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It is always a good idea to meet your instructor at least 15 minutes before test time starts. Make sure you have your official original Identity Card or Passport. Without one of these documents the test will be cancelled. Upon greeted by the Driving Examiner you will be asked to show your identification and after filling the Driving Test Report (DTR) your examiner will ask you to read a number plate from a distance greater than 20.5meters, in bright sunlight. If you read the number plate correctly the driving examiner will park the appropriate box on the DTR that you have passed the Vision Test. However if you are not able to read the number plate on your first attempt, the examiner will ask you to get closer to another number plate (but not closer than 20.5m). If you also fail to read the second number plate, the examiner will produce a Measuring Tape, measure the exact distance of 20.5m and ask you to read the third and final number plate. If you fail this attempt your test will stop and a negative result issued. This Vision Test is very important for the safety and security of all road users, the examiner and yourself. If you need eyesight correction glasses make sure you use them. Inform the examiner if you use contact lenses.

After the vision test the examiner will ask you TWO Show/Tell me questions related to the Safety and Security of your vehicle before you drive. I will list these question in a separate post. It is the student’s choice whether to have an accompanying person during the test as long as the third party does not interfere with the outcome of the test.  Upon boarding the car the examiner will generally give you the following instruction: Keep driving straight ahead unless road marking or traffic signs instruct you otherwise. Should I need you to turn right or left I will tell you in plenty of time. Some examiners will also ask you how would you prefer your instructions, whether left/right, xellug/lemin, fuqi/fuqek. Mistaking a directional instruction is not regarded as a fault, PROVIDED it is not done deliberately or repeated many time during the same test drive.

You are allowed to ask for directional instructions if you are not sure so you can plan your driving. However before you ask check that there are no traffic signs or road markings already answering your question as this means you do not yet know how to read the road and signage. During the test drive you will be asked to perform some obligatory manoeuvres and some optional manoeuvres. One parking exercise and another manoeuvre consisting of either a Turn-in-the-Road or a Straight Reverse are obligatory. Emergency Stop, Left or Right-Hand Reverse are optional. This does not mean that who is instructed to perform optional manoeuvres is penalized in any way since the time used to perform these manoeuvres is deducted from on the road driving. The whole driving test is usually done in 40minutes, since by law the driving examiner is OBLIGED to keep you driving for a minimum of 25minutes on the road, excluding introductions, questions, and de-brief time. This point is very important to be understood as we receive many comments by people about driving examiners.

Driving Examiners are legally obliged to strictly follow Subsidiary Legislation 65.18. Therefore they are not free to conduct a test at their discretion. They don’t invent exercises or manoeuvres other than those listed in the law. Many rumours and myths are spreading which is not fair and will only lead to your being unnecessarily nervous and tense during your test. This tension will only lead to your FAILURE rather than success. The only individual discretion an examiner has is to stop the test if the students’ driving is unsafe and dangerous to the General Public. All examiners have avoided serious crashes and we publicly thank them on behalf of all Driving Instructors.

Do not attempt to read what the Driving Examiner writes during your drive. This will keep your eyes off the road and an automatic fail will result. Examiners usually mark faults, minor, grievous or perilous faults, which will explain to you at the end of the test. Not all faults lead to a FAIL so it is useless to risk failing by checking the DTR whilst you drive. Secondly examiners have to mark the DTR if certain manoeuvres are done during your driving so they do not ask you to perform them again: e.g. hillstarts, emergency stops etc. If you notice you committed a fault and you are in time to solve the situation, do so. However if it is too late, forget it and do not think about it. Concentrate on the task at hand. Examiners know very well that students are very tense during the driving test. They do not have any interest to fail or pass you. Their duty is to check that you’re a competent safe driver and if you proof this, through your driving and decision making, you will be given a pass.

Upon returning to the TM Test Centre you will be asked to follow the examiner into the offices. The examiner will count all the faults committed during the test and the total will determine whether you were successful.  Committing more than 15 basic faults will result in a failure as well as committing 1 or more grievous or perilous faults. As you can see the system is quite lenient as a student is allowed to commit a basic fault every two and a half minutes. The least amount of faults the better the result.