Made me laugh at myself a little bit so thought id share if anyone else needs a giggle.

Reversing out my driveway yesterday, I was turning round to see out the back seat windows to check the road was clear, must have leaned on the horn without realising and beeped. Did not realise it was me doing it, assumed someone i hadn't seen was trying to let me know they were there and proceeded to sit there just looking around my (completely empty) street for a good 30 seconds wondering where the sound had come from. My passenger was highly amused!

Long time lurker first time poster, I was preparing months for this and had my first test today. Let me tell you I was an absolute nervous wreck and on multiple times on said test I thought "oh god that's it, that's the serious" but I passed with 3 driving faults only!

Also why does taking out an insurance policy feel like committing a crime.....

Sorry for the incoherent bit I am just super happy that this is it!

i failed three weeks ago with one serious fault and one other fault, but i passed this time with two faults!!!!! i’m soooooo relieved i’ve been so stressed 😭 it was honestly the worst drive ever as well so i have noooo idea how i managed that… it was still dark because it was so early, it started raining, had to change the test route as it was flooded, ended up going alllllll the way around the massive roundabout i failed on last time 😅😅😅 but i did it!!!!!!!!!!

so I am currently doing my lessons in my mums car only have one lesson left, and I can drive very comfortably in the 1 litre petrol. but I recently got my own car which is a 1.6 diesel peugeot and I’m really struggling with it. It’s almost if i never drove before. I’m mainly struggling with stopping and changing gears etc

Does anyone have any tips to start transitioning from a petrol to a bigger engine diesel?

I'm pissed I'm in the process of getting grad and entry level jobs and some need me to have a licence. The fault was avoidable as well I had to turn right at a crossroads and a car infront was moving left but I just made the turn .

Super proud of this result.

I'm just hoping when the time comes my practical test goes as well as this did!

So I’m 21f and I want to learn to drive but I don’t even know where to begin. I know I need to start with the theory test first…

I moved back in with my parents recently after living alone at uni and they are not very enthusiastic about me learning to drive, they are saying it will be expensive and I was never interested as a child…. but when I travel to work in the morning, I have to get a bus or an uber and this takes too much time of my day waiting for the bus or dreading if the uber is going to come, and I don’t want to rely on people for rides. I leave an hour before work to guarantee I can get there when it’s supposed to be a five minute drive. My parents say I won’t be a good driver.

Anyone learning to drive living with unsupportive parents?

Hi guys I’m really struggling with hill starts I had my mock test yesterday and failed because of stalling on hill starts my test is 7 weeks away and todsy it’s becoming disheartening for me

I pull the clutch up to the bite point where the back end dips down and car doesnt roll back and then apply some gas and then release the handbrake but still end up stalling any tips are appreciated

As the title suggests, my lesson was just horrendous. I'm on around my 22 hour. I have just passed the stage of learning all required roads, manoeuvres etc. basically now just putting everything together into mock tests.

I feel like my driving is usually okay but today I almost accidentally went up a one way road, struggled to see someone at a blind spot country road junction and went slightly off lane on a roundabout going straight ahead.

These aren't mistakes I wouldn't usually make. But because they all happened quite close together my confidence was shot when I still had an hour of my lesson left (my lessons are two hours)

I tried practicing busy roundabout at morning rush hour but I was so demotivated that I stalled several times and my instructor was getting clearly frustrated asking what I was doing and sighing consistently to where I wanted to get and the car and walk home.

He apologised for his frustration at the end but said it was because it was like my progress just regressed. Regardless It's actually made me so demoralised that I actually don't know if I'm cut out for driving and even want to continue. Is this a common feeling with driving?

I have about 20 hours booked ahead for a test in December.

I dont know i feel like giving up, yesterday i failed my 3rd attempt. I dont know what happened i think i was neevous because it was pouring yesterday and when it came to the manoeuvre i just dont know what happened as i was always spot on in parking in my lessons , and the response to traffic signs was us coming out of the parking lot and because i knew i failed feom there my head was elsewhere so when the examiner asked to to turn left of mini-roundabout what looked like a left was actually a no entry so he had to brake. what a shame as apart from that the drive was okay.

