Is The Driving Test Difficult Uk

How hard is the driving test?

In the UK, very hard.Maybe you learned to drive a tractor in your family’s field. Maybe you know how to change gear. I can teach that to a complete beginner, who’s never sat in the driver’s seat, in about 2 hours.Maybe you’ve ridden a moped or a motorbike. So you know a few of the rules of the road. A bike rider has generally only done a CBT - compulsory basic training, test, you can do that test in about 2 hours and pass it.But you don’t know how to drive correctly on British roads.Sure you can steer, avoid pedestrians, maybe, but you still need about 40 hours minimum professional training to pass a UK driving test.I had an American pupil who somehow had a full driving license. I was taking over his steering constantly to keep him from hitting the kerb. He didn’t understand the road signs, didn’t understand road markings. How he ever passed a driving test I have no idea.Parental help and practise is fine, and recommended, but parents make awful driving instructors. Little Jonny or Sarah drove for a couple of hours and didn’t crash, great. But they’re not drivers. Parents don’t watch their beloveds for mirror checks, or anything else. I speak from a LOT of experience.I can always tell when one of my pupils has had parental practice, their mirror checks go out of the window.Other countries are different, and I’ve witnessed a lot of their driving skills, but in the UK it’s very hard to pass the driving test. And for good reason.They still drive like idiots on UK roads, but only because once they’ve passed they don’t give a toss how to drive.If you were taught knife skills by Gordon Ramsay, would you chuck all of that training out of the window? I doubt it. Not if you like your fingers where they are.It’s like that with driving. You were (hopefully) taught by a professional qualified driving instructor. Throw those skills away and you’ll realise why 17–21 year olds are most likely to wrap their cars around trees.