The Practical Driving Test
Independent driving:
This will last around 20 minutes - roughly half of the test.
During the independent driving part of the test, most candidates will be asked to follow directions from a sat nav.
The examiner will provide the sat nav and set it up. You won’t need to set the route - the examiner will do this for you.
You’ll be able to ask the examiner for confirmation of where you’re going if you’re not sure. It won’t matter if you go the wrong way unless you make a fault while doing it.
One in 5 driving tests won’t use a sat nav. You’ll need to follow traffic signs instead.
Reversing manoeuvres:
You’ll be asked to do one of 4 possible reversing manoeuvres:
Parallel park at the side of the road
Park in a bay - driving in and reversing out
Park in a bay - reversing in and driving out
Pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for 2 car lengths and rejoin the traffic
Answering a vehicle safety question while you’re driving
The examiner will ask you 2 vehicle safety questions during your driving test - these are known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions.
You’ll be asked the:
‘tell me’ question (where you explain how you’d carry out a safety task) at the start of your test, before you start driving
‘show me’ question (where you show how you’d carry out a safety task) while you’re driving - for example, showing how to wash the windscreen using the car controls and wipers