Tips to prepare for your driving theory test

Are you ready to take one of the most important tests of your life? The one that guarantees freedom on the road, having your own set of wheels and, yes, sometimes (unfortunately) becoming the designated driver. But before you reach your goal, you’re looking at some long, tough hours ahead of you when you hit the books. Follow these tips during your practising driving theory test questions.

Chart out your goals and deadlines

Don’t wait till the night before your test to cram all the information. It’s a waste of money and effort on your part. Chalk out manageable deadlines for the different chapters, leaving at least two weeks for revision.

Get study material

This one’s obvious, but remember, aside from the basic material, there are also some great apps and online revision tools for you to work with. If you’re looking for a site to help you from start to finish, you can head over to UK Drive Test, where we provide study material, apps and mock tests.

Study with a friend

Let’s face it, you’d much rather be spending your evenings with your friends than being stuck in your room with these books. Try and combine the two. Chances are you know someone who’ll be taking their test too, so why not practice your driving theory questions together? Two minds are, after all, better than one.

Schedule regular breaks

Don’t wear out your concentration. Ideally, you should take a break every 45 minutes. Drink some water, do some stretches, check your Facebook for 10 minutes (not more, no matter how strong the temptation is!) before you hit the books again.

Schedule revisions

Don’t wait till you’ve completed the entire syllabus before you start revising. Ideally, you should spend the last 15 minutes of your each practice session revising what you’ve learnt. Schedule mock tests every week or month- just be sure not to wait till the last day. As a side note, plan how you’ll treat yourself if you score well on a mock test - it’ll do wonders for your motivation.

These are just a few tips to help you prepare for your driving theory test. Since everyone has a different learning style, you’ll have to see what works for you and perhaps even find other methods. Remember to keep your eyes on the prize (your driving license) and soldier on.

Driving Test Myths

The amount of weird myths that surround the practical driving test could be a good source for a fiction bestseller. But for now, we’re going to be busting some of those myths, so that you know exactly what to expect on the day of your driving test.

They only pass a certain number of candidates each day

This is a sour grapes-type myth born from the thinking, ‘I can’t believe I failed. Wait... I didn’t fail because I was bad. I failed because they can only pass a certain number of people per day.’ The only factor, however, that decides whether you pass is your skill and how much you’ve practiced.

They make more money if you fail

If you fail, you have to pay for the test again and that way the driving authorities make more money, right? Wrong! It costs £62 to retake the test, but over a £100 tax when you insure your first car and we’re not even counting fuel and road tax. So do the math. 

Drive slowly, it shows you’re cautious

Driving slowly during your practical test is as bad as driving fast. It shows that you’re not confident. Be cautious by all means, but if pedestrians are going faster than you - it’s time to hit the accelerator.

The examiner is out to get you

It’s tempting to think your examiner is looking to fail you because he’s had a bad day, hates the way you look or takes pleasure in crushing people’s dreams. No, these guys are professionals. (Besides, if for some reason he did hate you, wouldn’t he be more likely to pass you, so that he doesn’t have to see you again during the retest?)

Stalling will result in an instant fail

Unless you stall at a roundabout or some other dangerous part of the road, you won’t fail. Even experienced drivers stall every once in a while. It’s how you handle the stalling that matters. Take a breath and continue driving.

Now that we’ve put these myths out of the way, you can start the real practice for your driving test. Head on over for some great study and review material at UK Drive Test.

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Does your driving test center's location affect your success?

Passing your driving test is all about hard work and preparation, right? Maybe not. Several studies show that some cities have a consistently higher pass rate than others. Check out it out below:

Rural vs Urban

The further away you are from the city, the better. For instance, Gairloch, Scotland, has a pass rate of 76.5%. Compare this to Wood Green, London, where the pass rate is a dismal 37.5%. Overall, ¼ of women and 1/3 of men pass in urban cities, while almost ¾ of all aspiring drivers pass in rural ones.

Why the difference?

More practice in rural areas: Driving instructors says that in rural areas, people pick up driving skills for farm work when they’re quite young. In urban areas, however, there are no wide, open and safe spaces for youngsters to get behind the wheel.

Language difficulties: Cities with high levels of immigration often have low pass rates because the aspiring drivers have to answer the test in English. While interpreters are allowed during the driving theory test, the language barrier does influence the pass rate.

Less hazards in rural areas? Many have concluded that built up areas will have a great number of hazards, while rural areas, which have their own set of challenges like cattle, etc, will have lesser hazards.

Top 5 centres with the lowest pass rate

According to the DVLA’s statistics, these test centres have the lowest pass rate as of March 2016:

Belvedere (London): 30.3%

Birmingham (South Yardley): 31.5%

Wanstead (London): 32%

Cheetham Hill (Manchester): 32.2%

Garston (Liverpool): 34.1%

By now, you’re probably considering relocating to some part of Wales to get your license, but don’t panic. Practising in the city you live in will only make you more prepared for its roads when you are cruising solo. Moreover, factors like preparation, study aids – if you’re on the lookout, we have some great apps and revision tools at UK Drive Test - and driving instructors heavily influence your chances of success. So take a deep breath and continue practicing, you’ll get your license soon enough. 

