Is your driving test getting closer? Are the nerves beginning to get the better of you? What are you actually nervous about? Meeting the examiner? The out-come? Previous experience?
Regardless of your reasons for feeling nervous, practice, practice, practice is the order of the day. Only thorough comprehensive preparation will you be able to calm the nerves by instilling confidence and knowledge that you can do everything that you are about to be asked to complete.
Undeserved Bad Reputation
Perhaps unfairly, driving test examiners had a reputation for being not be very sociable and being very strict. Times have moved on though and examiners are much better about helping nervous drivers to relax before and during their test.
It’s important to put the driving test into perspective. It’s not a one-off test only. If the worst comes to the worst and things do not work as you hope, you simply have the opportunity to learn from your experience and then book another one and give it another try.
Don’t Put Pressure on Yourself
We all put an awful lot of pressure on ourselves regarding the outcome of certain events and therefore it’s not surprising then that driving test nerves often play a significant factor in the outcome of a driving test.
Most of us will be nervous on the driving test, what we need to do however is to try and reduce and calm test nerves as much as possible and even use the nerves to our advantage. As experienced driving instructors, the team at Surrey Driving Force are skilled at dealing with nervous learner drivers and giving advice to reduce driving test nerves.
Calming Driving Test Day Nerves
You can go a long way towards calming driving test nerves by ensuring that you feel fully prepared. By going into the test with a complete belief that you know and can do everything that you will be asked to do, will not only help to boost your confidence, it will also reduce nerves by confirming the fact that you are ready for your test. If you can do what is asked of you during a lesson, why can’t you do it during your test?
A few tips:
- Find out exactly what will happen during your test.
- Practice your driving manoeuvres.
- Practice until you feel comfortable with independent driving.
- Make sure that you are familiar with any potentially tricky areas that you may face on your test route.
- If you are feeling a little under prepared, increase your lessons as the test comes closer.
- Complete as many realistic mock driving tests as possible (a SDF speciality!)
- Keep the pressure down by telling as as few people as possible about your test.
- Book your driving test at the quiet times of day.