How to pass your driving test first time – and cut the risk of a crash

They are persuasive figures but exactly how good is a 16-year-old Young Driver student behind the wheel? To find out, I pitched myself against one in a mock driving test judged by John Bennett, an ADI Grade A Young Driver instructor.

Our ‘duel’ (because to me, with 44 years of driving under my belt and a point to prove, that’s what it was) was held at Young Driver’s Bicester Motion venue during a regular training event attended by around 170 youngsters keen to drive the 25 Swifts available. Freddie, my ‘adversary’, was a veteran of Young Driver with 10 hours of tuition in his lesson book.

He will be 17 on 1 January and has already booked his theory test but can’t book his driving test until then. Will he pass it first time? Success today would be a good indicator…

I went first so, with John in the passenger seat to guide me, I took the Swift for a quick recce of the course: a sinewy affair laid out with cones and road signs. Then it was time for the test.

It lasted 30 minutes and at the end John talked me through my five ‘minors’, which included insufficient observation during a manoeuvre, poor positioning and moving off without sufficiently considering an approaching Swift.

Still, only five… Surely, Freddie wouldn’t beat that? Off he went with John. It felt like they were gone longer, which gave me grounds for optimism. However, on their return, John said to Freddie: “You did very well. You’re ready for the road.”