Revising for the Practical Driving Test

Can you revise for the Practical Driving Test?

When learners think about preparing for their practical driving test it is tempting to think that the only preparation is to keep practicing with their instructor or possibly in their own car with parents. There are however a number of other ways that the learner can prepare/practice as well as actually in a vehicle.
We will look at what I consider are the most useful methods that can greatly increase the learner’s confidence and the chances of them passing the driving test first time.
The areas we will look at are:
1. Driving Test Revision Cards.
2. Writing notes and using diagrams.
3. Talking through the drive.
Revision Cards are often used by students to revise for a subject, by using the cards on a regular basis the facts become more fixed into the memory and are able to be recalled more quickly.
As with my own Driving Test Revision Cards these should cover all the key areas of the drive from mirrors to manoeuvres. Each subject will have the key points listed together with advice on what should or should not be done. By reading a card and thinking about their drive the learner can (and through experience does) become more confident in what they will need to do, both when driving and on the driving test.
Regular use is essential to gain the best from this excellent tool. The cards are small enough to be carried by the learner, enabling regular revision, such as when travelling to and from school/work or in free periods during the day. I would strongly suggest professionally prepared Driving Test Revision Cards as the learner can then be sure that important information is not missed out and you will also get important advice from a qualified ADI.
Writing notes and using diagrams is another great way of fixing important information into the learner’s memory. Possibly the best way of describing how to use this method is to look at an example. As an Approved Driving Instructor I regularly see pupils doubting what they should do on a manoeuvre, even though they do know exactly what to do. In this instance I will often (after possibly recovering the manoeuvre) suggest that the learner takes the time after the lesson to write down what they need to do. If practising the turn in the road, the learner should first write that they would prepare the car to move (selecting first gear etc). Then leave a line or two (use lined paper!) and then write the next key stage such as carrying out effective observation prior to moving the vehicle. After finishing writing the complete manoeuvre the learner should read through carefully, and ideally using a different colour pen fill in (on the lines left free) any information missed out. These pieces of information are the areas that the learner is also likely to miss out when actually practicing the manoeuvre.
Writing something down makes the learner think harder about the subject and in doing so enabling them to remember it when actually driving.
Diagrams can also be useful to help the learner to visualise a junction or manoeuvre. For instance with the bay park the learner can draw out the parking spaces and even use a toy car or any suitable size object to act out the manoeuvre helping them to think about when they start steering and what to do if the manoeuvre starts to go wrong.
Talking through the drive is the final method I use with my own pupils. We can use this to help us remember what to do at junctions etc, or just to put any problems in the drive into perspective.
If the learner is worried about, for instance a particular type of junction, then talking through their worries with an experienced driver (possibly parent or friend) can help enormously to reinforce what they should do. I should add at this point that if a learner is worried about a particular junction etc, they really should make sure that their driving instructor knows about their worries, so that they can help them with it.
The other aspect of talking through the drive is when the learner has convinced themselves that they cannot do something. Again another example:
The learner says that they cannot deal with roundabouts. The person they are talking to should try and find out exactly what the problem is. After talking through how they approach the junction, their understanding of how roundabouts work, it appears that they understand these areas but are worried about judging traffic on the roundabout. This is clearly a very important area, but still much better than simply not being able to deal with roundabouts. After further discussion it transpires that the learner does actually know how to judge the other traffic, but occasionally misses small potential gaps to emerge onto the roundabout. On the driving test this is not necessarily a big problem as the examiner only needs to see the learner emerge into reasonable spaces. So discussing this puts the learner’s worries into perspective and hopefully their mind at rest. It also now means that the actual minor problem can be discussed and addressed so that the learner becomes more confident.
Conclusion
By using the methods detailed above the learner will become more confident in their driving and hopefully feel more able to cope with the pressures of the driving test.
So can you revise for the practical driving test? Yes.
Is it worth using methods such revision cards etc? Yes.
Can it make the difference? Yes.
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