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Keep these things in mind when booking your driving test

Booking your driving test is the easiest part of the process. There still, however, are a few measures you can take to give yourself a slight edge and stay calm during the day of your test.

Go through the material first

Don’t book the test the minute you buy your study material. Be sure to get an overview of the two sections in the test – hazard perception and theory test – so you can judge how much time you’ll need to master the material. Book your test only after you’ve made an estimate of this.

Don’t leave the booking till the last minute

As you go on with your preparation, you might become less confident about passing and start procrastinating booking the driving test. To avoid this, book a date after you’ve had an overview of the material, as we’ve mentioned above.

Keep other important dates in mind

If you know that your friend’s birthday party is coming up and you’ll stay up all night celebrating, don’t book the test for the morning after. Similarly, it’s best to avoid stressful times like exams or even weddings where you might be asked to run errands or not have enough time to study.

Pick an early slot

The longer you have to wait for your driving test, the more you’ll worry. And the more you’ll worry, the worse you’ll perform. So try and pick a slot in the morning to get your test out of the way and keep your anxiety at bay.

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How to remember all the road signs for your driving theory test

Almost six hundred road signs to memorize and that too, just for one section of your theory test (which itself is half of your complete driving test!) - let us guess, you’re panicking. Sure, it’s not the easiest thing to do - learning sign after sign. But if you strategise your approach with these steps, it’ll get a lot easier, we promise.

Practice, practice, and then practice some more!

There’s really no substitute for it- if you want your license, you’ll have to put in the work. There are some great apps to review signs and your driving theory test material in general – you could opt for UK Drive Test’s apps and mocks tests. This way you’ll also be able to keep a track of the signs that you tend to forget.

Examples from real life

Experience is the best teacher. Whether you’re out with your friends, heading for work or just walking in the park, you’re bound to come across signs. Don’t ignore them like you usually might and instead observe the effect they have on traffic. Trust us, if you’re stuck in traffic for an hour because of a particular sign, you’ll definitely remember it.

Categorize your approach

For those of you who are visual learners, try to break down a sign’s meaning to its shape and color. Road signs come in three shapes and five colours. If you can remember the meaning of each of these broad categories, you’ll be more likely to make an educated guess about the sign’s meaning.

Try some old school methods

A driving test is like any other exam you’ve taken, so why not use the methods you used back in school? Recite your answers out loud – this one works great because you’ll be hearing the information as well as seeing it, so it’s registered in your memory in two different ways. Other old-school methods include flash cards and getting your family members to quiz you.

If you get bored easily, you can try all of the approaches listed above to keep it interesting. And most importantly, don’t give up. Over time, you’ll start recognizing all of the road signs one by one and eventually, be ready to pass your driving theory test. 

With UK drive Test get yourself prepared for traffic signs in a convienent and easy way. 

Just scroll through the categories of traffic signs to remember them easily.

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Don’t make these mistakes on your driving theory test

You’re dreaming about getting your license, everyone’s giving you advice about how to pass your theory test, but what about how to not fail it? A 2013 survey showed the most common questions that people tend to get wrong during the exam. So the next time you sit down to practice your theory test, why not give these questions a bit of extra attention?

Questions to answer in case of a breakdown on the motorway

While this question didn’t make it to the survey, it usually finds its way to many lists about the top 10 most difficult questions on the driving theory test. If your car breaks down on the motorway and you use the emergency telephone, what questions will you be asked? The answer is:

a) The number on the telephone that you’ve used to make the call

b) Your personal details and the details of your vehicle

c) Any motoring organisation you belong to

Two-way traffic sign

Watch out for this treacherous sign signifying two-way traffic on a one-way road that confused around 45% of the survey’s participants. Though it wasn’t in the survey, another tricky one is the ‘end of controlled parking zone’ sign. 

Documents to produce in case of a collision

Again, around 45% of people were stumped by this question. Remember that in the event of a collision, the police can ask you for your driving license, MOT certificate, and your insurance certificate.

Parking on a cycle lane with a solid white line

Here’s some bad news for cyclists - over 54% of people didn’t know when it was prohibited to park a car in a cycle lane marked with a solid white line. The answer? During its operational hours- a little obvious when you think about it, but as the statistics prove, a tough one when you’re giving your theory test.

When can you overtake on the left?

Often ranked as the toughest question on UK’s driving theory test, which 63% of people got wrong – it’s, ‘Name three situations in which you can overtake a vehicle on the left?’ The correct answer is:

a) On a one-way street

b) When the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right

c) In a traffic queue if the vehicles on the right are moving more slowly

So don’t be in that group of people who get these common questions wrong, make your mistakes more unique (no, not really!). If you practice all the questions thoroughly - you can find some great revision material and tests on UK Drive Test- there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pass your driving theory test in the first go. With Comprehensive and detailed study material with practice and mock test available, it's a treat for the people who want to crack their theory test exam in the first go. 

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