(Potential) Driver Fails Theory Test 92 Times!

[simon.r]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-16742529

You've got to ask if someone who can't pass a fairly simple test* after a few attempts is ever going to be competent to drive haven't you? I know some people suffer 'exam nerves', but even so...

*I've taken a mock test quite a few times in the last few years (with both of my children as they learnt to drive) and it really ain't that difficult.

 

[Jezston]

I did a mock test online and scored something like 23 out of 25, and I've never had so much as a driving lesson.

That's just mental.

 

[Bicycle]

In some ways this is encouraging.

1. The test is a barrier (at some level) to incomplete knowledge. This is preferable to a shoo-in of a test.

2. There is somebody out there who is not put off by repeated failure to reach a standard. Optimism is a wonderful thing.

I'm pretty certain I ought to have failed my driving test and I know I was an accident waiting to happen for quite a few years thereafter. In fact, sometimes the accident didn't have to wait that long....

I had a sister who failed three times but was an excellent driver. I passed first time and didn't have a clue for my first three or four years with a full license. Ok, 92 is a big number, but I still see a silver lining.

Also, be thankful things are toughening up here. I once needed to employ a driver with the equivalent of an HGV3 license when I was overseas. There was a local guy who was well thought of. He came in for a chat but didn't have the license. He came back a week later and had it. He was quite excellent, but we all knew that license was bought...

 

[fossyant]

Don't cycle in Leicestershire !

 

[Bicycle]

I did a mock test online and scored something like 23 out of 25, and I've never had so much as a driving lesson.

That's just mental.

Not necessarily. You might find the driving section of the test a little harder.

In my day the 'theory' part was just two questions from the HC at the end of the test. One of mine was Countdown Markers to a Level Crossing. Since that day I've seen maybe five such signs...

 

[Ashtrayhead]

With all the study aids available, it's astonishing that anyone can fail the theory test. I passed one a couple of weeks ago* and had studied using a DSA dvd which contains all the questions and answers. Most of the questions are also a matter of eliminating the most obviously wrong answers.

*(I got 100/100, by the way)

 

[Jezston]

Not necessarily. You might find the driving section of the test a little harder.

Nah, I've played ALL the Gran Turismos.

 

[Bicycle]

I doff my cap! I stay away from consoles as I don't want anyone to see how poor my reactions really are.

But seriously (almost) I recall Jacques Villeneuve's first season in F1 and a trip to Australia to qualify for the opening race. Having never seen the circuit, he took pole.

Asked how he managed it, he said he'd learned the circuit on a console game. Apparently he did! It helped that he had the fastest car and a fairly mighty talent. It is also likely that he was encouraged to say that through some hook-up with the game's or the console's manufacturer...

But it sticks in my mind nonetheless.

 

[G-Zero]

With all the study aids available, it's astonishing that anyone can fail the theory test. I passed one a couple of weeks ago* and had studied using a DSA dvd which contains all the questions and answers. Most of the questions are also a matter of eliminating the most obviously wrong answers.

*(I got 100/100, by the way)

+1

I had to sit this last year to get restriction 101 (Hire or Reward) removed, to allow me to instruct minibus.

Minimal study = 100/100

I was the first one in our office to sit the test and I must admit to having a nice smug look at setting the benchmark for the rest