Speeding on a driving test- advice please
Discussion
Currently teaching the 17 yr old to drive. Going surprising well. As he now has a bit more confidence (40 odd hours behind the wheel) I’m having to remind him about his speed more and more.
The question I have is speeding an instant fail on a driving test? The online advice seems conflicting using this as a scenario:
40mph limit, going into a 30 and passes the 30 signs over the posted speed
I’ve read either A) That’s an instant fail no matter how far over B) if he’s a few mph over passing the sign BUT corrects himself quickly that’s ok, or c) he would get away with B once or twice but repeating it would add up to a fail.
Obviously the right thing to do is always drive to the posted limit, but as I’ve been driving him around near to the test centre he’s going to be using (a fair trot from home- so unfamiliar to us both) I’ve been amazed at the amount of overgrown, obscured, moved or poorly maintained signs, so I have some sympathy that he’s missing the odd one.
The question I have is speeding an instant fail on a driving test? The online advice seems conflicting using this as a scenario:
40mph limit, going into a 30 and passes the 30 signs over the posted speed
I’ve read either A) That’s an instant fail no matter how far over B) if he’s a few mph over passing the sign BUT corrects himself quickly that’s ok, or c) he would get away with B once or twice but repeating it would add up to a fail.
Obviously the right thing to do is always drive to the posted limit, but as I’ve been driving him around near to the test centre he’s going to be using (a fair trot from home- so unfamiliar to us both) I’ve been amazed at the amount of overgrown, obscured, moved or poorly maintained signs, so I have some sympathy that he’s missing the odd one.
Not sure of the relevance given that I passed in 2005, but I remember being politely informed by the instructor that I was speeding. I think I was doing 38 in a 30 zone. Passed with a couple of minors - can’t remember if one of them was for that or not now. I suspect it’s a little variable depending on the tester.
Sauce said:
Not sure of the relevance given that I passed in 2005, but I remember being politely informed by the instructor that I was speeding. I think I was doing 38 in a 30 zone. Passed with a couple of minors - can’t remember if one of them was for that or not now. I suspect it’s a little variable depending on the tester.
I think I passed in 2005 too and was always told that you had to be at the posted limit by the sign otherwise it was a fail. Not sure if that was just scaremongering but it's worth sticking to!Major and instant fail.
My daughter crossed over the centre line on the junction leaving the test centre which is a major so she had failed her test within 1 minute of starting it 😊
She hadn’t realised and only had 2 minors after that but obviously still failed.
Passed 2nd time.
My daughter crossed over the centre line on the junction leaving the test centre which is a major so she had failed her test within 1 minute of starting it 😊
She hadn’t realised and only had 2 minors after that but obviously still failed.
Passed 2nd time.
kestral said:
My god! it should be a fail without any doubt
If you cannot keep to the speed limit during your test!
And someone said a qualified examiner let it it go during a test!
Why is that so surprising?If you cannot keep to the speed limit during your test!
And someone said a qualified examiner let it it go during a test!
On my bike mod 2 test, I missed a 20 sign in Bristol after turning into a side street (no excuse, completely my fault) and continued to accelerate to and maintain 30
I was none the wiser until after the test when the examiner debriefed me, giving me my only minor on the test for speeding.
I took my test in 1993. Towards the end of the test we were driving down a dual carriage way and I thought I would show my proficiency by overtaking the truck ahead.
The driving examiner said that I had better push it as he wanted me to take the next junction (he hadn’t told me that before I commenced my overtake). I said I was already doing 70, and he said that it was fine if I increased my speed briefly to complete my overtake in good time before the junction.
I passed the test with no majors and no minors and he said I was the best candid he had had through in years.
I know that last paragraph makes me sound like a complete “Driving God” idiot tool, but just thought it relevant to the OP question. I think it’s all about displaying awareness of your speed, speed limit on the road, road conditions, and other road users. I don’t imagine I would’ve had the same outcome if I had just sped up to 80 to overtake the lorry…
Ps I kerbed the wheels driving home from the test, which quickly took the wind out of my sails following the examiner’s earlier comment.....
The driving examiner said that I had better push it as he wanted me to take the next junction (he hadn’t told me that before I commenced my overtake). I said I was already doing 70, and he said that it was fine if I increased my speed briefly to complete my overtake in good time before the junction.
