Cancelling driving test 2 days previous to test

you will forgot things to some extent though, take a few days if you really need to but i would advise against taking a month

and while i would have said to just continue and do your test in a manual up until a few years ago, as others have said the need to drive a manual is ever decreasing due to more uptake of hybrid/ electric cars

I never said you would forget all you learnt, however considering you are already struggling with the concept of driving and driving lessons, when you take extended breaks, you will not grasp the concept of driving to be able to pass the test.

To pass the test, you need to do lessons and practise with friends and family. It doesn't matter if you would have failed, you probably would have, and that's okay, no one is expecting you to pass on your first try. The issue is the fact you basically wasted 85 euro when you could have done the driving test and basically used it as a driving lesson.

You didn't get penalised for doing the right thing and cancelling, you got penalised because you cancelled the day before the test, they allow 10 days notice to cancel the test, your slot probably didn't even go to anyone because the system doesn't update with cancellations immediately so it was just a wasted slot.

If your driving instructor is charging you 100 euro to hire the car for the test, you need a new instructor. Most instructors I know just charge the cost of a lesson, which in my case was 45-50 euro an hour.

I've never seen someone be so down in the dumps regarding the driving test to the point where they cancelled the day before the test, it took me six attempts to pass my driving test, I did not feel ready a single time, but I got there in the end.

Bring your confidence up, get a new driving instructor that encourages you and advises you, I've never seen a driving instructor tell someone that they should cancel the test. I've heard driving instructors tell people that they aren't ready, but never to cancel the test itself.

Are you driving manual or auto? You haven’t addressed the topic at all despite it being mentioned multiple times.

So are you going to consider an auto?

My 2c, get a new instructor and stick with the manual so you're not limited to just driving automatics. Quoting 100 euro for hiring the car is a rip off.

OP - as harsh as some of the other posters come across I think they're right. You probably should have done the test anyway but used it as an opportunity to get to grips with how the test operates etc which would actually help lessen any nerves for the next time around.

I failed my test 3 times before I passed. Majority of that was down to nerves rather than doing anything incredibly bad. I knew I was probably going to fail my first one but thought I might as well give it a shot.

I think the advice of getting a new instructor is good. It doesn't have to be that there's anything wrong necessarily with your current one (although he does seem to be overcharging for the hire of the car for the test) but sometimes a different perspective helps. A change is as good as a rest.

And on that note, don't take a month long pause! God that really will set you back. If you were studying for an exam, would you take a month off because you got nervous? Or would you study more? Driving is a skill & you need to continuously practice skills in order for them to improve. I speak from experience where I did similar in taking a load of lessons & then taking a break. It did me more harm than good & I had to get re-used to the setup all over again.

You keep saying you can't practice - do you literally know no one that has a car & their licence more than 2 years that you couldn't go out with? Or get put on their insurance for a bit? If the answer is genuinely no, then I think you need to be going out at least twice a week with an instructor because you need that time.

as others have said - simply switch to automatic.

EVERY ev is automatic and the number of petrol & diesel autos available is huge.

It takes a big element out of the equation and can very easily take all fears away as if you have an emergency situation, you brake and then simply accelerate again. No need to think of up/down gears, onto clutch, off clutch back onto clutch.

My wife had fears of driving as she lived in rathgar for may years and never needed a car. So was 30+ before she started to learn and just hated it, couldn't to the gears, this brought further fears and she wanted to give up.

I took her to a quiet industrial estate early on a Sunday and put her in my automatic and she suddenly found driving was so easy. Went back to lessons and passed the text about 2 months later. That was 25 years ago. She has NEVER needed to drive a shift stick car.

So, forget the gears. Get into an auto, get your test and drive away

This is BULLSH1T - the number of automatics out there is HUGE.

Try one lesson in an auto and you will never ever go back to a gear shift. On top of it being so much easier, its a far more pleasant way to drive.

Only time I ever need to use a gear shift is when I need to hire a van for something. Car hire for holiday will always be auto, my car is auto (there was never a gear shift option), wife's car is auto, most friends have auto.

Auto is also more economic than gear shift.

Stop punishing yourself 😁

OP would your husband not take you out a couple of hours a week and break down the different components to practice? I'm sure the instructor could put together your top 3 work-ons and then hit them hard between lessons?

Because if a person is struggling to drive, it must be a woman!!! Stereotypes… 😂