Failed Driving Test

biontears on 22/04/2022 - 13:47
Last edited 24/04/2022 - 06:18 by 1 other user

Hi All,

So today I took a P1 driving test and I got F1 fail item for disobeying traffic light

I remember that moment because when I was about to turn at an intersection, the light turned amber but I was already sort of crossing the line and pedestrian at that moment so I still committed it.
Then I guess that was a fail item and testing officer directed me back to service centre (that was about 15min in the test) So I didnt even get to try the maneuvers (reverse parking etc)
I didnt commit any other mistake but apparently due to covid, if you get fail item, you dont complete the rest of the route, heading straight back to NSW service centre

Officer told me I could have stopped at yellow because there was no car behind and I can only go at yellow if there is risk of car behind hitting from myself stopping suddently but I guess I didnt manage to check my back…

Another comment I got from the officer was that I am driving too slow, the thing is it was raining alot today so I drove slower than my usual speed so When she mentioned that, I initially thought I failed because of the speed management (Probably driving at 30km/h at 50km/h road) but I didnt get any circles or fail items on my speed management so it is quite confusing.

Told my driving instructor about it and he told me she shouldnt have mentioned about my speed management if she is not going to mark me down for that otherwise it will confuse me. The book also mentioned slower speed based on weather conditions…

I was really hoping to finish at least the rest of the test just so that I know if I will make any other mistakes so I can improve on it in my next test but since I failed in the first 15 min, I didnt get to drive the rest of the test.

Automotive

Comments

        • trapper on 06/05/2022 - 11:03

          If you are already in the middle of the intersection, that is an unsafe place to stop obviously.

          One wheel over the line, that is still safe.

          • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2022 - 12:31

            @trapper: Not if you are going at speed, which you should be if you are crossing line. Not safe to brake suddenly

            • trapper on 06/05/2022 - 14:25

              @[Deactivated]: If it's unsafe to stop then you can go through an orange, otherwise you must stop.

  • AndyC1 on 22/04/2022 - 15:55
    +1

    Love the "already sort of crossing the line", which means OP was or was not crossing the line? If OP does not know then deserves to fail.

  • kanmen on 22/04/2022 - 16:09
    +2

    I'm sensing a lack of awareness and judgement that suggests that you might need more practice. If you're driving that slow as well as running an amber light I think you need more exposure to some more situations that will help you next time.

    • trapper on 05/05/2022 - 18:46

      Gold

  • Muzeeb on 22/04/2022 - 17:56
    +11

    30kmh is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to slow and a hazard

  • WreckTangle on 22/04/2022 - 18:27
    +2

    Other motorists hate drivers that cant do the basic speed limit

  • SF3 on 22/04/2022 - 19:31

    OP’s User name checks out.

  • try2bhelpful on 22/04/2022 - 19:46
    +1

    I’m 60 and I’ve still got my leaners permit. I, basically, use it as a form of ID. Provided you don’t let it lapse you can just renew it every ten years.

    • kerfuffle on 22/04/2022 - 20:48
      +1

      Is a Photo Card not a thing in Victoria? That's what you get in NSW if you don't want a Learner Driver Licence or can't drive, but need ID and don't want to use a passport

    • [Deactivated] on 24/04/2022 - 13:34

      why don't you want to drive?

      • try2bhelpful on 24/04/2022 - 13:35

        I live in Fitzroy in Melbourne. The concept of driving around here is terrifying.

        • [Deactivated] on 24/04/2022 - 13:42

          oh lol

  • Euphemistic on 22/04/2022 - 19:52
    +1

    Just go again until you pass if you want your licence.

  • netjock on 22/04/2022 - 20:58
    +4

    If you are driving at 30kph and still couldn't stop for a yellow then you probably should have got pulled up for it.

    Got told 10kmph below speed limit is lowest you should go.

    I know it sucks but let's say it is small money and a bit of time in the scheme of things.

  • CommuterPolluter on 22/04/2022 - 21:31
    -4

    You were failed unfairly and I would take them to court. Yellow means GO FASTER.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2022 - 07:48

      If you're quoting the movie, it's "go very fast."

  • macfudd on 22/04/2022 - 21:41

    Sit the test again OP and don't dwell it overly much other than making an extra point to check your speed as well as your and rear mirror when coming up to future intersections. It's probably worth having at least another lesson or maybe two before you resit if you feel like it's knocked your confidence. Formal testing makes many people very nervous and the more nervous you are, the more likely you are to make a silly mistake. Ask the instructor to treat the lesson like a test.

    Many people fail at least once and almost everyone has a story of how they failed or came close to it because when you sit your test you aren't yet a good driver, it takes thousands of hours to get to 'reasonably competant' imo.

    I agree with you that they should have reverted back to letting people finish out the whole circuit by now but it's probably a nice little combo of giving the instructors more time in the staff lounge along with extra revenue from a higher chance of multiple test fails. Win/Win for employee & organisation.

  • Axelstrife on 22/04/2022 - 23:06

    Deserved the fail from driving 30km/h but if you cannot do something as basic as stopping for a light then you definitely need some more lessons.

  • Empharand on 23/04/2022 - 01:12

    You failed, it's not the end of the world. Most of the people I know failed on their first test (including me).
    A few things to take away from this:

    Speed

    You should be doing minimum 45km in a 50km.
    Anything less then that shows you're not confident and frankly shouldn't be going for your licence and should do a few more lessons until your confident in driving the speed limit.

    Yellow light

    if the testing officer said that you could have stopped at the yellow then you could have stopped at the yellow light, they're far more experienced then you so don't try to deflect by saying 'I was already sort of crossing the line and pedestrian at that moment' as you're not experienced. The testing officer is allowed to make certain discretions if required, in this case it didn't apply.
    Had your driver instructor thought otherwise they would have spoken up and discussed it with the testing officer as they're also an authorised learner driver assessor (Assuming you paid for a driving instructor and didn't use a friend and/or relative).

    Weather conditions

    You should always be cautious and observant during certain weather conditions, however this should not have an influence on your driving speed. You should be more than capable to drive at the legal speed and still maintain caution on the road. I would suggest doing a few more lessons in these weather conditions to gain more confidence.

    • So Was Red on 23/04/2022 - 07:00

      Yeah but nah
      "Slow down in wet weather" QLD Police
      "Slow down in wet weather" NSW Police
      "Bad weather should prompt drivers to slow down" Victoria Transport
      "Drive below the speed limit when: • road conditions are not good (for example, when the roads are wet" Tasmanian Road Rules

      • fruxo on 23/04/2022 - 12:26
        +5

        If it's a storm with reduced visibility etc, of course. But we are not talking about 110km/h in a storm. We are talking about 50km/h in a little bit of every-day-rain.

        Going almost half the speed at 30km/h is obviously not acceptable based on the information we have. That doesn't show confidence and capability. And that's self reported, so actual speed might be even lower. That should be cause for failure by itself.

        • So Was Red on 23/04/2022 - 12:31

          True true, it's all so dependent on the actual situation. There's a red light camera facing down a slope at an intersection in a 60 zone near me, in the rain I'd approach that at probably 40~45. Somewhere else in light rain I probably wouldn't slow down at all.

  • AustriaBargain on 23/04/2022 - 04:02

    I failed when I forgot to indicate when reverse parallel parking. I was so focused on getting the manoeuvre right that I forgot to indicate. I did the reverse parking properly at least, but not indicating while doing it is an instant fail. They still let me do the rest of the test for practice at least.

  • So Was Red on 23/04/2022 - 06:46

    I failed my first, examiner was mumbling and not clear about directions. Combine that with overly nervous/anxious me and the situation of taking a corner without enough warning, too fast and with somebody close behind me. I took the corner too wide and half the car was over the middle line, so technically failed for driving on the wrong side of the road. I was angry for a long time and am still bitter now. That exam cost like a week of after school work. Instructor told me that examiner "likes to fail people" so unfair! But life is unfair, nothing really matters, go watch tv.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2022 - 07:44

    When I did my license test, I went through an amber light too, but while I did lose a point for it, it was not an instant fail.

    Here's a list of instant fail conditions from a NSW driving school: https://www.bexleydrivingschool.com.au/a-list-of-fail-and-im…

    "Disobeying traffic signs, signals or road markings" is the first on the list, but going through amber lights is subjective. A bit harsh, but all you can do is book another one and do better next time.

    Even in the wet, I agree that 30 is extremely slow.

  • jason101 on 23/04/2022 - 09:42
    -4

    Just remember, most driving instructors are doing that job because they failed at achieving what they actually wanted to do in their life. When you get your licence and move ahead with your life goals, think about them still sitting in someone else’s rented car picking on minor infractions made by nervous new Australians and trembling 16 year old kids. Keep up your good attitude and spirit and you’ll look back and laugh in a few years.

  • nobro25 on 23/04/2022 - 09:46
    +2

    Of you're driving at 30km/hr you're practically cruising tapping on the accelerator once every 500 metres and braking every now and then.

    • Muzeeb on 23/04/2022 - 10:11

      Gold

  • yamahamoto on 23/04/2022 - 11:48

    I failed my first test literally just before I got back to vicroads to ready to get my license. I passed everything during the actual test and on my way back to vicroads I had to change lane to turn left into vicroads. I saw a car behind me from the rear mirror and I started indicating. I was l ready driving at speed limit of 50 and the distance between 2 cars were not increase to be safe enough to merge into the other lane. After a few seconds I started to panic as we are reaching closer to vicroads. Just towards the end the other car slowed down a bit for me to merge in which I did. However much to my dismay the assessor said it was still
    too close to merge into the other lane and failed me for driving dangerously. That was the only thing I failed that day. Still piss off until today about the other car not slowing down to let me merge in knowing I was a Learner.

  • PurchaseAnxiety on 23/04/2022 - 14:08
    +1

    Nerves get the best of you and this sort of stuff happens. I failed my first attempt for the same reason. Pulled up to a signalled T intersection from the bottom of the T, waiting to turn left. There were two sets of lights, one on the left, one on the right. There was an attractive girl waiting to cross at the left set, and I recalled my instructor telling me a story about how someone failed because they were too busy checking out girls on the sidewalk. So, massively over thinking the situation, I decided to look at the right set of lights to eliminate that risk. Unfortunately, I was waiting for a solid green but the left set of lights had a green arrow that I obviously didn't see, which was an instant fail. Thankfully that was right at the beginning of the test and my instructor got a laugh out of my explanation. She was a legend and tore up the test and gave me a 2nd go on the spot, which I passed.

  • yokel on 23/04/2022 - 14:41

    It is going to sting even more when you do get your license and you experience how bad the population is on the roads especially in Sydney. I know someone who had an international license but drove a car for the first time in Sydney on his own. Some people only got their license overseas to ride a motorbike around a village.

  • herecomestheoost on 23/04/2022 - 14:49

    Similar thing happened to me OP, I was very nervous the first time. But I actually took the test the very next day at a different VicRoads and passed with flying colours.. Don't dwell on it and good luck!

  • lothus777 on 23/04/2022 - 15:36

    You usually do 120 hours before the P1 test, looks like you weren't ready for this.

    • kerfuffle on 23/04/2022 - 16:38

      Only if you’re under 25, which the OP is not

      • lothus777 on 23/04/2022 - 16:47
        +1

        Still ideally to practice at least 120 hours, can't just jump in a test with 20 hours of experience when you turn 25

        • kerfuffle on 23/04/2022 - 18:59

          It was 50 hours back in my time ;) But I totally agree with you

    • omcb on 24/04/2022 - 00:51

      OP only did 10

  • jc123 on 23/04/2022 - 16:33
    +1

    Got nervous and failed my first driving test too. So totally understand that it sucks, but it's okay and you should definitely do better the next go. I also went to a different testing center location to just reset my mind/nerves, despite less familiarity of the surrounding suburbs.

    I committed several key mistakes, some which you might fall trap to:
    1) Driving too slow. I was way too worried about going over the speed limit (since I usually drive exactly at the speed limit), but yeah driving 10km/hr under the speed limit makes you look like you lack of confidence and experience. I wasn't driving like my normal self due to the test conditions which gives a bad impression. Drive roughly around 5km/hr under the speed limit is what I suggest generally (depends on road conditions - if it's heavily raining, gotta be a bit slower).
    2) Giving right of way to another car. I was on a busy road where there was a lot of traffic (2 lanes; 1 in each direction; pedestrians crossing all the time) and it was constantly stopping or at a snail-crawl at best, and I let another car from the side street turn in front of me, just because I wanted to be nice, and there was no risk since traffic was basically at stand still. Assessor at the end said I shouldn't give right of way unnecessarily even if it's 'nice' gesture, even if traffic is slow, as it can only promote confusing driving situations and possible accidents. If you have the right of way, keep it. Don't be 'nice', as it creates difficult driving situations. You've got to be assertive in shit situations when you're in the right. You don't want to be an aggressive (profanity), but being too much of a nice, permissive, passive driver can lead to a bad impression too.
    3) I took too long at a traffic light intersection with no right turn signal to turn right. There was so much traffic going the other way, that patiently waiting for a gap/pause in the traffic took forever. Normally, like most people I would've drove up into the intersection and at the end of traffic light green/yellow phase, wait for the opposing traffic to stop, then force a right in the gap of time before the left/right intersecting roads' lights turn green. But instead, due to being 'nervous' and trying to show my 'safe' driving, I endlessly patiently waited for an 'ideal' gap to occur in the opposing traffic, which of course took more than 1 green to red light phase to occur.

    Obviously I was disappointed in the waste of money/time from failing, but I learnt a few good lessons and learnt to drive more normally and assertively. Being under the pressure of a 'test' condition, definitely made me drive in abnormal ways that I thought was more 'careful' but ended up being counterproductive/detrimental to the assessment of my real-life driving abilities.
    I hope my mistakes help you too!
    Gotta slow down and stop at yellow lights though generally. They're so awkward though if shit timing occurs and you can clearly make it through, but I would generally play it safer with yellow lights, because they won't fail you for slowing down at yellow lights. They generally have a few big flag/items on their assessment list that they will fail you for (i.e. not checking blindspots when changing lanes etc.), and/or if you accumulate enough borderline ones, and the overall feel of their assessment is that you're not ready yet for the roads.