I passed the test with no majors and no minors and he said I was the best candid he had had through in years.
I know that last paragraph makes me sound like a complete “Driving God” idiot tool, but just thought it relevant to the OP question. I think it’s all about displaying awareness of your speed, speed limit on the road, road conditions, and other road users. I don’t imagine I would’ve had the same outcome if I had just sped up to 80 to overtake the lorry…
Ps I kerbed the wheels driving home from the test, which quickly took the wind out of my sails following the examiner’s earlier comment.....
As with anything on the driving test, all down to circumstances at the time, examiner and so on.
A few examples of pupils of mine:
35 in a 30 - pass. I was in the back and sure it was more like 37.
40 in a 30 - fail. Obviously.
Told to slow down a couple of times by examiner - pass. That was a WTF moment!
In a 50 limit, downhill approaching a 30 limit, late reacting so passing sign around 36 - pass.
As long as the person is reacting and it wasn’t too far over the limit then I think people get benefit of the doubt. If you stay at 35 in a 30 all the way along a road then that’ll probably be a fail.
A few examples of pupils of mine:
35 in a 30 - pass. I was in the back and sure it was more like 37.
40 in a 30 - fail. Obviously.
Told to slow down a couple of times by examiner - pass. That was a WTF moment!
In a 50 limit, downhill approaching a 30 limit, late reacting so passing sign around 36 - pass.
As long as the person is reacting and it wasn’t too far over the limit then I think people get benefit of the doubt. If you stay at 35 in a 30 all the way along a road then that’ll probably be a fail.
Gmlgml said:
.... but as I’ve been driving him around near to the test centre he’s going to be using (a fair trot from home- so unfamiliar to us both) I’ve been amazed at the amount of overgrown, obscured, moved or poorly maintained signs, so I have some sympathy that he’s missing the odd one.
You could have trouble the other way too - one of my daughters was always a “press-on” kind of driver but was taken on a route she’d never driven by a stand-in tester. She failed for driving at 40, which she thought appropriate, on single carriageway road with cars parked, houses etc but it was derestricted. Something you may also want to make him aware of is that he doesn't even have to be speeding, to get failed for his speed. I was failed when I took a test for going round a corner at 30mph, in a 30mph zone. The examiner said that the speed wasn't appropriate for the corner, despite it being within the speed limit for the corner. When I say corner it wasn't a 90deg corner or anything near that, I think the examiner just used it as an excuse to fail me if I'm honest.
ayeaye said:
As with anything on the driving test, all down to circumstances at the time, examiner and so on.
A few examples of pupils of mine:
35 in a 30 - pass. I was in the back and sure it was more like 37.
40 in a 30 - fail. Obviously.
Told to slow down a couple of times by examiner - pass. That was a WTF moment!
In a 50 limit, downhill approaching a 30 limit, late reacting so passing sign around 36 - pass.
As long as the person is reacting and it wasn’t too far over the limit then I think people get benefit of the doubt. If you stay at 35 in a 30 all the way along a road then that’ll probably be a fail.
Just by the variable examples above and other replies this does seem to be a bit of a conundrum with no definitive answer. Fingers crossed he doesn’t miss any signs as it’s seems unfair it’s down to the whim of a particular examiner, I’d have thought it would have been more clear cut. Still, gives him some leeway if it isn’t. A few examples of pupils of mine:
35 in a 30 - pass. I was in the back and sure it was more like 37.
40 in a 30 - fail. Obviously.
Told to slow down a couple of times by examiner - pass. That was a WTF moment!
In a 50 limit, downhill approaching a 30 limit, late reacting so passing sign around 36 - pass.
As long as the person is reacting and it wasn’t too far over the limit then I think people get benefit of the doubt. If you stay at 35 in a 30 all the way along a road then that’ll probably be a fail.
I passed my test over 20 years ago.
Failed my first test with 3 minors, all for speeding.
Passed my second test with only 1 minor - speeding again :-)
Had to take a third test due to accruing 6 points within 2 years, test only lasted 20 minutes. Examiner said I could clearly drive, so went back early.
I think that being a small margin over the speed limit would be a minor, but being well over the speed limit would be a major and a fail.
