What is more important?

ADIDriving

Time for a driving instructor to ask the learner drivers on this forum. Something that I would be interested to get your views on. What do learners think is more important; passing the driving test first time or not having had a crash (including breaking wing mirrors and lights) as a learner?

Alanstrainor

Oooooo interesting.

Can I answer even though I have a license?

I'd say passing first time would have been the most important thing to me when I was a learner. There's a lot of pressure on learner drivers, among your peers to pass first time, in most cases the pressure is not meant to be a there, but there's no denying there is pressure to pass first time. Small bumps and scrapes wouldn't worry me. That being said I never had any bumps while learning, I did have a small crash over last Christmas though:(.

Lon Dubh

For me the most important, no contest, would be not having any sort of crash or accident.

I did pass my test first time a few weeks ago. I didn't expect to pass but am happy I did.

But to me there is no point in passing and then going out and having a crash. I even did a lesson with my instructor after I passed the test (to get used to a new car I had just bought) and I plan on maybe doing one or two more lessons on specific things.

I think even a small crash would give me an awful fright, and put me off driving a bit (though I've spent so much money at this point, and have a car now, so would probably perservere unless the crash was very bad and/or I injured someone).

I am probably a bit above average nervous though, and in my late 30's so probably a bit older than the average learner, which might add to my cautiousness. I also have a long-term illness which makes me very aware how someone's life can change drastically after some small event.

I think there is pressure to pass if the person wants to obey the law on the accompanied driver. I was having trouble getting anyone to agree to do it, so felt a bit of pressure to pass the test (I only bought the car a few days before the test so decided not to drive it till afterwards anyway, but I had asked a few people if they would bring me out when it arrived and they said they wouldn't). But on the other hand most people I know didn't pass the first time so I wouldn't have felt bad if I failed. I did "cheat" a bit though by doing the test in an automatic .

DriversEd

again, as a license holder, you didn't ask my opinion. but i have to agree with alanstrainor, the first time pass was the most important. NOT THAT IT HAPPENED!

triona1

Lon Dubh.
If you do your test in an automatic you get an automatic licence,Which means you should only be driving automatic's.Hope you new car is one.
I also done my test in auto and now will do the test again to get a manual licence.

spurious

For me, not having a crash or incident would have been more important.
Considering I took a while to pass, I think I would have been much less enthusiastic about continuing to try for it, had I had an accident while trying.
It's still the aim at the end of each day/journey.

arleitiss

Well, I am learner, I am having a 6 month period passed on 10th of July (soon enough), over 6 months I've been driving with instructor for about 20 lessons, then getting my own car and driving around accompanied by friend. Yeah for me it's to pass from first time but I try as much to learn now, even though I love driving, I am sick of it atm, just literally wake up every morning, friend comes and we go somewhere no matter where, just for practice, but I am still glad to drive, just sick of waking up
That's why you may have noticed I am posting like 3 threads a day with questions about rules of road, as I see stuff every day and I am not sure how to react to it or was it legal, my friend has bad habits he was taught driving in Russia so he has those habits of skipping, rushing, cutting, overtaking so I try to just have him in car to obey law. But yeah definetely pass from first time but I try to learn as much as I can.

starlit

As a learner, and soon to sit the test, though it be important to me to pass it first time not expecting too though.

Its more important to me that I haven't crashed the car, i've bumped kerbs, too close to hazards but for the most part I have been safe enough not to get into such a serious situation that I couldn't handle it. I think having more than a few years on the road has made me improve as a driver and be a safe driver. Glad to tell myself that been driving for four years without having gotten into anything major. Question is will I pass the test!!

All I can do is practice.....despite the amount of practice I have put in I should pass but knowing me its not something I expect to actually pass as its taken me sometime to actually learn to drive to the standard I am at now so fingers crossed I will pass at some point!

Lon Dubh

triona1 wrote: »

Lon Dubh.
If you do your test in an automatic you get an automatic licence,Which means you should only be driving automatic's.Hope you new car is one.
I also done my test in auto and now will do the test again to get a manual licence.

Yeah the new car is an automatic Nissan Micra. I was only joking about the cheating (I think a lot of people in the Motors section wouldn't view an automatic as a "real" car ). I partly went for an automatic licence as I didn't have a car to practice in (or anyone to act as an accompanied driver if I bought a car) and I knew it would be much more difficult to get the hang of a manual car without practice between lessons. But I also went automatic because I was so nervous, I felt with an automatic I could concentrate more on keeping an eye out for hazards and not be worrying about changing gears.

ADI Driver, I'm not sure if this is relevant to your original question but I changed instructors (both had automatic cars) as I felt the one I was with was not strict enough, or giving me enough information or tips about how to watch out for hazards and avoid incidents. I felt he might get me through the test but that I could end up in an accident (or cause one) through lack of awareness. This made me nervous and I found I started to get more nervous as time went on rather than less.

