According to government statistics, only 46% of people pass the theory test at the first attempt. In other words, more than half do not. That may be a comforting thought if you’ve already had a go at it and failed, but it seems that there are a variety of reasons why the pass rate is so low.
1. Lack of Knowledge
Clearly, if you don’t know enough, you’ll fail – that’s true of most tests in life. It turns out, however, that there are two specific types of questions that people tend to get wrong in the theory test.
The first type is a collision question – one asking you about what documents the police will ask you for after a collision, or about what pieces of information you need to collect from a fellow driver in the event of a collision. This can be confusing, so make sure you revise it thoroughly.
The second type of demon question is a car maintenance question – often, candidates simply to not pay enough attention to the mechanical end of learning to drive, and are stumped when these questions come up. Again, revision of the specifics is essential.
2. Improper Preparation
Much of driving, once you’ve mastered the physicality of it, is common sense – but you cannot rely on common sense alone to get you through the theory test. A surprising percentage of people don’t really revise for the test at all. Don’t be one of them. Make use of apps, revision programs, books and anything else which might help you.
3. Nerves
The first time you take the driving theory test, you are bound to feel apprehensive. Nerves can cause people to misread instructions, or to misunderstand what they are supposed to do. Familiarise yourself thoroughly with the exact format of the questions you will be asked, and with the concept of using the touch screen to answer.
4. Running Out of Time
To pass the test, you need to answer at least 43/50 questions correctly in 57 minutes. That allows you more than one minute per question. It might not sound like a lot, but sit still and count to 60 – it’s longer than you think. Don’t panic if you come across a difficult question. Remember that you can flag such questions to come back to at the end, so do so, and move on swiftly. Most questions won’t take you anywhere near a minute to answer, so you will have time to come back to the tricky ones.
5. The Hazards of Hazard Perception
The hazard perception section of the test can be daunting, and the instructions are not as clear as they might be. Many people fail this section of the test simply because they click far too much (and the computer rules that they are trying to cheat the system) or because they don’t click enough.
The key is to understand the difference between a hazard and a developing hazard. Click once when you see a hazard – e.g. a small child riding a bike on the pavement. This is not yet a hazard; it’s a potential hazard. If the kids stays on the pavement, you don’t have a problem. It becomes a developing hazard – requiring you to click again – if and when the child starts to veer towards the road. It’s not enough to click the first time – you must click each time the situation changes to show that you’ve understood and watched the hazard.
All of these reasons for failing the driving theory test can be eliminated with careful preparation, a thorough understanding of the rules, and an injection of self-confidence. Know your stuff, take your time and think before you click – and you’ll pass with no problem.
(Image source: flickr)
