Just failed..

[Spud1]

Alot of it depends on the examiner you have.

I took my test in sale (near manchester), and was very lucky on my test to pass first time. Made a few mistakes which i thought had failed me - i stalled before even moving off for example, but didnt even get a minor for that; and then on my reverse park I hit the curb before correcting it, and only got a minor for that (sure it should have been a major..)

Thing to remember is to try try try again, whether you pass first time or not doesnt matter, it doesnt make you a better or worse driver - in fact as others have said it can help you as you will probably have more lessons, and get more practice.

It's worth keeping on at it, passing is one of the best feelings in the world (although i don't think Vini was right in saying its better than sex ) and I love driving, 3 years and counting with no accidents driving > walking/cylcing/any otehr form of transport except maybe a space shuttle but i havnt tried that..yet

[Stormsinger]

In general, if you fail the first time, you'll end up being a better driver (for at least the first couple of years before you've fallen into all the bad habits your instructor is currently stopping you from doing ). Also, you can apply for a cancellation. I didn't pass until my fifth test (I'm sure that the fact my local examination office was under threat of closure had a lot to do with that as there were a lot of fails during those six months, meaning of course they were generating more business in retakes.

I applied for cancellations as well as booking a test (not sure if you can still do this?) and got my retake as a cancellation appointment just over a month after failing each time (I may have been lucky, and this was a few, well, a lot, of years ago

Also if it helps, when I turned 17, there was a set of twins in my school year, they both passed first time, and then both of them (they were male btw) first time they were out in a car on their own (and I mean seperately too), crashed and totalled their vehicles, one of which was their parent's range rover. So, passing first time is not necessarily a good thing, even if it does mean less expense .

[javalord]

Just learn from it. Its very true, the second time+ drivers who pass do in my experience have less problems. Out of all those who I know passed first time, all of them also have crashed in someway or another.

If i had passed my test first time, I'm sure I would have crashed my car much sooner. All those things I failed on first time (mainly observation + looking behind when reversing) , I now do subconciously, automatically.

Been driving for just over 6 months in my 306 dturbo, 9700 miles, suprisingly lovely car, and no crashes or accidents touch wood.

I know ive avoided a few thanks to my observational skills being top notch. All thanks to failing the first test

[Spud1]

Its very true, the second time+ drivers who pass do in my experience have less problems.

Not singling you out but yours was the closes post with this comment in it.

Bollox

It is totally irrelavent if you pass first time or not. Just because i passed first time and my mate didnt doesnt make either of us a better or worse driver. Its all about the amount of experience + practice you have, totally unreasonable to suggest that just because someone has taken more than one test means they will be a better driver.

[demonwolf]

Doesnt taking the test a second time infer that you have more experience seeing as you need to then take more lessons and then another test.

[javalord]

Not singling you out but yours was the closes post with this comment in it.

Bollox

It is totally irrelavent if you pass first time or not. Just because i passed first time and my mate didnt doesnt make either of us a better or worse driver. Its all about the amount of experience + practice you have, totally unreasonable to suggest that just because someone has taken more than one test means they will be a better driver.

Would you like to meet my friend who's now lost one of his hands? The other who's 406 got written off? The other who's 03 plate rover 25 got written off? The other who's Fiesta was also written off? The Fiat Bravo which is now been written off twice even after repair?

Im not joking, all my first time passers friends have either written the car off or just survived it!

Guess what - they were ALL first time drivers. Nice correlation there. Not all first time drivers are necessarily going to crash, but they certainly arent nearly as polished off in basic principles.

Edit: BTW you said it yourself, 2nd time+ drivers will have more experience under their belt in the first place.

[Kitty]

i failed 1st time that was few days before my 18th birthday I had a lady examiner she was known to be the worst one out of the lot even my instructor said i should of passed the examiner should not of put a learner in a situation like that. She made me do a parallel park up a hill ( now i cant parallel park to save my life i could just about do it on a flat road but up a hill you was having a laugh) got drove home my next door neighbour was out cleaning his car he took one look at me and said 'dont worry lis all the best driver pass second time around' I went in home and cryed the rest of the day untill my mum and fraggie gave me hugs I think what made it worse was my car was sitting on my drive looking at me and i couldnt drive it

2 months later and i was back at the DVLA up Leicester praying not to get that women again, i was really happy when a little old man came out and called my name he sat there for the whole test looking at the window (thats a good sign i got told) we got back to the test centre, i was bricking myself cus he just sat there looking at me then he said congratulations Miss Dexter you passed that was a really soothing drive

so im now gonna pass something on to you Starburn Dont worry all the best drivers pass second time around keep your chin up

