What did your driving test involve?

[malc-c]

I personally feel the standard of instruction today is lower than it was back in the 70's and 80's. When I learnt to drive the car had to be put in neutral and handbrake applied anytime the car wasn't in motion, including at traffic lights. Seems these days it's acceptable to leave the car in first, with clutch depressed and foot on the brake. There is also concerns over how you park in a carpark rather then how to do an emergency stop safely !

I passed 1st time in '83. The test was 28th December, so roads were busy. After the test to read a number plate at a set distance, the 45 minute test had me doing three point turn, hill start, reverse parallel parking, reversing round a corner and general driving in both built up and dual carriageway areas. Then it was back to the test centre to answer half a dozen highway code questions and that was that, off came the L plates

 

[Butts]

My mother-in-law took her test in an automatic after several attempts with a manual. I don't know how she passed even so as she was incapable of reversing in a straight line. We lived in the T at the end of a cul-de-sac and she always insisted that I turn the car round. Once when the road was empty I refused as all she had to do was reverse in a straight line acriss the head of the T and drive out forwards. 10 minutes later the car was still outside at right angles to the kerb!

Love it !! ... Comedians dream in the pre- PC Days

Was I correct that she could only "drive" an Automatic as she passed in one and not a manual ?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

No written test. A couple of hill starts. Reversing into a car parking space. An emergency stop. Reversing around a corner. Passed first time - December 7th 1974 around Preston Lancs.

 

[Domh245]

When I learnt to drive the car had to be put in neutral and handbrake applied anytime the car wasn't in motion, including at traffic lights. Seems these days it's acceptable to leave the car in first, with clutch depressed and foot on the brake. There is also concerns over how you park in a carpark rather then how to do an emergency stop safely !

You are still supposed to put the handbrake on when you come to a stop rather than leaving your foot on the brake, so that you don't dazzle drivers behind. Clutch in/not isn't really a driving standards thing so can't be assessed on the test, but it's certainly kinder to the car to leave it in neutral than keep the clutch in! That said, how you drive during the test (handbrake on every time you stop, neck like an owl met a spring checking all your mirrors, push-pulling the steering wheel, etc) and how you drive normally are quite different!

As for emergency braking/manoeuvres, given that every new car has ABS (and even now, unless you're driving a classic the old £400 beater is going to have it!) an emergency stop really is as simple as putting both feet to the floor, ensuring you've got the correct pedal under your right foot!. Proving that you can manoeuvre the car safely is certainly a more useful skill, particularly given how congested roads are and how small car parking spaces are becoming, or feels like at least.

 

[Ianno87]

I personally feel the standard of instruction today is lower than it was back in the 70's and 80's. When I learnt to drive the car had to be put in neutral and handbrake applied anytime the car wasn't in motion, including at traffic lights. Seems these days it's acceptable to leave the car in first, with clutch depressed and foot on the brake. There is also concerns over how you park in a carpark rather then how to do an emergency stop safely !

In 2008 I was taught neutral + handbrake when anticipating to be stationary for more than ~5 seconds.

 

[malc-c]

You are still supposed to put the handbrake on when you come to a stop rather than leaving your foot on the brake, so that you don't dazzle drivers behind.

This was my point when I commented on the video... the "certified" instructor who uploads the videos of mock tests stated that the "parking" brake was only used when the car is parked, not required when waiting at a junction or, in this case, traffic lights. Back in my day it cost a fortune for anyone wanting to do the advance driving tests to become an instructor... these days anyone with enough money to buy into a franchise seem to qualify....

Not saying I'm an expert driver... and as you go on to say I don't drive the way I did to pass my test (does anyone)... but, touch wood, have been claim free for the past 20 odd years, and then that last incident was some 85 year old t-boning me whilst I was already on the roundabout.....

I think back in the 80's the testers were more concerned if you could control the car safely, and had decent road sense... I got one of the highway code questions half right, but the tester corrected me and still gave me the pass certificate

 

[jfollows]

In 2008 I was taught neutral + handbrake when anticipating to be stationary for more than ~5 seconds.

I had a real problem when I started driving cars with automatic transmission, especially in the USA. In fact, my own cars there were "stick shift", but I often drove other cars. I started out by putting them in neutral with the handbrake on when stopped at lights and so on. In the end I realised this was excessive. My last car (now sold) in the UK was automatic and I certainly didn't do that any more - however I'd apply the handbrake because it was now automatic and would release when I pressed the accelerator again, so I guess that's the best solution, meaning no rear red brake lights I guess.

 

[Cowley]

Did you put the sirens on in the event of a Traffic Jam ?

