My signature failed my driving test?

EssentialParadox

I had my first driving test yesterday after taking lessons for a few months. I wasn't nervous for the test as I've been driving perfectly for the last month and my instructor expressed to me how confident he was about my driving.

At the test center I saw the other students being greeted by their examiners and leaving for their tests. When my examiner came out of the office to greet me she asked me to sign a declaration. A few seconds after looking at my signature she told me to write it again and claimed, "that looks nothing like the signature on your card." To me they're almost identical but I do acknowledge my signature's changed in the years since I was 16 (I'm 24 now) so I signed it again. She didn't say anything and still didn't seem happy. She was quite cold to me and held my license to my face and compared for 10 seconds until she said we could go to the car. From that point on all I could think about was if she believed I was lying. I had to leave for the test immediately and couldn't concentrate on anything; I failed 30 seconds into it by stalling on a roundabout outside the test center (I've never done this in my life.)

When I got back to the center and she left the car, before saying anything my instructor came and told me that he and other staff at the center discussed she'd acted inappropriately in the way she questioned my identity so coldly.

I can't tell if I've just reacted overly sensitively to it or if she did act improperly. I know there's no requirement that the examiner needs to put you to any ease during the test, but I have to wonder how many could have taken that surprise 'interrogation' and gone straight out to a test with the same woman.


If anyone asks, I'm not muslim, and I don't wear a burka. I'm just a guy from devon!

harveybobbles

My own signature changes from day to day, let alone years!!

They couldn't fail you for stalling at a roundabout, you must have had a enough minir points along the way which was deemed enough for them to issue the fail.

EssentialParadox

I stalled ON the roundabout.:( Never done anything remotely like that in my whole time driving.

MX5huggy

I think you have to put it down to experience. I don't know if you could apply for a new licence, with a new photo and signature. (ring the DVLA) You will need to do this within 2 yrs anyway. To save any trouble next time. PS. they dont change the photo as a matter ofcourse when you go from provisional to full.

Inactive

I think that you need to change your driving instructor if he/she has been telling you that you have been driving " perfectly " for the last month.

More importantly, if he / she could not even advise you that nobody fails a driving test for stalling, then they really are not up to the job.

andy111

I would phone up the relevant body, ask to speak to someone in a senior position, and explain the above calmly and clearly. Do not be fobbed off, and ask for an explanation of the Examiner's actions, and if they are within their rights to behave quite so provocatively at a time when you are naturally very nervous.

Explain that if the Examiner had any doubts she should either pull the test or mention afterwards the anomaly - not unsettle you needlessly at such a critical time.

Hintza

I agree with andy to a certain extent and probably worth a go.

But I imagine they are under strict instructions to check that the person is who they say they are. Is there not a racket wherby folk sit your test for you for a suitable fee?

I stalled in my test many moons ago. Inactives points or also valid you really need to ask yourself honestly if you drove correctly or made a hash of it.

EssentialParadox

Thanks for the replies. I might point something out to a senior manager. Even if I can't get a refund I don't think this should happen to another student.

I fully appreciate that part of her job is to ensure people aren't trying to take tests for others, but I also think there is a polite way of going about that and she didn't approach it in a reasonable way in the opinion of myself and the other staff.

Inactive wrote: »

I think that you need to change your driving instructor if he/she has been telling you that you have been driving " perfectly " for the last month.

More importantly, if he / she could not even advise you that nobody fails a driving test for stalling, then they really are not up to the job.

I think you've misunderstood or misread my post. My instructor said he was confident in my driving, particularly with the methods I've handled difficult situations. I feel I've been driving perfectly the last month. I'm convinced if I hadn't had this provocation immediately before my test I wouldn't have had any problems in passing.

Also, you do not fail a test for simply stalling. You can stall fifty times in a test and you wouldn't fail. If you cause other drivers to unusually brake or stop is what causes a fail.

EssentialParadox

Hintza wrote: »

you really need to ask yourself honestly if you drove correctly or made a hash of it.

I didn't drive well at all in the first five minutes. I couldn't concentrate on anything after what had just happened. My driving was terrible and I could've taken a thousand more lessons over the next ten years and I would still fail my test if the same thing happened to me again right before my test.

MX5huggy wrote: »

I think you have to put it down to experience. I don't know if you could apply for a new licence, with a new photo and signature. (ring the DVLA) You will need to do this within 2 yrs anyway. To save any trouble next time. PS. they dont change the photo as a matter ofcourse when you go from provisional to full.

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I need to redo my photo as my appearance has barely changed and I've used it for ID for years, I think it was this woman trying to be overreactive on checking, but she doesn't seem to appreciate I was just about to take a driving test.

DCFC79

MX5huggy wrote: »

I think you have to put it down to experience. I don't know if you could apply for a new licence, with a new photo and signature. (ring the DVLA) You will need to do this within 2 yrs anyway. To save any trouble next time. PS. they dont change the photo as a matter ofcourse when you go from provisional to full.

why should the op go to all this trouble,

jinky67

EssentialParadox wrote: »

Also, you do not fail a test for simply stalling. You can stall fifty times in a test and you wouldn't fail. If you cause other drivers to unusually brake or stop is what causes a fail.

i do feel for you she was rather harsh but i must pull you up on this^^^^^ you would fail because you are not in complete control of the car. As far as i remember you are only allowed 12 minor faults now so you would fail if you stalled as often as you state:cool: