Following on from an article in the Suday Times: Anyone had a go at this?
https://www.gov.uk/take-practice-theory-test
I got 47/50. One answer I accidentally ticked the wrong box, One I swithered but should've known the answer, & the last one was one where I guess it depends on your interpretation of road positioning. Scary that apparently 95% of people who hold a licence fail it.
I disagree with one of the questions...putting your car in reverse when going forward will indeed slow you down. 😆
Disappointed I failed the truck driver one. 42 out of 50.
44/50. Probs helped I did a speed awareness afew months back which refreshes things.
47. I would say one of my wrong ones was arguable.
Position before turn left into minor road. I went for towards white line (to allow better view into the road) Correct was to nearside. Suppose it depends on layout and visibility.
43/50, scraped a pass. I think maybe I should avail myself of a copy of the Highway Code and read it. Its been 45-odd years since I last did so 🤔
Position before turn left into minor road. I went for towards white line (to allow better view into the road) Correct was to nearside. Suppose it depends on layout and visibility.
Yes, that’s the one I got wrong. It depends what they mean by on the left. I certainly wouldn’t move into the gutter for a left turn for the reason you give. Seems a pretty arbitrary answer.
47. I would say one of my wrong ones was arguable.
Position before turn left into minor road. I went for towards white line (to allow better view into the road) Correct was to nearside. Suppose it depends on layout and visibility.
IMO that was an example of an appallingly worded question, and there were quite a few that needed more information to understand what the scenario they were questioning on to be complete. Unfortunately it is the kind of test where you can cram to pass the test without understanding the the knowledge that is meant to be tested.
It reminded me of a few of the IT certification tests I have done, and always assumed it was due to them being written by americans not using language quite the same as we do, I suspect the writers of this test don't have the same excuse.
I failed the motorcycle hazard perception test. I was told the police instructors all failed too! The assistant said experienced riders see hazards much earlier than the typical 16yo would-be moped rider, and clicked the button outside of the acceptance time window. Her tip was to count two seconds after seeing the hazard, before pressing the button. Passed with flying colours after that. 49/50 for the theory.
49/50 *smug*
The one I got wrong was about cyclists.
But that's ok, cos it was probably their fault 😁
48/50
Also questioning the road position prior to a left turn into minor road. My other one I really should have known though!
48/50, there were a few I thought were a bit ambiguous but guessed right. Did better than I expected.
48/50 here too.
49. *phew* 🤣
Damn you, mini roundabout sign!
Some of the answers are really stupid. What should you do before setting off if you're feeling angry? "Have an alcoholic drink." Suuuure 🙄
The roundabout one got me as well, thought it was a trick question, but then as you pointed out some of the others were that obvious.......
Position before turn left into minor road. I went for towards white line (to allow better view into the road) Correct was to nearside. Suppose it depends on layout and visibility.
Surely the correct answer is to swing wide to the right and come into the braking zone at maximum speed, hit the anchors hard, turn in to kiss the apex of the turn before accelerating out of the the turn using he full width of the road to maintain maximum speed?
45\50….he test is obviously flawed as I have been driving for 35years and am a driving god who is ways in the right when driving.
Also questioning the road position prior to a left turn into minor road.
This.
45 - a couple of silly ones and a couple I'm not sure I agree with.
- I put never for waiting in the yellow grid (thought you couldn't go in unless your exit was clear)
- I put red refelectors down a motorway slip road
- I put the red triangle for the road sign that orders you to do something ('cos Stop and Give Way signs) - poorly worded question as both the triable and circle [speed limit] signs give orders.
- I put the speed assist rather than the lane departure warning on the quiet motorway question..... it's a quiet motorway FFS - I'd have thought stopping speeding was the bigger issue. 🤷♂️
Anyway.... could be worse. Might get MrsSB to do it 😬
I put never for waiting in the yellow grid (thought you couldn't go in unless your exit was clear)
You're right - but if you're turning right, the oncoming traffic that you need to give way to does not mean your exit isn't clear. As soon as there's a gap or the lights change, you can turn right and clear the junction. So you're allowed to wait in the yellow box for that gap.
If that road was chock full of traffic and you couldn't turn right into it without clearing the box, then you shouldn't enter the yellow box.
You're right - but if you're turning right, the oncoming traffic that you need to give way to does not mean your exit isn't clear.
I woz robbed!
46/50. Looks like most of the wrong ones are common from the answers on here. Turning right in yellow box, turning left in to minor road, catseye colours on slip roads. A bit annoyed I got the bumps in road wrong. I though that was a double bump image so I put hump back bridge.