I passed mine in 1980, does that mean I can also drive the above ?

No I wasn’t brave enough to do that, but I did fire the lights and the nee-nahs up a couple of times driving around the back lanes where I lived at 2 in the morning.

Yes you should be able to drive those things but it’s ringing a bell that I had to request they were kept on my license when I renewed it after changing address.

 

[GusB]

A clutch is an expensive thing to replace when it gets worn out (bitter experience!), so for me it's handbrake on and neutral when waiting at traffic lights etc.

 

[DelW]

I too was puzzled why so many drivers wait with their foot on the brakes rather than using the handbrake and relaxing the feet, but my last car provided one possible answer. It had a very effective "hill start assist" which prevented rolling back, but that only worked if the car was held on the foot brakes. If I used the handbrake, I had to balance throttle, clutch and handbrake as normal. I now have an automatic with an electronic parking brake, so I normally use the foot brake when waiting too.

 

[High Dyke]

Failed my first car test - seemingly I didn't turn my head sufficiently enough to show I was observing traffic at junctions. These days it would be called 'spacial awareness'. I passed my car test at the second attempt, though the examiner did apologise for selecting a metal road grating as the wrong place to do the emergency stop. The car skidded on it as I braked.

As for my bus test, passed that at the first attempt; then again it would've been embarrassing not to. My test was taken around Lincoln, where they used two different test routes. However, as it was the day of the Lincolnshire Show the examiner abandoned the 'uphill circuit' and used the 'south circuit'. Also the driving instructor had been commandeered to operate on the shuttle buses to/from the showground. so it was just the examiner and I, which probably aided my confidence. Hill start up Cross O'cliff hill, sorted without fault; then onto the gear change exercise (you had to demonstrate control of the vehicle using only the gears to stop and start again). Then onto the reversing round a corner and finally a steady drive back to the depot for a few questions on the highway code. Briefly had the 'pass' slip in my hand, prior to submitting it for my driver badge.

 

[malc-c]

If I used the handbrake, I had to balance throttle, clutch and handbrake as normal.

That's where the "skill" came in. Getting the clutch to bite, releasing the brake and not stalling the engine showed the examiner you had good control of the car and good coordination. These days modern cars are fitted with so many assists (hill start, parking etc) that the old skills are no longer practiced. This is why I feel those who took their test years ago in basic probably have a better standard of driving than those who passed recently.

 

[jfollows]

Failed my first car test - seemingly I didn't turn my head sufficiently enough to show I was observing traffic at junctions. These days it would be called 'spacial awareness'. I passed my car test at the second attempt, though the examiner did apologise for selecting a metal road grating as the wrong place to do the emergency stop. The car skidded on it as I braked.

Interesting point to me - I had a stroke in 2013 and wasn't allowed to drive immediately after. I was eventually able to drive again, with the written approval of both my GP and my hospital specialist, but what interested me was that the majority of questions asked were to determine how good my "spatial awareness" was, not about physical defects as much. I am fortunate in that although I have some problems with my left side, including my left arm and hand, that my awareness remains good and it was no problem being signed off as fit to drive again after a couple of months. The fact that my car at the time was an automatic also helped, but wasn't a requirement, so that I'm still legally able to drive a manual transmission, I suspect I could probably now do so with minor difficulty, although I've neither needed nor attempted to do so.

 

[DelW]

That's where the "skill" came in. Getting the clutch to bite, releasing the brake and not stalling the engine showed the examiner you had good control of the car and good coordination. These days modern cars are fitted with so many assists (hill start, parking etc) that the old skills are no longer practiced. This is why I feel those who took their test years ago in basic probably have a better standard of driving than those who passed recently.

I agree, and I was usually quite happy to do a handbrake start. But my route home from work used to include a steep country lane going up to a busy junction, where there could be a half mile long queue on a bad day. That meant doing 10 or 15 steep hill starts in the space of a few minutes, and then I was happy to use the assist system!

 

[Ianno87]

Failed my first car test - seemingly I didn't turn my head sufficiently enough to show I was observing traffic at junctions. These days it would be called 'spacial awareness'. I passed my car test at the second attempt, though the examiner did apologise for selecting a metal road grating as the wrong place to do the emergency stop. The car skidded on it as I braked.

On a test *always* exaggerate your head movement to look at mirrors etc. just to make it absolutely clear you are using them (don't just move your eyeballs)

 

[malc-c]

On a test *always* exaggerate your head movement to look at mirrors etc. just to make it absolutely clear you are using them (don't just move your eyeballs)

My instructor told me to move the mirror slightly so that I had to move my head in order to see what's behind to ensure the examiner picked up the movements.