How To Pass Your Driving Theory Test Right Away
I think that referring to the driving theory test as a simple ‘common sense test’ is seriously misleading and overused. Of course, there are some brilliantly stupid questions that learners come across – like having to decide whether to evacuate or stay seated in a car broken down on a railway track. That being said, you do need to know the important stuff to pass your test (and quite rightly so). With tougher questions and testing methods being recently introduced, the overall UK pass rate has fallen to a record low of 47.4 percent during the year of 2018/19.
I recently managed to pass my theory test first time. I didn’t find it to be overwhelmingly difficult, but you definitely need to put in a fair bit of work and preparation to get the results you’re hoping for. Sometimes it can be a little confusing knowing where to start or how to go about it. So I’ve listed some tips and resources I used which ultimately helped me pass and should help you too!
1. Make Sure to Plan and Prepare In Advance
Before booking your test, establish how much time you have to revise and prepare for it. Don’t book it for a week’s time, or else you’ll be rushing and probably won’t absorb the information very well. I recommend at least six weeks. That way, you can spread your revision comfortably over the period.
Don’t leave it until the last minute. I scheduled around 8-10 hours of revision per week over the course of six weeks, split into smaller 2-3 hour daily sessions. This makes the preparation bearable and should be able to effectively fit around your daily routine. Generally, tackling it in small yet frequent sessions is much more effective than cramming it all in one go, so you’ll be much more likely to remember the information too.
2. Download the Official DVSA Theory Test Kit App On Your Phone
This is the only app I needed for the question part of the test. You can get it for £4.99 on both iPhone and Android. I am aware that there are many free apps that are also very useful, but this one is made by the examiners themselves so you can be assured it will teach you absolutely everything you’ll need in one place.
The app is comprised of:
- Study mode – this is split into 14 topics. The information is clear and concise and comes with checklists so you can plan and monitor how much you’ve studied and how much you have left to do.
- Practise mode – this is comprised of a bundle of questions, split into the same 14 topics. I found that after I’d studied one topic, I’d then go to practise all of the questions they have in that area to see if I needed to revisit and restudy it.
- Mock Test – this is more formal than practise mode and will be very similar to your real test. You’ll have 57 minutes to answer 50 questions, and it will cover all of the topics. You can take as many as you’d like and the questions change each time.
- A copy of the Official Highway Code – even though the app splits everything up into topics, you’ll still need to go through this document to ensure you aren’t missing any gaps.
- 20 Hazard Perception Clips – this is for the hazard test and the practise clips are probably the best quality you will be able to find. It comes with an instructional video so you’ll soon get the hang of this part of the test.
3. Download the Hazard Perception Test UK 2019 App
This is the app’s name on iPhone; Android has a very similar version under a similar name – Hazard Perception UK Driving Theory Test 2019.
The point of these apps is to really practise the Hazard perception part of your test. While the Official DVSA app is brilliant, I found that 20 practise clips just weren’t enough for me. Most internet sites tend to copy those same clips too. The iPhone app is free to download, and you’ll have about 10 free videos, or you can pay £1.99 for all 82 videos (which I fully recommend). With the Android version, it costs £2.99 to get the app and you’ll have access to 85 videos.
Please note that the quality of the videos on these apps isn’t as high as the Official DVSA ones, but I found them to be perfectly fine to practise on.
4. Use YouTube For Additional Information and Support
There are bundles of channels and videos available on YouTube to aid you. I mainly used them to help gain a better understanding of the Hazard Perception test – as this is rather different to most tests you’ll have taken before and is the one most people report as the trickiest.
Channels such as ‘Driving Crawley’ and ‘Advance Driving School’ have plenty of demonstrations and tips, so they will help you understand what to look out for in the hazard clips and also explain how the marking system works.
