I passed my driving practical at my first attempt scoring only three minor points during the exam.
Learning to drive took about a year ago and it took me two attempts to pass the Theory Test. The complicated thing during the practical exam was not being able to get at least 30 or so of the 35 questions correct, as this was common sense, but to complete the Hazard Perception section. It was a matter of guess work. How soon at spotting a hazard is it too soon to press the button? And how late is too late?
Spotting hazards during driving is vital. It pays to pay attention to other road users, to cyclists, to pedestrians, to cars and lorries etc. They may speed up, they may slow down or brake, they may turn left of right. There could be parked vehicles, or vehicles emerging onto roads. All of these are hazards. Then there are road signs and traffic signals to obey. It all adds up to a lot of noise.
Mastering of road hazard perception and dealing with roundabouts was what caused me taking so long to get around to the practical exam. It did not help that my clutch control was never quite perfect or my gear changes less than smooth. Checking mirrors was something I did, but not enough – though, I always believe, perfectly fine for safety checking.
The practical exam was a good drive. Maybe my smoothest drive ever, I was forced to make decisions and not rely upon helping hints and prods from my instructor. Here I was, a grown-up acting like one and taking on the responsibility. I stayed in my lane, I kept my speed progressive, and I checked my mirrors and made sure my signals were near faultless. My turn-in-the-road was excellent and even my bay park was far from bad (though not as good as it had been in some practices). After forty minutes of driving around and having answered a few questions about the car, that was that… I had passed.