So I changed to an instructor who was much stricter and better at pointing out common mistakes, errors I was making, and better instructing at how to watch out for potential hazards and how to avoid them. I felt much calmer then as I felt I was less likely to get into a bad situation. This style might not suit some people but I prefered it.

Mister Jingles

Not having any sort of crash for me.

Mostly because its not my car I drive and I couldn't afford any repairs/insurance malarkey. Saying that though I have had a small bump before reversing into a tree while doing a 3 point turn. I learned from that and am more careful now.

Even if I had and when I will have my own car I will still be of the same opinion.

Its being mentioned before loads of time here that even a very good driver still isn't guaranteed to pass first time therefore I'd worry about the not crashing part first.

woodchuck

Definitely not having a crash is more important to me. I'm such a nervous and unconfident driver that I think a crash (even a small one) would push me over the edge. At least with the driving test I'm aware that there's only ~40% pass rate so it's not too bad if I fail the first time.

whatlliwear

Definitely not having a crash.. Is there anyone who'd actually pick the other? I failed the test because my tester was in bad form & was being fussy but I don't care as I'll get it next time..Failed for lack of progress...

I would prefer to never have my full licence & to continue driving safely like I am now and never to crash.. (I can't get over the amount of dangerous things I have seen since failing the test on Wednesday by idiots with a full licence & I really have no idea how most of them managed to pass)..

Bobby42

For me it's definitely avoiding a crash. While I'd love to pass my test first time, I think I could get over it and try again.
My bigger worry would be being involved in a crash. I think I'd be too afraid to get behind the wheel again. It took me long enough to start driving (aged 25), so if I was in an accident I'd be afraid I'd be back to square one.

cvb03

passing the test first time, I have spent so much money and time on pre tests and i know my nerves will just let me down on the day and I am well capable of driving safely. If only the tester sat in the back would make me alot less nervous ha

Mister Jingles

Does the result surprise you ADI or were you expecting different ?

**Timbuk2**

Definitely not having an accident was much more important than passing the test.

I failed my first test, it isn't nice, and the €75 it cost me at the time is obviously regrettable, but I do think that failing the test made me a better driver (strangely) - I was much more motivated to practice and learn for the next test. Having done the test before meant I wasn't at all nervous for the next test, which is probably what made the difference - I was very nervous for the first one!

I was only young - 17 when I did the first test, and my second test was on my 18th birthday, so I wasn't really dependent on a car to get me places (e.g. work) as such, and had a lot of time so I knew that if I failed the test I could just take it again, no big deal! Whereas if I had any sort of crash/accident/tip while driving my parents' car, there's no way they would have let me keep driving!

challengemaster

Despite having my license a good while now, hopefully I can chip in

IMO not crashing would be the more important of the two. That in itself shows that you've competence at every day driving, where in your most vulnerable and clueless stage of driving (learning process) that you come through without any sort of crash, tip or bump is a reasonable indication for the future, and it's also a very good confidence boost.

That said, any small bump during the learning process will make you a more conscious and alert driver in the long run, despite causing an initial setback in terms of confidence.

Passing the test first time round (which I did) was never really a major worry for me. Even now I don't really think much of it. Yes, there is a bit of "pressure" from mates who will joke about it after, and in general, but that's not really serious. Obviously now that the test fee is much higher than when I did mine, that IMO is more pressure than the peer pressure as people actually can't afford to fail.

As has been said many times, failing the test is by no means a 100% indicator that you're not a competent driver. The pressure of being scrutinized in every move can cause mistakes that would never usually happen (as we all know), and can throw off a lot of people in the test.

I'm sure there's plenty of people that have passed first time and had multiple crashes too, so take from that what you will

frozenfrozen

As a 17 year old who hasn't started learning it would be the not having a crash part.

The Big Red Button

I vividly remember my instructor saying to me,

"If my students don't pass their driving test, then I'm disappointed for them, but it's fine. They can always repeat the test. What I never want, is for me to open the Sligo Champion (i.e. the local paper), and see that a student of mine has been involved in an accident where they're at fault, and that I might have prevented had I been a better instructor. That is my worst nightmare. I could not care less about my pass rates, what I care about is that my students become safe drivers."

He was a really truly awesome instructor.

ADIDriving

Thanks all for your views. At the moment it is 11 out of 15 people prioritise not having a crash. So 4 out of 15 would rather crash and pass first time.

It was much as I expected. I will often talk to students who express the opinion that passing the test first time is the most important thing. I understand the pressure they are under; to not be a hassle to their family and friends, to not spend any more money, to not be a 'failure'.
But aside form the obvious danger, is it not more hassle having a crash and dealing with all the repairs? Does it not cost more money even to get a single panel or wing mirror replaced on someone elses car? Is there no more stigma attached to having had a crash if it was your fault?

I have noticed that people who have been involved in a crash of any sort; as driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist or even as a witness are a lot more nervous in their driving. It often takes several lessons before they can calm down enough to take in any information and start driving well.

With some test centres having about 40% pass rates, I wonder what % of people are involved in minor and serious crashes?