For those of you who passed your driving test years ago ....

[XmisterIS]

... Do you think you'd pass nowadays?

When I did it, the test was 25 minutes long and the theory test had only just come in (20 questions with a pencil and paper). You were also allowed an unlimited number of minor faults (First test I got one major and one other minor so obviously I failed, second test I got 16 minors, but no majors, so I passed!).

I'd like to think I'd still be able to pass today, but perhaps I wouldn't! (bad habits that one unwittingly picks up, etc).

That being said, I am a very aware driver (being a cyclist and motorbiker too) and I tend to see hazards well in advance; I have never had an accident, nor have I caused one (not to my knowledge at least!). Also, when I took my motorbike test last year, I did a perfect test - not even a single minor.

 

[Jane Smart]

You know that is a good question, as I have wondered this myself over the years, but think that yes, I would pass again even though my test was ** years ago now

 

[Melvil]

I would hope so.

But I wonder if driving standards (and technology) are going to increase inorexably?

Hopefully when I'm an old duffer and have to re-take the test (In the 2040's according to my driving license) I won't feel like a dog being shown a card trick.

 

[tyred]

Hard to say but I would like to think so. If I did fail, it would probably be something silly like not holding the steering wheel in the correct position.

The one thing I am certain of is that I am a safer driver than I was when I passed my test. My ability to read the road and anticipate hazards, etc has improved through experience. You don't learn to drive until after you've passed your test.

 

[Amanda P]

I passed first time, but that was twenty-two years ago now.

I do a lot of driving at work, and have managed to convince my employer to get an advanced driving instructor in to run a course every few years for me and my team. We've also had extra training for trailers, off-road driving and so on. Thanks to those courses, I hope I'd pass another test today.

 

[thomas]

I only passed a couple of years ago now (first time!), but if you sat me down in a car this instance to do the test I don't know how well I would do.

I haven't driven since last Christmas, so would need to get back in a car first just to brush up on my handelling...but even then I reckon I'd have to spend a few hours just going through how I was taught things.

Certainly, I wouldn't do a three point turn/"turn in the road" how I did it in my driving test. I'd just need to spend a few hours remembering how they like things doing.

 

[swee'pea99]

I'm pretty certain that if I simply took the test I would fail. I'm also pretty sure that given a 30 minutes refresher session and a clear rundown on 'what they're looking for' I would pass.

 

[snorri]

I think I'd be OK for the driving part, apart from a tendency to use the gears when braking, which is apparently a no-no nowadays.

This is an interesting point, I also was trained to think ahead and slow down before the hazard rather than brake firmly at the hazard. Emphasis in the test appears to have changed, but if we take the advice of the Energy Saving Trust, then old style driving techniques should be applied. Is there a contradiction, or am I failing to understand something?

 

[tyred]

This is an interesting point, I also was trained to think ahead and slow down before the hazard rather than brake firmly at the hazard. Emphasis in the test appears to have changed, but if we take the advice of the Energy Saving Trust, then old style driving techniques should be applied. Is there a contradiction, or am I failing to understand something?

The sad fact is that many modern cars (like the Fiat Punto in particular) have gearboxes so fragile, that you would end up busting it if you used it to slow down. The other thing that has brought the change in my opinion is that modern cars have breakes that actually work. In many cars from the 70s and before, the brakes need written notice of your intention to stop, even the high performance ones.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

+1 for me.

 

[Globalti]

Brake pads are cheaper to replace than gearboxes are to repair.

A few years ago I did the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) training, which involves going out for some Sunday morning drives with IAM members. Within a few sessions I was sent out with the Chief Instructor who sat there making notes on a clipboard. After 10 minutes he asked me to stop the car and told me that my driving was technically excellent but that I would not pass the test because I wasn't driving to The System, which is a set sequence of reactions to hazards that you must follow, entering and leaving the sequence at any point as hazards develop. This, apparently is the same system taught to Police drivers.

Call me conceited or complacent if you like but after 35 accident-free years of driving, 12 of which were on motorcycles, my attitude was that I didn't need to drive to a formal system to drive safely, so at that point I dropped the lessons.

I don't think driving standards have been dumbed down as educational standards have, I think it must be harder to pass the test nowadays, unless of course you get your brother or a pal to sit the test for you as some now do, so I'm told....

 

[TheDoctor]

I'd like to think I'd pass.
I did my test in '85, but had some tuition earlier in the year.

 

[XmisterIS]

The sad fact is that many modern cars (like the Fiat Punto in particular) have gearboxes so fragile, that you would end up busting it if you used it to slow down. The other thing that has brought the change in my opinion is that modern cars have breakes that actually work. In many cars from the 70s and before, the brakes need written notice of your intention to stop, even the high performance ones.

Reminds me of a time when I was a kid (about 1985) when my dad was coming down a steep hill towards a set of red traffic lights and a queue of traffic, he put his foot on the brake ... and nothing happened!!! He had to steer into a hedge to avoid accident. That was scary! It was a clapped out Mini Clubman with drum brakes.

 

[upsidedown]

I'm amazed i passed the first time, i'd have no chance now.

 

[Arch]

I like to think I'd pass now, although I would need a session to get used to the car, since I don't drive day to day and when I do it might well be a van or something. The one thing I didn't learn when I was learning (22 years ago now, passed first time) was parallel parking, and I could probably do with being taught the 'formula' for that.

I'm also one who was taught to use the gears when slowing down.

From what I've seen of the theory test, that would be easy - although I'd need to rememorise stopping distances - like most people I guess, I base safe distances on timing (the 2 second rule) rather than any estimation of actual linear distance.