Driving Test Failed

Slowhand

OddballJamie wrote: »

Bit bizarre, sounds like he's padding the lesson out.

By about 5 seconds maybe!

OddballJamie

Slowhand wrote: »

By about 5 seconds maybe!

5 seconds every lesson, every student, every day, soon adds up.
Wonder what other fuel saving pointless exercises he gets up to.

wba31

OddballJamie wrote: »

5 seconds every lesson, every student, every day, soon adds up.
Wonder what other fuel saving pointless exercises he gets up to.

or maybe the driving instructor is ensuring the kid driving his car has adequate eye sight to be on the road...

OddballJamie

wba31 wrote: »

or maybe the driving instructor is ensuring the kid driving his car has adequate eye sight to be on the road...

Every lesson? Is he expecting she's suddenly lost her sight over night.

SLITHER99

OddballJamie wrote: »

Every lesson? Is he expecting she's suddenly lost her sight over night.

Actually, my instructor did this too. Some of the letters can be quite hard to see especially if your glasses aren't up to scratch. He did it simply as I was horribly wrong the first time he asked. OP, it's not uncommon for people to struggle with this test, despite the genuinely gifted and God-like drivers you'll read on this forum who, well, I don't know WHAT the roads would be like if we didn't have their superior driving skills gracing our carriageways!

But I actually discovered that my eyesight worsened if I hadn't cleaned my glasses properly. OK, sure, sounds simple and like I'm simple for having not realized sooner. But the little things you miss can easily make a V look like a W or a O look like a Q. Or if it's a dark day, etc.

I got my glasses changed a few weeks before my test too and generally keep my eyesight tested. Though, I have to say, I have no idea how far 20 feet actually is. I can read number plates from down the road so I'm happy enough and have no reason to believe my eyesight is an issue.

(flame suit on)

colino

You can't appeal, he didn't fulfil either the provisional licence, or driving standards due to poor eyesight. Now that he has corrected vision he can reapply for both licence and test, but no one has done anything wrong here apart from your son, and his instructor, by letting him drive with dodgy eyesight. The minimum standard in daylight is hardly up to fighter pilot levels and he must have been aware of his less than 20.20 vision. Good catch by the examiner.

TrickyWicky

OddballJamie wrote: »

Every lesson? Is he expecting she's suddenly lost her sight over night.

Sight degeneration doesn't degrade at a constant rate OddBall. It can in some cases degrade overnight or over the period of a week. Granted it's rare but it can happen.

It would easily be possible for someones sight to deteriorate between the first lesson and the test.

Nilrem

OddballJamie wrote: »

Bit bizarre, sounds like he's padding the lesson out.

Or has had people who need corrective lenses and normally use contacts but forgot...

I remember my instructor (going back many years) getting me to do it several times, I think on my first drive in the day, then again on my first lesson when the light wasn't great, and a couple of weeks before the test (I took lessons for about 3-4 months - long enough for eyesight to vary a bit if you're unlucky).
This was with me always wearing glasses.

Given the liabilities for driving instructors, and the law requiring you to be able to read the licence plate at a set distance I wouldn't be surprised if some instructors are a little bit over cautious with regards to eyesight.
Especially as it raises questions as to their ability as an instructor if they put someone forward for a test and it turns out the person is legally unsafe to drive (I would not be surprised if such an incident gets reported back to the people who licence the instructors).

It's also a good thing imo to try and get someone to understand the importance of monitoring their eyesight, especially as a driver.
Some people are fools when it comes to their eyesight in general (getting very irregular checks at the opticians), and utter idiots in regards to their eyesight and driving.

martinsurrey

Also, don’t forget that a routine can help to relieve stress.

Getting a learner to do the same mundane thing at the start of a lesson can help to relax them, and to get them to focus.

also at the start of the test when asked, it will be second nature, and will get them into driving lesson mode (and help them relax at the start of a stressful test!).

a good idea on the part of the instructor I think

alleycat`

Be interesting to know how they did the eye test?

On my test the examiner chose a car that clearly further than the distance required but it was the only one around.

I could read it but my instructor was hugely pee'd off about it after i told him as it was adding unnecessary duress on a stressful situation.

I assume they did it on a car first and if he couldn't do that they took him to a designated / confirmed distance / wall mounted plate?

Your sons license will need amending, whatever, with the code 01 showing eye sight correction.