Try, try, and try again ...

[daib0]

A curious story this week ...




The Express

'I’m still in shock!' Learner passes his driving test on his 33rd attempt

THE mantra “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again” has proved true for this new driver who has finally passed his driving test at the 33rd attempt.

Determined Christian Whiteley-Mason has used 14 different instructors, taken 85 lessons and spent £10,000 over 25 years to get the licence. After finally being given the all clear to get out on the roads by himself, the care home manager said: “I can’t believe I’ve actually finally passed after all these years. I’m still in shock!”

Mr Whiteley-Mason, 42, from Barnsley, first took his test in 1992 in the days before the driving theory test was introduced but quickly racked up a succession of test fails. But after finding an increasing need to travel for work he was struggling to get by day-to-day using public transport.

He added: “I had to either get taxis or rely on other people and it was costing me a fortune. So in January that was it, I just decided I was going to go for it. Everyone laughed at me and said I’d never do it, I’d get bored again. But I was absolutely determined I was going to show everyone.”

And not only did he pass the test he did so with flying colours having only got marked down for three minor errors. He joked: “There must be a God because I prayed every night that I wouldn’t get that same examiner who’d kept failing me, and I didn’t. I’m so proud of myself. It’s changed my life to be honest. I felt like I’d achieved everything I really wanted to achieve, this was the one thing left I had to do. My motto was always been don’t stop believing.”

Having thrown away his L plates, Mr Whiteley-Mason has now splashed out on a second hand Smart Car named Percy and is even giving his husband Darren lifts around town.





Anyone else know other multiple driving test aspirants?!!

[johnh]

I hope he has to put out a press announcement whenever he takes to the road. A consolation is that he will probably have the roads to himself.

[daib0]

Should there be a cut-off point, say five attempts? The thing is, if you get to the 4th or 5th go you'd be trembling like a flan and probably fail. I did it at the first go when I was about 20, so didn't even think about it. Apart from a couple of signs and a question there was no theory test as such. I remember my driving instructor used to say "just answer that you have to drive according to the conditions" and it worked a treat!! There was also a junction at the top of a steep hill, which used to worry many candidates, but if there was no traffic you could get out without stopping altogether and that's what I did!

[Deleted User 728]

Twice for me.
Lived in London in my early twenties so didn't need a car and still didn't when I came back south as I lived in the city centre.
It was only when I got my own place further out and needed to drive for work that I thought about it.

I took a week-long crash course with the test on the Friday and failed almost immediately during the first "set piece", which was the emergency stop. Instead of hitting the dashboard with his clipboard, the examiner just vaguely waved his hand in the air and I didn't know if he was swatting a fly or asking me to stop .. after that I relaxed because I knew I'd botched it, but still stalled about half a dozen times.
It was hilariously bad, but then you know it's a gamble trying to do it in a week.

About a year later the fella I was working for paid for me to learn again and for the test itself. I was living in Weston and working in Bristol and he needed to me to gad about a bit, especially as I was to be co-ordinating three new store openings for him, so I gratefully took him up on his offer. I took the test on a Tuesday morning at about half ten in Weston-Super-Mare in 1994 and there were about half a dozen other vehicles on the roads

Doddle !

The moral of the story is : take the test in a rural area.

[johnh]

Twice for me, but I was robbed the first time. Coming up to a 'give-way' junction I said to the examiner, 'OK my side - OK your side?'. He failed me.

[Deleted User 728]

'OK my side - OK your side?

How rude of him !

[daib0]

Or move ...... to Turkey



Turkey, where a driving test can take two minutes

ISTANBUL // Turkey is cracking down on driving schools and road-test inspectors, amid claims that some students passed their exams after two minutes and others do not know how to find the handbrake.

Read this!! http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/eu ... wo-minutes