[jamena]

Try, try again, you'll get there in the end. I nkow people who came close to double digits

/joining in the flame war/
can I suggest that if you want to settle this (futile) arguement you should hire a research company that will go out on the streets and interview a suitable sample of drivers to see if there is a correlation. I'm sorry, but knowing 4 people who both passed first time and had an accident at some point is utterly useless as far as "proving" anything goes. Take into account amount of time spent in the car per week, age, whether drugs/alcohol was involved, whether they were the driver at fault, how soon after their test they had the accident, you're looking at a seriously complex equation.

ANY driver who has only recently passed their test is generally a much higher accident risk. I think the easiest way to tell would be to go to an insurance company and ask for quotes. If they care how many times you had to try to pass your test then there's your answer. Somehow I doubt that they will give the guy that failed 7 times a lower premium than the guy who passed first time. Insurance companies aren't stupid, if they think your demographic is a higher risk they will charge you more.

So, anyone work for a car insurance company care to comment on their policy concerning the number of times a person had to take their test?
/exiting the flame war/

[Spud1]

Would you like to meet my friend who's now lost one of his hands? The other who's 406 got written off? The other who's 03 plate rover 25 got written off? The other who's Fiesta was also written off? The Fiat Bravo which is now been written off twice even after repair?

Im not joking, all my first time passers friends have either written the car off or just survived it!

Guess what - they were ALL first time drivers. Nice correlation there. Not all first time drivers are necessarily going to crash, but they certainly arent nearly as polished off in basic principles.

Edit: BTW you said it yourself, 2nd time+ drivers will have more experience under their belt in the first place.

No I didnt say that exactly, what I said is that is CAN help some people having more lessons. I dont dispute that many first time drivers crash, but just as many who have had 2+ tests do aswell. I just don't like you tarring us all with the same brush so to speak.

yes it can happen but its ridiculous to suggest that most people who past 1st time are crap drivers, or overconfident, or less experienced. It all depends on the individual person, how much effort, practice, time they have done/spent.

Ok so it happened to 3 of your friends, thats shocking bad luck but i would bet that it had nothing to do wtih how many tests they took.

[mmh]

you will be good, i know plenty of people who failed a fair few times.

[javalord]

No I didnt say that exactly, what I said is that is CAN help some people having more lessons. I dont dispute that many first time drivers crash, but just as many who have had 2 tests do aswell. I just don't like you tarring us all with the same brush so to speak.

yes it can happen but its ridiculous to suggest that most people who past 1st time are crap drivers, or overconfident, or less experienced. It all depends on the individual person, how much effort, practice, time they have done/spent.

Ok so it happened to 3 of your friends, thats shocking bad luck but i would bet that it had nothing to do wtih how many tests they took.

I see what your saying, but as said, there is a strong correlation. Not all, but a lot do.

[smtkr]

Would you like to meet my friend who's now lost one of his hands? The other who's 406 got written off? The other who's 03 plate rover 25 got written off? The other who's Fiesta was also written off? The Fiat Bravo which is now been written off twice even after repair?

Im not joking, all my first time passers friends have either written the car off or just survived it!

Guess what - they were ALL first time drivers. Nice correlation there. Not all first time drivers are necessarily going to crash, but they certainly arent nearly as polished off in basic principles.

Edit: BTW you said it yourself, 2nd time+ drivers will have more experience under their belt in the first place.

Correlation does not equal causation (or something like that). You're also full of crap on the experience bit, since someone who passes on his first try will be driving around getting experience the whole time after passing. I passed my driving test on my first try and have never crashed and am one of the safest drivers around (although some people complain I drive a tad slow). It has a lot more to do with riding around with your parents. I grew up watching my mother drive defensively and it kind of rubbed off on me.

As an aside, it's kind of funny how you have to take your tests in an instructor car. Driver's training in the U.S. is regulated at the State level. In Ohio, we do all of our training in an instructor car (with a passenger side brake pedal) and the test in our own cars. We take our driving tests with a state police officer in the passenger seat. If they get scared during the test, they can stomp at non-existent brakes on the passenger side and/or scream.

[shelley bda]

Unlucky starburn, apply again and put it down to experience

I'm applying for my test soon been taking lessons for months now trying to put it off but i can't put it off for ever there's over a 2 month wait here though, so i think i'm going to book it for end of January start of February

[javalord]

Doesnt matter