Driving tests.

Wack61

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8,793
I found this when moving the other year, my motorbike test appointment card, it cost me £7.50. Who knows where the time goes? said Sandy Denny.View attachment 82505


2 years after mine

The bike test was a joke back then , my only instruction was outside the bike shop on a FS1e , that's the clutch, these are the gears, these are the brakes, stall,stall,stall whoaaa and we're off with my dad acting as safety barrier behind in his Volvo

My bike test was a ride round the block watched by a man in a brown suit , he said on the next pass, I will conceal myself somewhere on the test route and step to the kerb , raise my hand and observe your emergency stop

I came round the bend and saw him hiding behind a post box so was well prepared :D

a mate took his test a week later and a few of us went t take the ****, first lap he came past at 29mph sat bolt upright , saw us, called us ***** , next lap he did a 200 yard wheelie and still passed
 

Nibby

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2,085
2 years after mine

The bike test was a joke back then , my only instruction was outside the bike shop on a FS1e , that's the clutch, these are the gears, these are the brakes, stall,stall,stall whoaaa and we're off with my dad acting as safety barrier behind in his Volvo

My bike test was a ride round the block watched by a man in a brown suit , he said on the next pass, I will conceal myself somewhere on the test route and step to the kerb , raise my hand and observe your emergency stop

I came round the bend and saw him hiding behind a post box so was well prepared :D

a mate took his test a week later and a few of us went t take the , first lap he came past at 29mph sat bolt upright , saw us, called us * , next lap he did a 200 yard wheelie and still passed
The joys of going into the bike shop after you've passed with that slip of paper, "what shall I have??" then reality hits home "nothing because I'm skint" lol
 

Nibby

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2,085
Mrs MLC passed her test first time, but did the Theory under the influence of alcohol as we had a sesh the night before...
Not quite at the test centre but my driving lessons were always 8am Saturday morning and I never missed a Friday night on the town, albeit 5 pints of weak lager was enough to see me crawling in the gutter.
 

Trev Latter

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Messages
1,213
I put in for my test on my 17th birthday in Feb. Got the card back with the date on it over six months away. Bought my first car (Fiat 127 Sport) early March and got a mate to sit beside me after my dad refused having survived the first week (it took him nearly 10 years to get in a car with me again!). Youthful exuberance and over confidence meant I put in for a cancellation as I was getting fed up with having to take a mate with me everywhere I went. Date came back for July with less than a week's notice. Passed first time with a note that I was a little over cautious (if only they knew). Before I'd bought the car in March, I'd driven in fields etc, but to this day never had any lessons. I'd had the obligatory FS1e from 16 and field bikes before that also, so maybe it helped a bit. The little Fiat made it about three months after passing my test before being written off after taking some air on a hump back bridge and landing heavily enough to push the front struts into the bonnet....then the fun began with a succession of cars I wish I still owned for their value today.
 

Wanderer

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5,791
My brother failed his test because he waved at his mate who was driving another car on his test coming the other way! Never bothered after - 55 and can't drive - loser!!!
 

midlifecrisis

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16,211
I passed my Bike test first time too, Sorry Wanderer.

On learning a guy in a Volvo Estate lived up to the reputation of not looking for oncoming traffic when carrying out a U-Turn from the kerb. I saw him craning his neck and his front wheels turned to the steering lock so I naturally slowed down. My instructor noticed that I had noticed and told me to come to a complete stop in case he does the unbelieveable. Sure enough this little man in his big Volvo loaded to the gunnels with haberdashery (this is Manchester after all!) pulled right out . My instructor told me over the radio to make my way back to the training centre which wasn't that far away whilst my instructor gave the Volvo driver 'a free lesson' on observation and the local dent pullers more trade. The range of the instrucotr to pupil was impressive but the language was choice!
 

bigbob

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8,966
I learn for free in the RAF. Me and a WAAF did 8 hour days with a civvy instructor, alternating every hour for a lesson. We were in a White Daihatsu Charade diesel and ploughed around the country roads of North Yorkshire and the busy streets of Northallerton. Wednesday Market days and the double roundabout were the only 'gotchas' to watch out for. After two weeks or so, we were put in for a test in the afternoon, so we both had a 'practice' test with the instructor. I had a howler, missing gears and miss timing some road work temporary traffic lights, so I was naturally nervous.
The examiner was an MT Driver Sergeant who travelled up from St Athan in South Wales specially for our tests. I was first and the WAAF followed after me. The Sergeant asked for my provisional licence, which I nervously handed to him. He inspected it and then asked 'Red or blue?'. I said 'What?', he said you're from Manchester, red or blue? 'Oh Red' I said, he said 'good Lad, what do you think of that young kid Giggs?', so we chatted about United for a bit, which put me at ease and we then drove round Northallerton. My emergency stop was perfect, as was my hill start and drive backwards round a corner.

He passed me, but failed the WAAF.
Maybe she was a City fan...

Northallerton is still a pain to get parked in today. I learnt to drive up the road at Croft circuit which was a tad more fun.
 
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Hawk13

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Messages
1,471
Failed my first car test as I hadn't had any lessons (in the good old days when mates could take you out) ..... I could drive but not pass a test! Booked an immediate retest, paid an instructor for 2 hours to tell me how to pass and duly did.

Bike test was done in the days of Part 1 and 2. Part 1 was done in a car part and completed in about 10 minutes. The examiner told me it was obvious I could ride but if I wanted to pass Part 2 I should stop riding like i was on an MX track and use the clutch!

Part 2 was nothing more than driving around the block with the examiner on foot. Nearly hit him when he jumped out for the emergency stop and seem to recall getting most of the highway code questions wrong but got a pass all the same.

Mrs Hawk did her bike test about 10 years ago and boy has it changed. Theory test, CBT and followed by an examiner on a bike. Pretty sure I wouldn't pass now!
 

Wanderer

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5,791
In Ireland until recently you could drive alone on a provisional and indeed, it was only in 1968 on that a driving test was required, prior to that you went to An Post (Post Office) and just got a driving licence, no lessons, no test, nowt.....
 

GeoffCapes

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Messages
14,000
Passed mine first time, nothing very exciting, other than the instructor said "in future, you should probably drive a bit faster".
I've done as he said ever since! :p

Had a mate who passed his test on the 14th attempt though! :oops:
He was shocking even when he passed! Although we made him drive everywhere where whilst we got tanked up so he could practice!
 

philw696

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25,416
Got my motorcycle licence in Saudi Arabia and all I needed was to get a blood test done for my blood group to go on my license.
No test and straight on to the Suzuki GS 550 I bought new in 1980.
Should take a bike test one day.
 

jasst

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Messages
2,316
Passed 1st time back in 1978 in a Datsun sunny. Had about 6 lessons before hand, when my instructor found out I had been driving tractors for years he put his hand on his head and shook it, apparently us farming types were not good students as the way we drove tractors was not the way you should drive cars!
 

PaulCambio

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485
Friday 14 March 1986. It was a foggy morning and my test was at 9:45am in Chichester. Was so nervous I hoped it would be cancelled. It wasn’t as the fog had lifted.

My examiner shouted at me after the emergency stop saying he hoped I would stop much quicker in a real emergency. I thought I’d failed, so relaxed and drove with no cares after that. Totally amazed he passed me first time.

On my bike test (part 2) in 1984 I escaped the examiner at a level crossing in Crawley. Just carried on listening to his instructions over radio and passed that first time too.

Nice luck I guess?!!!
 

alfatwo

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5,517
Back in 1967 we still had to do hand signals... I remember nearly putting the examiner through the front windscreen in the emergency stop, don't forget no seat belts back then!

Passed first time, said I was a natural..
I didn't mention the fact I was driving for over a year on L plates to Longbridge and back, about 40 miles from Coventry every day with an older work mate

The completely bald tires had fantastic grip in the dry, you learned all about car control when it was wet:cool:

Dave
 

Spartacus

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Messages
3,185
I passed my car test first time after 7 lessons.

Just about to go and do my bike test before all the bikes become electric. Well, when the bloody tests are running again . Any tips?



....and don t worry, I'll be buying an Italian bike.
 

FIFTY

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Messages
3,100
I failed my driving test twice on the same Major fault... gave up for a couple of years while I went to university and over one summer passed first time after only 4 lessons

Although I do not entirely blame my first instructor it did turn out that he was going through a rough time and was massively depressed - I was told by someone who knew him that he tried to commit suicide by chucking himself off the multi story above the harbourside which was right in front of my house (someone talked him down) - that was right after I failed my first test apparently. I didn't really want to go for a 3rd attempt even with another instructor after i was told that!

I admit to being a little more wise the second time around as I was a couple of years older and the instructor was sound