I have always been skeptical of advice from people who have failed, and if you are too, then I must point out immediately that I did not pass the practical driving test until the second try.
Anyway, I just want to share my lessons learned, and those of you who still face this ordeal can either take this as advice or leave it, as you see fit.
There are of course three parts to the test.
1. I found that the key to passing the theory test was to memorize all the questions in the DSA Official Publication, "The Official Theory Test." I read through all the sample questions slowly about three times, and I got all 35 questions right on the test.
2. I found that the key to passing the hazard perception test was to practice with the DSA's sample DVD, "The Official Guide to Hazard Perception DVD." I thought the hazard perception test was not intuitively obvious. You click the mouse when you see a hazard in a video, but you don't point at the hazard, so the program doesn't actually know you saw the hazard. Also, what constitutes a hazard includes things like a little puddle or a pedestrian minding his own business on the "pavement" (sidewalk). If you click too often just in case, you get zero points for the whole segment. Recovering from that shock is an essential part of the practice. Like a lineman who gets the wind knocked out of him on a play, you have to shake it off in about four seconds, because the ball is going to be hiked again (the next segment will start) whether you are ready or not. I bombed on one segment, but got 52 points out of a possible 75, which was a comfortable enough pass.
3. I found that the key to passing the practical test was to drive the actual test routes. So far as I know, the official literature does not say that. On my first test, the instructor recommended a mid-morning test time, presumably because there is less traffic. But the effect of that was that the examiner had the whole city at his disposal, and we drove through intersections I had never seen before, including the city's most difficult roundabout. Three major faults. I never spoke to that instructor again. I hired a different instructor who recommended a test time as close as possible to the evening rush hour. That constrained the examiner's choice of test routes, and we practiced on the most likely routes. The second instructor did not actually guess right on the test route the examiner chose, but it turned out to be ***my own neighborhood***. Passed, four minor faults and a compliment from the examiner.
Jim
I'm pullin' for ya. We're all in this together.
