Driving test - bay parking. A compulsary maneuver?

456789

book12 wrote: »

Talking about parking, when you guys do parellel parking, was it with 1 or 2 cars? Or does it depend on the 'situation' on your driving test?

when I did my test it wasn't between two cars only with a car in front of you (once you are in position) none behind

DaveF327

book12 wrote: »

Talking about parking, when you guys do parellel parking, was it with 1 or 2 cars? Or does it depend on the 'situation' on your driving test?

Usually, you'll be asked to pull up well before a single parked car. After explaining the exercise, the examiner will ask you to complete it "within about two car lengths" so the "car behind you" is normally imaginary. In exceptional circumstances, however, there may be a 2nd car involved, but the examiner will be careful to select a space that is bigger than two car lengths. In practice, you should be able to park in a space about 1½ times the length of your car so if you can't cope with the space the examiner has selected, you've got problems that need addressing before you take a further test.

newfoundglory

DaveF327 wrote: »

Your ultimate goal should be to acquire the skill of safe driving for life, not just to meet the minimum standard, which is what the driving test is. Any instructor worth his salt should be showing you how to handle any possible situation confidently as no-one knows what's around the next corner. Once you can do this, the test will purely be a formality and a very simple one at that.

I disagree. DSA "rules" mean that no matter how well you drive, you can still fail as a result of the actions of another road user though no fault of your own. This means there is actually no real incentive to be really good at driving before taking your test.

I consider myself to be a safe driver. Good driving is no more than being perceptive and anticipating things to happen before they do. So-called defensive driving. Its quite hard (if not impossible) to demonstrate that in a driving test.

cajef

newfoundglory wrote: »

DSA "rules" mean that no matter how well you drive, you can still fail as a result of the actions of another road user though no fault of your own.

I consider myself to be a safe driver.

Where did you manage to glean that incorrect and useless bit of information and what DSA 'rules' are you looking at ?

The only DSA rule that I worked to was that if a candidate drove to the required standard they would pass their test, which also incorporates taking the appropriate action to avoid any faults or problems that may be caused by other drivers while on the test.

As for your opinion about your driving, how many times during driver training have I heard that only to find that the person was cr*p or downright dangerous.

newfoundglory

When I had my driving lesson last week, my instructor had just come from a driving test. The guy taking the test made a serious fault just as he was leaving the test centre. My instructor was therefore naturally very surprised when they returned to the test centre to discover that the guy had actually passed!

Instructor questioned the examiner as to how this was possible.... and was told that as the serious fault was at the start of the test he let that one slide!

I'm sorry, but the DSA is a complete joke.

It seems that minor and serious faults no longer matter... you will be passed at the discretion of the examiner.

cajef

newfoundglory wrote: »

When I had my driving lesson last week

Well I can see from your driving experience you obviously know all about the driving test, and how it is conducted, I would suggest that maybe when you have passed your test you may be a bit more qualified to comment on the standards of driving and how the test is conducted.

newfoundglory

Standards of driving is just a little bit subjective.

It really depends who you ask and what book you read.

Or in the case of a driving test, which examiner you get.

DaveF327

newfoundglory wrote: »

I disagree. DSA "rules" mean that no matter how well you drive, you can still fail as a result of the actions of another road user though no fault of your own.

Absolutely untrue. Examiners are well aware of whose fault an incident was and will assess accordingly. The actions of another road user may well be out of your hands, but you're assessed on your reaction to it. Take a pedestrian who steps out into the road. If you ignore the problem and plough into him, you'll fail. If you haven't been updating your mirrors recently and swerve suddenly into passing (or oncoming) traffic, you'll fail as you've avoided one dangerous situation and headed into another. If you brake promptly, correctly and under control to avoid the situation, then the examiner will be happy that you've acted correctly under the circumstances and there won't be a fault.

As for the situation you mention (early in the test), I would be interested to hear more about what actually happened and the surroundings (which by the sound of it, you only heard the half of). Notwithstanding that, if the result was a pass, doesn't that contradict your earlier assertion that examiners are "out to fail you" when random things happen?

Have you recently failed a test yourself, by any chance?

cajef

newfoundglory wrote: »

Standards of driving is just a little bit subjective.

It really depends who you ask and what book you read.

Or in the case of a driving test, which examiner you get.

Ah so it is subjective, you really are an expert and you have not even passed your test yet.

You learn a lot about driving from other drivers and books, try some advanced driving courses and years of experience then you may be qualified to comment.:rolleyes:

In the case of the driving test, more like the instructor you have rather than the examiner.

book12

456789 wrote: »

when I did my test it wasn't between two cars only with a car in front of you (once you are in position) none behind

DaveF327 wrote: »

Usually, you'll be asked to pull up well before a single parked car. After explaining the exercise, the examiner will ask you to complete it "within about two car lengths" so the "car behind you" is normally imaginary. In exceptional circumstances, however, there may be a 2nd car involved, but the examiner will be careful to select a space that is bigger than two car lengths. In practice, you should be able to park in a space about 1½ times the length of your car so if you can't cope with the space the examiner has selected, you've got problems that need addressing before you take a further test.

Ok. That sounds good.

I hope that happens on my test, and driving lessons. I don't want to bump/scratch the car behind me.

newfoundglory wrote: »

When I had my driving lesson last week, my instructor had just come from a driving test. The guy taking the test made a serious fault just as he was leaving the test centre. My instructor was therefore naturally very surprised when they returned to the test centre to discover that the guy had actually passed!

Instructor questioned the examiner as to how this was possible.... and was told that as the serious fault was at the start of the test he let that one slide!

I'm sorry, but the DSA is a complete joke.

It seems that minor and serious faults no longer matter... you will be passed at the discretion of the examiner.

I'm surprised that he passed with a serious fault. I thought the assessing of the driving starts at the test centre.

I've read that one serious fault means failing the whole test.