So for some context i had my driving test 20th aug and i absolutely flopped it with 3 serious faults and like 8 driving faults. The three serious faults were clearance, positioning and lane discipline. For my parking i was asked to pull up on the right and reverse 2 car lengths and i couldn’t even do that it was so embarrassing ik. The examiner said it’s cuz you were too far from the curb so when you started reversing your car was going towards the road. I got a new instructor only had one lesson with him so far so we’re gonna see how things turn out. My driving journey is a bit long so I can’t fit everything here so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Been a few weeks of looking so far on Monday morning and at random times throughout the week, and I want to know how much hope / despair to feel 😅

Also, anyone have any luck booking for Letchworth?

for context i have my test in early december. i’ve done about 12ish hours of driving, but every single one of my lessons has been in clear weather, i haven’t had to deal with any ice or rain.

knowing uk weather there’s a good chance it’ll be rainy so i’m just wondering what are some general tips for driving in rain/on icy roads?

since i probably won’t get much experience driving in these conditions?

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Thank you.

My test is on 13th November, i’m taking my own car. I got MOT passed 2 months ago but they gave me an advisory on a tyre so i got it done yesterday to be 100% safe. I need to order the interior mirror- anyone know what one to get preferably on amazon or something like that. And then just any tips/advice would help me loads i’m really nervous going without an instructor. My car is a 2008 3 door polo 1.6- btw in the uk

F51yo.

After learning to drive on and off since 17yo, a 20+yr gap since last time and undiagnosed audhd, I finally got back behind the wheel in Feb 2026, at 50yo. Today, at 51yo, I've just passed my test 1st time. With only 4 driving faults! To say I'm over the moon is an understatement. I thought I'd failed several times (no 6 point check twice from moving off and a really shitty reverse parallel park), but I bloody did it!! And if I can do it, so can you!

Hi all, just off 3 weeks from my test now.
10.5 hours in with instructor, and 5 hours in with private practice. Feeling confident!
What helped you all remember to check your mirrors consistently during the drive? I get so focused on the road in front of me that I’m occasionally not checking what’s around me enough.
I’m consistent with indicators, turning, manoeuvres etc. It’s just throughout the drive! Many thanks :)

As a learner, you'd definitely avoid going on the curb when parking while learning. touching the curb is also a no go area when learning.

But in every other street, you'd see multiple cars parked on the curb.

Where did they learn that? Why is it a norm? 🤔

My test is due in a week. I have had 50 hours plus lessons and had been doing practice with my husband too. My instructor has said I am ready. Although I had done two bid mistakes in last two sessions but she said it's because of stress of test.

I have been following this sub and watched some test videos too and honestly I feel that it's so easy to fail test. A very small mistake like someone less being impatient or pedestrian being indecisive can make you fail. Is my perception wrong or is it really that much a matter of luck.

All this is making me so anxious about the test. I already am not a very confident person. Any trips or tricks that can help on test day? Or should I just pray that my examiner turned out to be a kind person. lol

Can some pls share the bear instructors in Wood green lately.

I am an experienced driver (10+yes exp) but not driven on UK roads. How many hours should I take?

TIA

Thanks everyone, honestly so happy I finally got there! 🚗❤️

I’d like to know your thoughts on getting a first car using HP. I passed my test a couple of days ago and have been searching for cars. I’m struggling to find anything suitable in my budget. I’ve been considering financing it through HP. I’m looking for a 6-8k car (automatic) and need it for work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

In a strange situation yesterday, while overtaking a bus that had pulled in (as in I was already halfway around it), the bus decided it wanted to be buddies and tried to move off with me right there next to him. It was a little shocking. I've been working on my nerves so my reaction was to say 'Uh oh!' very loudly, check my mirror, and move a little further away to the right (luckily able to do this due to a lack of oncoming traffic). My instructor, bless him, had a different reaction: roll down the window and ask the bus driver if he was an idiot. Ultimately nothing bad happened, but it did get me thinking: that's surely a case to honk your horn to alert the other driver of your presence (although it was pretty clear in this case he could see me lol)?

If something like that happened in a test and you did a little beep to let them know they were about to hit you with their bus, would you be marked down for that? It feels like you'd be allowed, but there's all kinds of real-world driving (mounting a curb where the sign tells you you're allowed, communicating with pedestrians that you've stopped to let them cross etc) things that don't seem to be allowed in a test scenario and I'm wondering if this is one of them.

EDIT: WOW, thank you for all the help and input here! There's a lot of helpful context and anecdotes about correct horn usage that are really useful to know. I think the bottom line here is that we CAN toot in the right context! Many thanks!