken to..
OVER TAKE BUSES WHEN THEYRE STOPPED..

really? OVERTAKE BUSES WHEN THERE STOPPED?

SHOULD I NOT JUST WAIT BEHIND THEM THEY ONLY EVER STOP FOR 1 MINUTE AT A TIME

____________________________________

trust me natalie.. i thought i would wait behind a bus.. so i waited behind it twice in a row.. and the driving tester fella or whatever you call dem, said that if i waited behind the bus again, then i fail!!!

fashioncookie

I drive with my bare left foot, as I find it easier to control the clutch. Did it on my test and didn't get marked for it. If you're comfortable driving barefoot I don't see why that should be an issue with the examiner? If that's the way you would be driving under normal circumstances anyway

giddynurse

youre definitely not allowed to drive in your bare feet, and if you have before then the examiner obviously didnt notice this strange habit.. its a dangerous one, and you could even injure your toes whence driving.. learn to drive with shoes, its not always about what youre comfortable with, but also what is safe.. and bare feet are not !

J_R

giddynurse wrote: »

youre definitely not allowed to drive in your bare feet, !

Hi,

I have had two pupils do the test in their bare feet. One took both shoes off, other only one.

Different examiner, neither mentioned feet/shoes/toes.

Wishbone Ash

giddynurse wrote: »

youre definitely not allowed to drive in your bare feet

There is absolutely nothing in any of the Road Traffic Acts and the Statutory Instruments made under those acts specifying that a driver must wear footwear while driving on a public road.

How can you be so definite?

fashioncookie

giddynurse wrote: »

youre definitely not allowed to drive in your bare feet, and if you have before then the examiner obviously didnt notice this strange habit.. its a dangerous one, and you could even injure your toes whence driving.. learn to drive with shoes, its not always about what youre comfortable with, but also what is safe.. and bare feet are not !

surely it's not 'safe', if I feel that the car is less in my control with a shoe on? I wear ballet flats anyway, my toes are as likely to be injured with them on!

giddynurse

hrmm.. i wear those lil shoesies too.. theyre like paper, i always bash my toe off stuff! anyway thats off the point, but yeah, i suppose.. i just thought if you drove in your bare feet, it would be unsafe? and i just havent heard of it before :P

rhapsody

I used to drive in my bare feet the whole time when I was first learning, so I could really feel the bite etc. If I do it for a long time though, my foot starts to cramp up