Taking a driving test in your own car
Discussion
jamoor said:
paoloh said:
I had this thought the other day on this exact issue. Take your test in say a new M5 which is a manual (SMG) Hill starts= car does it for you. Clutch control=car does it for you. Can the tester say anything?
As long as the car has a clutch pedal, it counts as a manual.Regarding the of your own car, I thkn there are a few things required, I remember a head restraint bieng one of them which seemed unusual compared to the rest of them.
paoloh said:
I had this thought the other day on this exact issue. Take your test in say a new M5 which is a manual (SMG) Hill starts= car does it for you. Clutch control=car does it for you. Can the tester say anything?
I don't know about this for sure, but I suspect that the actual mechanics of the gearbox are not important, rather that the way in which the gearbox is controlled determines how it is classified for the purposes of driving tests. I therefore suspect that an automated manual gearbox such as SMG is classified as an automatic and can't be used for a manual driving test.Edited by SamHH on Wednesday 16th January 19:53
oggs said:
SamHH said:
BCA said:
they dont allow two seaters any more IIRC
I've never heard of any requirement for more than two seats. Where did you hear this?
In case the examiner is being examined.Didn't Tom Hartleys son take his test in a 550/575 a couple of years back.
paoloh said:
jamoor said:
paoloh said:
I had this thought the other day on this exact issue. Take your test in say a new M5 which is a manual (SMG) Hill starts= car does it for you. Clutch control=car does it for you. Can the tester say anything?
As long as the car has a clutch pedal, it counts as a manual.Regarding the of your own car, I thkn there are a few things required, I remember a head restraint bieng one of them which seemed unusual compared to the rest of them.
jamoor said:
paoloh said:
jamoor said:
paoloh said:
I had this thought the other day on this exact issue. Take your test in say a new M5 which is a manual (SMG) Hill starts= car does it for you. Clutch control=car does it for you. Can the tester say anything?
As long as the car has a clutch pedal, it counts as a manual.Regarding the of your own car, I thkn there are a few things required, I remember a head restraint bieng one of them which seemed unusual compared to the rest of them.
Sharief said:
Or just look at this. Which will probably prove I'm wrong in some way: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNew...
Looked at that before... but never spotted this:"an interior mirror for the examiner's use"
Down to Halfords I suppose!
oggs said:
Ben, you will need to supply L-Plates and an interior mirror for the examiner and insurance wise so long as she is a named driver she will be ok and she will have to sign a form on the day stating it.
Its handy having a girlfriend who is a driving instructor
Cheers, I shall ensure she has all the paperwork with her on the day, just in case Its handy having a girlfriend who is a driving instructor
Sharief said:
I'm doing it in my instructor's car rather than my own simply because I find it easier to drive.
Interesting point - all the car's she's previously learnt / done the test in are much worse than her own car and as a result gets on much better with hers. She has a new Yaris, but the instructors' cars are generally of a lesser quality (ie. 3 year old Corsa) and are rather tired due to having learners in them all day My first car was a 1977 Vauxhaul Chevette. Clutch was awful, steering was vague, visibility was sh*te, gearbox was impossible, brakes operated on prayer... I don't know - these new learners don't know how good they've got it
paoloh said:
jamoor said:
paoloh said:
jamoor said:
paoloh said:
I had this thought the other day on this exact issue. Take your test in say a new M5 which is a manual (SMG) Hill starts= car does it for you. Clutch control=car does it for you. Can the tester say anything?
As long as the car has a clutch pedal, it counts as a manual.Regarding the of your own car, I thkn there are a few things required, I remember a head restraint bieng one of them which seemed unusual compared to the rest of them.
John
topless_mx5 said:
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I wonder what the most expensive car anyone has taken a test in is. I heard once of someone doing it in a Ferrari 360, anyone top that?
Tom Hartley junior was due to take his test in a F355 back in 1999 when he was 17 but that car failed on him so he had to use an F50 instead.Sharief said:
Or just look at this. Which will probably prove I'm wrong in some way: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNew...
Now that IS an interesting link! When I did my test (>10 years ago, in a Mk1 1300cc golf), the only requirement was that the examiner had a seat to sit on, I think. He also had to have a seatbelt if the car was made after the date on which they became mandatory fitment. I do recall that I had an additional interior mirror for my dad (he taught me to drive), and I left that in for the examiner, but I wasn't obliged to. Interesting notes on that link:
DVLA said:
The vast majority of hatchbacks, saloons and estate cars are suitable for test, but increasingly the designers of cars are producing models with sweeping lines which have good forward vision but have large blind spots to the rear and present examiners with problems of observation.
If a car is designed to be both LHD and RHD (which all RHD cars are nowadays) then why should visibility from the passenger seat be any worse than that from the drivers' seat? Oli.
zcacogp said:
If a car is designed to be both LHD and RHD (which all RHD cars are nowadays) then why should visibility from the passenger seat be any worse than that from the drivers' seat?
Oli.
It's not that it's unsafe to drive - the examiner needs "extra" visibility to see what is going on around you.Oli.
Interesting that the Ka and Mini (convertibles) are specifically named.
Dave80s said:
Note that you cannot take your test in a Toyota Yaris with the digital speedo, as the examiner can't see how fast you are going from the passenger seat.
I think you're wrong as you can from ours - you just sit back more / lean over a little.I'll be able to tell you on Saturday if you're right or not!
tigger1 said:
zcacogp said:
If a car is designed to be both LHD and RHD (which all RHD cars are nowadays) then why should visibility from the passenger seat be any worse than that from the drivers' seat?
Oli.
It's not that it's unsafe to drive - the examiner needs "extra" visibility to see what is going on around you.Oli.
Interesting that the Ka and Mini (convertibles) are specifically named.
Yes, indeed interesting that the Mini and Ka convertibles both get singled out as 'unsuitable'.
Oli.
GF only run Mini'sBCA said:
Steve Sutcliffe did it in a Diablo 6.0VT I believe - and failed... they dont allow two seaters any more IIRC, though my instructors face went pale when I suggested the Cerbera was a four seater... 
I wouldn't recommend a Cerbera as a test car. The handbrake would never hold you on the hill start. 
Byff said:
BCA said:
Steve Sutcliffe did it in a Diablo 6.0VT I believe - and failed... they dont allow two seaters any more IIRC, though my instructors face went pale when I suggested the Cerbera was a four seater...
I wouldn't recommend a Cerbera as a test car. The handbrake would never hold you on the hill start. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff