rebeccajo

Yep.

rebeccajo

It is not unusual to fail more than once.

Downton Gabby

That's good news

Editha

I'm learning now, aged 63. I'll let you know how I get on.

LondonSquirrel

Watch the programme 'Driving School' and look out for a lady called Maureen. Oh the record is about 40 tests before passing!

Pulaski

That's not at all unusual - the pass rate is about 50% and that seems to be true whether you're taking the test for the first time or the tenth, so mathematically 25% of people pass on their second test, 12% on their third, 6% on their fourth and 3% on their fifth test, etc. Which means that around 4% take the test six or more times before passing, or never pass.

Downton Gabby

Ok, I'll be very interested. How long to you take lessons before taking the test?

Downton Gabby

I read somewhere here that some testing locations are easier than others.

Why do they make it so difficult? Surely they're going a bit overboard if so few can pass. I'm all for something better than here, but this seems extreme.

LondonSquirrel

'Few' don't pass, 50% at first time is hardly a few, and by 3rd time most have passed. The UK takes the (correct) view IMHO that driving is a privilege not a right.

They do say a lesson for every year of your life as a rough guide, which is why most young people take about 20 lessons.

My mum's guy, who passed in his 60s, refuses to tell my mum how many attempts he took to pass! But I could ask how many lessons he had and let you know, though he had never driven before (and like I said he's only qualified to drive automatics).

Pulaski

We covered this previously - it is tough so that drivers are knowledgeable and safe on the road.

The proof of the pudding is in the road fatalities figures, which I already referred to above in this thread. .... Conversely the local newspapers run an almost identical story here (NC) at least once a week - someone drove off the side of the road for no discernible reason, then either (i) hit a tree or (ii) over-corrected and came back on to the road then either (i) ploughed head-on into oncoming traffic, or (ii) drove off the other side of the road, ..... and hit a tree. The reported result is the same, at least one fatality. I don't believe that the problem is with too many trees. ..... And FWIW someone I know who used to be a cop in Florida says it is exactly the same there, except "tree" is replaced with pond/lake/drainage ditch.

And I really do seem to read this story every week. And that doesn't even address the bigger or more unusual ad hoc wrecks. The carnage on the roads in the US through sheer stupidity is just brutal and relentless.

If only the US road tests were as rigorous.

rebeccajo

And, as has also been covered before, public transport in the UK is so good that many people don't drive at all.

It might be hard for you to imagine a public transport system that has busses running all over, stopping more than once an hour, and dropping people at convenient locations all over town. Trains that take you from one city to another daily - so regularly that people use them for work. Try to imagine a public transport system that might work for you, instead of worrying about driving over there. You really may not need to.

Remember, if you move to the UK, you won't re-create the life you have here. You will begin a new life. It can actually be quite exciting to try new ways, if you let yourself think about it in a positive way.

Editha

I started taking lessons in August last year. I've had around 25 lessons since then. I passed the theory test in January, and I was going to take the test this month, but I put it off until May, partly because of other commitments and partly because I don't feel 100% confident on the manoeuvres.

I wasn't starting from scratch. I took the test twice when I was in my thirties. The problem I had then was that my job made it difficult to find time for lessons, and in London most of my driving was done in a traffic jam. The second time I failed, it was for going too slow on a dual carriageway, which was the result of rarely managing to get above 15 mph on most of my lessons, due to heavy traffic.

Downton Gabby

So they failed you for going too slowly even though you couldn't go faster?????? That's ridiculous.

Pulaski

No - she hadn't been used to going faster during her lessons, therefore wasn't used to driving fast enough during her test.

That said, I have heard of cases where it seems that a fail was inevitable, such as where a vehicle is blocking the road and the test candidate runs the risk of being failed for hesitancy or failed for doing something deemed illegal or dangerous - and you CANNOT ask the examiner for advice (they just ignore you), so you're "damned if you do and damned if you don't" - and failed either way.

Giantaxe

She didn't say that