You will arrive at the DTC (Driving Test Centre) with your JDM instructor. You will be in the waiting room by the appointment time. You will have both parts of your provisional licence (Photocard and Counterpart) your valid Theory Test Certificate and a letter confirming your test or a print out from your internet test booking.
At the appointment time, the examiners will appear and call your name. They will security scan your photocard licence and ask you to sign a declaration that your car is insured for this test. As a JDM customer, please rest assured you ARE fully insured!
The examiner now leads you outside and will ask you to read a car number plate from the required distance (New style plates from 20.5m). He or She will then ask you to lead them to your car and at this stage will ask you 2 questions on car maintenance. (We will have prepared you for this during a previous lesson or by giving you a JDM leaflet) Once this is concluded, you will be asked to set off following the road ahead unless instructed otherwise by the examiner or by signs or road markings.
Tests are spaced 57 minutes apart. In this time YOU must be out for a minimum of 30 minutes. You will perform 1 of the reverse manoeuvres that you have learned, you will perform a contolled stop behind a vehicle and then set off at an angle, you will drive on a variety of roads and junctions and you may (1 in 3 chance) be asked to do an emergency stop.
From 4th December, 2018, the test requires that you complete 20 minutes of independent driving. This will require the candidate to either follow a series of Road Signs or to take instruction from the Sat-Nav provided by the examiner.
The purpose of this is not to test your memory or knowledge of geography, it is to see if you can drive correctly, unassisted and handle realistic distractions!! This part of the test is designed to let daydreamers forget what they’re doing and ensure they either concentrate or make serious errors.
The examiner will ask you to pull up and will then describe how the next 20 minutes will take place. If it is to be the Sat-Nav, the device will have been placed on top of the dashboard and will now be activated. If it is the road-signs. After one or several junctions, the examiner will give you another location to follow and so on until the 20 minutes are completed., You can ask for confirmation before going wrong and you will not be penalised for wrong turns.
This is not a memory or geography test – It is better to correctly go the wrong way than to incorrectly go the right way.
After completing the Independent driving, the examiner will resume directing junction by junction.
You will return to the test centre and your result will be given to you. You will be asked if you would like your instructor to listen to the debrief so he/she can help you rectify problems etc. For those who pass: Your two part licence can now be given to the examiner and you will receive the pass cerificate until your full licence arrives in the post from the DVLA.
Your instructor will drive you home as you will either be too excited or sadly too upset. The national average pass rate is in the region of 44% with only a quarter of candidates passing first time. However, we will do everything WE CAN to help you pass and we expect YOU to do the same. Trust our help and advice. Drivers pass driving tests, not learners, so make sure you are driving as often as possible before your test.