There are innumerable ways to fail a driving test. Most of these scenarios are very predictable, and with my vast experience I am constantly pointing out to my students these situations.

For example, I have a student who started lessons with me with absolutely no experience. She has been diligently practicing since February and has a road test scheduled for early August. The first few hours of lessons were filled with the usual hard braking and uneven acceleration and wild steering, but things started to settle down and smooth out and excellent progress was being made. During a recent lesson I forced myself to keep quiet and let the student make the decisions of when it was safe to make a left turn. She was waiting in an intersection for a safe gap to make her turn. She watched the oncoming traffic come to a stop and was still waiting in the intersection when the light turned red. I had to tell her to go, and if it was a road test – fail. A very typical way to fail: not clearing the intersection after the light turns amber and red. At the Point Grey licensing office this often happens on the first left turn. I was once sitting outside the office and witnessed my hapless student fall victim to this all-too-common gaffe. Thirty minutes to go and already failed.

Another student was a very competent driver when I met her. Her mother must be a great driving teacher because both this student and her brother, a former student, were awesome drivers when I met them. This is the type of student who should, without a doubt, pass her road test. However, during her road test she was the victim of one of the classic failure scenarios. She was at a stop sign waiting to make a right turn. There was a car coming from the left with its right signal on. Assuming this car was turning, my student shoulder checked to her right, all looked good, and she started to go. The examiner stopped her – the car with the signal on wasn’t turning. It doesn’t matter whose fault it was, the result is a failed driving test. Another quick look to the left would have prevented this unhappy situation, but under the pressure of the road test anything can happen.

Now this student is on her second road test. Everything is going great until another one of the classic failures comes up – speeding in a playground zone. Even though we had driven through that speed trap numerous times, a temporary lack of focus led to the inevitable failure. Fortunately, this student passed her next road test.

This how competent drivers fail and borderline ones pass: the borderline ones manage to squeak through the test by not missing signs and not doing anything dangerous. Their driving is not great, but through luck and focus they don’t give the examiner the ammunition he or she needs to make them come back for another attempt.

As the owner and instructor for New Day Vancouver Driving School, I teach new, inexperienced drivers. I can help you prepare for the Point Grey Class 7 road test and the Point Grey Class 5 road test. If you have failed your road test, I can get you ready for your next attempt. Don’t go into your road test without arming yourself with the valuable information that can not only helping you pass, but also preparing yourself for the multitude of situations that arise in everyday driving. If you are looking for a friendly, professional driving teacher in the city of Vancouver, give New Day a try.