The first piece of advice we can give here is: always ask your instructor BEFORE you book your Practical Driving Test as they know if you’re test ready.

We understand that with current waiting times the temptation is to book the next available slot or else wait weeks for the next one, but booking a Practical Driving Test prematurely could very easily waste you at least £62.

Stuart Taylor, of Bill Plant Driving School explains;

“With current waiting times, an instructor often has to plan ahead 2 or 3 months along a learning pathway that is not yet fully laid.

“Sometimes illness causes a loss of continuity and often pupils hear ‘test’ and believe that you have told them they are test ready, not ‘if all goes to plan you should be ready’ and their focus falls away believing that the hard work is done.

“Sometimes unforeseen issues arise along their own pathway of learning, for example, loss of confidence, struggling with a manoeuvre, or picking up bad habits from watching others. We all know these things happen but we would be doing wrong by our pupils if we didn’t try to plan ahead for them.”

Not Test Ready? Need more practical revision? Take a look at our Online training.

What to do about driving lessons if you’ve already booked a Practical Driving Test

If you’ve booked your Practical Driving Test you really shouldn’t be cancelling any lessons unless it’s absolutely essential.

Your instructor will have a learning schedule in place for you to be ready for the test, and if you’re missing lessons you could very well fall behind in your learning.

It’s important to remember that your instructor has experience of pupils taking their practical test, and it’s always a good idea to listen to their advice.

If you disagree with your instructor and feel test-ready, ask for a mock practical test; a 40-minute lesson with the same format as the driving test.

This way you’ll be able to prove your ability to pass – and if you don’t ‘pass’ that, you’ll know the areas you need to work on.

Not only is a failed practical test a huge disappointment, but it’s also a waste of your time, plus the cost of your lesson and test!

So, think carefully if you do want to go ahead or if you want to follow your instructor’s advice and think about pushing it back until you’re ready – which if your test is more than 3 working days away – won’t cost you a penny!

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