Lane assist is more important as people tend to doze off and then veer off the road, remember that train crash a few years ago where the bloke veered off, over the hard shoulder, down the embankment and ended up on the railway, Doncaster way I think.
ossify has it regarding the yellow box, it's a very specific definition that most people don't get (or just completely ignore). The turning left one was the other one that got me, I was maybe thinking cycling and not riding int he gutter. Pulling as close left as you can seems to encourage some dings dongs to over take you rather than wait for you to clear the main road.
Some very ambiguous questions, or ones where more than one answer would seem to make sense. Others are just bizarre, with only one answer that a sane person could choose!
Lane assist is more important as people tend to doze off and then veer off the road
But it specifically stated a quiet road - i.e. not many cars on it - where I would have thought the temptation to speed was a bigger issue but 🤷♂️
It's an odd question though as I bet the vast majority of cars on the road don't even have this feature (I certainly don't) and, AFAIA, is not even a thing for those taking their test. I'm not sure how you're supposed to answer a question about something you don't really know anything about?
Surely the correct answer is to swing wide to the right and come into the braking zone at maximum speed, hit the anchors hard, turn in to kiss the apex of the turn before accelerating out of the the turn using he full width of the road to maintain maximum speed?
You missed the bit about giving it a dab of oppo..
Position at left hand turn and mini roundabout got me too.
40/50 Fail!
I'd have passed if it wan't for the road signs where I did terribly.
In my defence I have never driven, had no training, and have never taken a test before.
47/50, as I also got the quiet motorway one wrong, genuinely thought the cyclist in the video was an idiot, and had never actually heard of a puffin crossing.
I got the lorry one wrong... I didn't see the cyclist (chortle chortle)
The box with the video was too small... Saw the cyclist only when I full screened it due to not seeing them in the tiny video window.
It's one of those vague questions though.. The lorry may have delayed and gone wide to make space for the cyclist or they may have done that anyway because lorry turning takes space, cyclist or not.
Absolutely agree. Also I checked, and puffin crossings came in in 2016, the year I left, and it's not like I'd go through a red light anyway so I'm claiming a moral victory and 50 out of 50. 🤣
The left turn issue you are "all" having is testing knowledge of highway code rule 183. The purpose of the test is really to enforce familiarity with "all" of the highway code rather than just the street signs which were tested previously.
49/50. I got the one about shock wrong.
I didnt cheat, but I have done a few of these now with 2 kids having passed their tests in the last couple of years.
Interesting for me was that when my niece was learning, my Dad / her Grandad was talking about how he never had to study all that when he qualified in the mid 50's !! So we sat down and did one together, where i guided but if in doubt went with his answers, and he scored 40, which for someone who has never studied the hwc, especially not later versions was I thought pretty good. eg the yellow box one...wasn't a thing when he passed, came in in late 60s and apart from newspaper articles he vaguely remembers from the time... he doesn't remember ever having been formally told about the rules.
In less serious terms, the best question I saw was how to dispose of a lead acid battery, with 'throw it in the canal' being an option. Good to see how just like on the driving questions, the true theory answer and what people do IRL can vary.
I just made the pass mark, mind you I had over 45 minutes left at the end. The ones I got wrong were the same as most other people on here. I might have done better had I made the videos bigger!
48. Same "turning left into minor road" issue as everyone else and confused roundabout sign for mini-roundabout.
The lorry may have delayed and gone wide to make space for the cyclist or they may have done that anyway because lorry turning takes space, cyclist or not.
I went with "the lorry had to go wide anyway and probably didn't even see the idiot suicidal cyclist" thankfully a) it appears that was right and b) idiot cyclist didn't get squished on camera
Yes, that’s the one I got wrong. It depends what they mean by on the left. I certainly wouldn’t move into the gutter for a left turn for the reason you give. Seems a pretty arbitrary answer.
I think this comes down to having to think differently in a car Vs on a bike.
On a bike (push or motor), maybe wanting to get better visibility, carry speed more, increase the radius of the turn, maintain primary to avoid getting squeezed, etc. Staying out in the lane is better. Same with turning out of a junction, the advice in the advanced motorbike training is to stay right, then park yourself 45deg at the give way line, maximum visibility, clear which way you're going, keeps other road users where you want them. The key thing is you're very much taking responsibility then for checking over your left shoulder for anything on your inside.
In a car, your aim is to block bikes from filter up the left into a space you intend to turn into. You already have good visibility round the corner because you're sat on the other side of the car.