This site says that it is up to the discretion of the examiner whether inappropriate speed is a minor or major, so I guess that any inappropriate speed means a risk of failing your test. https://www.drivingtesttips.biz/speed-awareness.ht...
Failed my first test with 3 minors, all for speeding.
Passed my second test with only 1 minor - speeding again :-)
Had to take a third test due to accruing 6 points within 2 years, test only lasted 20 minutes. Examiner said I could clearly drive, so went back early.
I think that being a small margin over the speed limit would be a minor, but being well over the speed limit would be a major and a fail.
This site says that it is up to the discretion of the examiner whether inappropriate speed is a minor or major, so I guess that any inappropriate speed means a risk of failing your test. https://www.drivingtesttips.biz/speed-awareness.ht...
A long time ago but a story told by my dad about one of his friends in the 60's who crashed on his test and still passed.
Apparently something happened, he avoided it but wrapped the car around a tree.
The examiner said if he had done anything else they probably would have both been dead. His driving until then had been good enough so he passed him.
Apparently something happened, he avoided it but wrapped the car around a tree.
The examiner said if he had done anything else they probably would have both been dead. His driving until then had been good enough so he passed him.
Still, I do have some confidence in him especially after watching the “secrets of the driving test” on tv for the last few weeks. Some of the driving in that (even the ones they show as passing) doesn’t seem brilliant! I can’t believe the woman who passed on last weeks episode appeared to have driven the entire test, on a bone dry day, with the rear wiper scraping across the screen. The noise must have been horrendous.
Thanks for the thread, some of the responses have been informative. Hopefully you'll let us know when he passes his test.
On one of my RoSPA advanced tests I arrived at the 40 post already doing 40. I hadn't realised I was in a 30. It was a main road heading away from a roundabout. I can see how a 30 limit could be useful but during the test the conditions were good, traffic was light, the road was wide and there were no vehicles either side of the road that may have emerged from side turnings. I am being empathetic and pointing out even experienced drivers who've passed advanced tests before can get speed limits wrong.
If your lad is doing that well perhaps sow the seed of doing an advanced test after he's passed his test and got some more experience? Advanced tests have a reminder about not speeding before pulling away so perhaps mention to him that speeding during a test a likely to be frowned upon.
If he gets 6 points in his first two years he'll have to take the test again so suggest that speeding doesn't want to become a habit and perhaps aim to keep his licence clean and to take an advanced test if he gets through his first two years without 6 points, 2 speeding offences, and having to retake the normal test.
There's no leniency given to learner and inexperienced drivers in law, all drivers are expected to adhere to a certain standard of competency. Drivers have to adhere to speed limits once they've passed their test so they're not just something that newbie learner drivers have to comply with.
Speed limits are the way of the world now, so it's something he'll have to get used to.
Invariably road accidents have multiple contributory factors. If he can stick to the limit or keep his speed down he'll reduce or eliminate one possible contributory factor towards an accident.
On one of my RoSPA advanced tests I arrived at the 40 post already doing 40. I hadn't realised I was in a 30. It was a main road heading away from a roundabout. I can see how a 30 limit could be useful but during the test the conditions were good, traffic was light, the road was wide and there were no vehicles either side of the road that may have emerged from side turnings. I am being empathetic and pointing out even experienced drivers who've passed advanced tests before can get speed limits wrong.
If your lad is doing that well perhaps sow the seed of doing an advanced test after he's passed his test and got some more experience? Advanced tests have a reminder about not speeding before pulling away so perhaps mention to him that speeding during a test a likely to be frowned upon.
If he gets 6 points in his first two years he'll have to take the test again so suggest that speeding doesn't want to become a habit and perhaps aim to keep his licence clean and to take an advanced test if he gets through his first two years without 6 points, 2 speeding offences, and having to retake the normal test.
There's no leniency given to learner and inexperienced drivers in law, all drivers are expected to adhere to a certain standard of competency. Drivers have to adhere to speed limits once they've passed their test so they're not just something that newbie learner drivers have to comply with.
Speed limits are the way of the world now, so it's something he'll have to get used to.
Invariably road accidents have multiple contributory factors. If he can stick to the limit or keep his speed down he'll reduce or eliminate one possible contributory factor towards an accident.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff