The purpose of this article is to try and inform you of what happens after the test, whether you get the result you were hoping for or not. What it means for you and how it affects your driving instructor. 

What it means for you

Your test will either be a pass or a fail. Your DVSA (Driving Vehicle Standards Agency) official examiner will assess your driving and record any faults they see during the test. Faults can be marked as minor (driving faults), serious or dangerous. You are not allowed to make any serious or dangerous faults but as long as there are less than 16 minors you will pass. If an examiner needs to step in and help (ETA = examiner took action) either verbally or physically then this would be a fail too. If you do not pass your driving test you will be sent an email detailing what faults were recorded, this is something you would need to work on with your instructor before going for a test again. There can be quite lengthy waits for the next test, sometimes it can be around three months before being able to sit it again. The other thing that can happen with a fail is your confidence can take a hit, meaning the pressure you may feel going in for the next one can be increased. The best advice would be to ensure you are ready for a test, being able to deal with all sorts of situations that can arise and having passed mock tests given by your driving instructor. 

What it means for your driving instructor

If you take your test in your instructors car and their badge is displayed in the window then your performance will be recorded on their statistics. That means a fail for you is a fail for them. Your driving instructor is graded on the stats of all the results of all the tests they present learners for. They will attract an average of all the minor faults, serious faults, dangerous faults, ETA (examiner taking action) and overall pass rate. These are all key indicators which they must maintain a certain level. This is why your instructor may tell you that you’re not ready for them to present you to an examiner and offer you the option of taking the test in your own car!

What happens if you pass your driving test?

Now for the good part. The drive back to your house after the test is a very pleasant one! Joyful discussions of when will you go car shopping? What will be your first car? Where will you drive to first when there’s nobody else in the car with you? 

Post Test Training

You could choose to continue to do lessons after your test with your instructor, it’s certainly not compulsory but can help you deal with things like motorway driving that isn’t covered in normal driving lessons. Even assistance with learning your own car. Pass Plus scheme is 6 training sessions and after completion you are awarded a driving qualification certificate which you can inform your insurance company potentially leading to them offering you a discount on your policy.