Practical and theory test
Practical test
Once you have passed your theory test and are at a competent standard to go for test, we can then book the practical test.
 
The current test fee is £62.00 weekend prices more expensive when available

The car practical driving test
     
The driving test is straightforward and has been designed to see if you:  
can drive safely in different road and traffic conditions
know The Highway Code and can show this through your driving ability
as long as you show the standard required, you'll pass your driving test. There are no pass or fail quotas
   
What you need to take to your driving test
Driving Licence & Theory Pass cetificate.

Start of the test
Before you start the driving ability part of your test, you'll have an eyesight check and be asked two Show / Tell questions. 1 on themove and 1 usually at the start of your test   
The eyesight check
The examiner will ask you to read the number plate on a parked vehicle to test your eyesight. If you fail the check, your driving test won't continue.
  
The driving ability part of your driving test
If you make a mistake
Don't worry if you make a mistake - it might be a less serious driving fault and might not affect your result

The driving part of your test will last about 40 minutes. Throughout the test your examiner will be looking for an overall safe standard of driving.

Your general driving ability
During your test the examiner will give you directions which you should follow or via sat nav . You'll drive in various road and traffic conditions. You should drive in the way your instructor has trained you.

You might also be asked to carry out an emergency stop.

Your ability to reverse your vehicle safely
You'll be asked to complete an exercise to show how well you can reverse your vehicle. The examiner will choose one exercise from:

Reversing manoeuvres
either into a parking bay, or parallel parking at the side of the road- Or the new pull up on the right  which includes reversing- forward bay parking and reverse out of the bay

Independent driving section of the driving test
Your driving test will include around 20 minutes of independent driving via directions or sat nav This is designed to assess your ability to drive safely while making decisions independently.

If you make a mistake during your test
If you make a mistake, don't worry about it as it might be a less serious driving fault and might not affect your result. However, if at any time your examiner considers your driving to be a danger to other road users they will stop your test. 


Your driving test result
You'll pass your test if you make:

15 or less driving faults
no serious or dangerous faults
When the driving test has ended, you can call your instructor over if they didn't go with you on your test. This is so they can listen to the result and feedback with you.

The examiner will:
tell you whether you passed or not
explain how you did during the test

Once you have passed you test you can start driving straight away - you don't need to wait for your full licence to arrive.

Taking another test if you don't pass
If you don't pass your test, you can take another after ten working days. Working days include Saturdays.

THEORY TEST

The current price is  £23.00

Before you can book your practical test, you first need to pass your theory test. This can be taken at any time during your driving lessons and once passed remains valid for 2 years. 

It is best to start practising for this early in your driving career and as a Drive with Mark's pupil you will have free access to my Theory test website, containing both practice multiple choice questions and hazard perception clips. This will give you the best chance of passing first time and save you money.

The theory test questions are based around the highway code, a copy of which you can buy in most retailers, or you can read it online by clicking the link below  

Unfortunately there are some companies around who will try to rip you off and charge you a booking fee to book your theory test. Please do not fall for this scam, the correct price is £23.00. Do not pay any more than this.  
 
By using the link below you will be taken to the official gov.uk site.  

Book your theory test online at gov.uk  


About the theory and hazard perception test. 
 
The theory test is made up of a multiple-choice part and a hazard perception part. You need to pass both parts to pass the theory test.
 
If you pass one part and fail the other you'll fail the whole test, and you'll need to take both parts again.

The questions in the multiple-choice test will depend on the category of vehicle you are hoping to get a licence for. For example, a motorcycle theory test will contain questions that don't appear in any other test.

For the hazard perception test there are no separate versions f
or different vehicles, but the pass mark is different for them.  
The multiple-choice part 
Before the test starts you'll be given instructions on how it works.

You can choose to do a practice session of multiple-choice questions to get used to the layout of the test. At the end of the practice session the real test will begin.

How the multiple-choice part works
A question and several possible answers will appear on a computer screen - you have to select the correct answer. Some questions may need more than one answer.

You can move between questions and 'flag' questions that you want to come back to later in the test.

Some car and motorcycle questions will be given as a case study. The case study will:


show a short story that five questions will be based on 
focus on real life examples and experiences that you could come across when driving. 
Multiple-choice test types
Category

Time allowed Pass mark
Car and motorcycle 57 minutes 43 out of 50
Lorry and bus 1 hour and 55 minutes 85 out of 100
After the multiple-choice part you can choose to have a break of up to three minutes before the hazard perception part starts. 

The hazard perception part 
Before you start the hazard perception part, you'll be shown a short video clip about how it works.

You'll then be shown a series of video clips on a computer screen. The clips:


feature everyday road scenes
contain at least one developing hazard - but one of the clips will feature two developing hazards
A developing hazard is something that may result in you having to take some action, such as changing speed or direction.

How the hazard perception scoring works
The earlier you notice a developing hazard and make a response, the higher you will score. The most you can score for each developing hazard is five points.

To get a high score you need to:


respond to the developing hazard during the early part of its development
press the mouse button as soon as you see a hazard developing 
You won't be able to review your answers to the hazard perception test.

If you click continuously or in a pattern during a clip a message will appear at the end. It will tell you that you have scored zero for that particular clip.

An example of when to respond to a hazard
Think of a parked car on the side of the road. When you first see it, it isn't doing anything - it's just a parked car. If you respond at this point, you wouldn't score any marks, but you wouldn't lose any marks.

The difference between a potential and developing hazard
When you get closer to the car, you notice that its right-hand indicator starts to flash. This would make you think that the driver of the car is going to move away. The hazard is now developing and a response at this point would score marks.

The indicator coming on is a sign that the car has changed from a potential hazard into a developing hazard.

When you get closer to the car, you'll probably see it start to move away from the side of the road. You should make another response at this point. 

Hazard perception test types
Category Video clips Developing hazards Pass mark
Car and motorcycle 14 clips 15 44 out of 75
Lorry and bus 19 clips 20 67 out of 100
   At the end of your theory test.
At the end of the test you can answer some customer survey questions. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to, and they won't affect the result of the test.

When you have finished the test you can leave the test room - but you won't be able to go back in. You'll then be given your result by the test centre staff.  
Your theory test pass certificate 
If you pass your theory test, you'll get a pass certificate. You'll need this when you book and take your practical test, so it's important that you keep it safe.

Your theory test pass certificate runs out after two years of passing your test. If you have not passed your practical test by then, you'll need to take and pass the theory test again.
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