  • tomleonhart on 23/04/2022 - 17:00

    Sorry to hear. Dont dwell over it, Try again next time.

  • donkeydoc on 23/04/2022 - 17:00

    First time failed due to not checking for oncomimg vehicles at the lights and for getting too close behind a learner doing 35km/h in 60 zone. Second time a breeze!

    Don't be discouraged, book again now!

  • Wheatgrass on 23/04/2022 - 20:29

    I turned two corners then went 10 over in a roadworks zone on my first try, the instructor felt bad that I'd only gotten maybe two minutes of driving in but we had to go straight back lol.

    You'll get it next time. Don't forget your blind spot checks too!

  • Terra Australis on 23/04/2022 - 22:50
    -7

    english don't seem like your first language, so good riddance

    • try2bhelpful on 23/04/2022 - 23:15
      +7

      You mean
      “English doesn’t seem to be your first language”.

      Sounds like “good riddance” to yourself, as well.

  • p2015 on 23/04/2022 - 23:29

    Thanks for sharing your story!

    It sounds like you have learned a lesson that will be helpful for the rest of your life.

    You are going to be amazing next time you take the test.

  • cktftw on 24/04/2022 - 09:55
    +1

    Cool story bro, need more dragons

  • OwMeKnees on 24/04/2022 - 11:05

    Don't worry mate, just have another go.

    I failed my first tesr for matching revs through the remainder of the test because my clutch started acting up in the middle of the test… Faulty vehicle apparently.

  • xlimit on 24/04/2022 - 11:27

    I know someone who failed the driving test 9 times.

    Just kept on trying till he passed. If nothing else, showed perseverance can pay off

    (albeit most expensive driving license ever)

    • Neoika on 24/04/2022 - 13:01

      There is a possiblity that the person is with a crap instructor who tried to milk out as much fees as possible. I have used 4 in total and only 1 knows really well about how to pass the test.

  • Mister Popo on 24/04/2022 - 19:00

    If you're driving at 30km/hr in a 50 zone and approaching an amber light, chances are you're slow enough to safely stop.
    If you were driving at an appropriate speed (i.e. 45kph) when the light turned amber, then you probably would have made the turn fine without the examiner failing you.

  • Davo1111 on 25/04/2022 - 00:13

    "sort of'

  • berry580 on 25/04/2022 - 00:55

    If I didn't cross the line on amber when there's a car behind me, can I be fined for endangering EVERYONE?

    we're almost at a stage where people need to apologise for being born

  • CalmLemons on 25/04/2022 - 01:49
    +1

    Why is it from the way OP words his entire post I feel that OP is in themselves going to be a pretty bad driver on the road…

  • Blitz001 on 25/04/2022 - 12:49
    -1

    That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that the possibility of getting rear ended is your fault, and not the driver behind for not leaving a safe gap….. I guess I’ll just tail gate everyone through amber lights from now on and if they stop and I rear end them, free money.

  • wtfnodeal on 25/04/2022 - 19:14
    +3

    I was once pulled over by a police officer for driving through a yellow light and I just explained that the car behind was too close if I had made an emergency brake would likely to cause a car accident. The police officer was happy with it and let me go.

    • trapper on 05/05/2022 - 18:35

      Even if there was no other car, emergency braking is not 'safe', so it is ok to continue through the orange.

  • CoreJava on 25/04/2022 - 22:52
    -2

    They have to fail a certain percentage of people to get more money.

  • Esky85 on 29/04/2022 - 13:05
    +1

    I am a CASA assessor for people wanting a licence to fix aeroplanes but any assessor operates under the same principles. By signing up for any assessment (not just a driving test), you are saying you believe are ready so please test me. This goes for any practical assessment. I don't understand why people think that the test is a learning opportunity. I'm not here to teach you how to do things, you've asked me to decide if you are good or not. If I say you aren't competent I will tell you why but it's not my job to get you to the level of competency required. That's on you, because you said you were ready.

  • trapper on 05/05/2022 - 18:38

    Man who rolls through an orange light during their flipping driving test, haha that is a classic one.

    fyi, Orange light means you must stop if it is safe to do so.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2022 - 19:28
    -1

    Because if Covid lol. Ffs.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2022 - 19:30

    Another $80 for service nsw

  • biontears on 27/05/2022 - 15:35
    +2

    OP Here

    UPDATE:
    Did few more lessons and passed on my second attempt
    Not sure if it was a factor but met a really friendly and nice testing officer this time which calmed my nerves a bit during the test

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