John Jeffay, of the Manchester Evening News, passed his driving test at 17 (after failing), more than 20 years ago. Since then he’s gained a little more wisdom on the roads, and picked up a few bad habits… so how would he fare on today’s test?

Could I still pass a driving test? Three out of four motorists would fail a re-sit, according to What Car? magazine, which published its findings last week.

Twenty recruits with a total of 416 years’ driving experience re-sat their test.

One managed to head the wrong way down a one-way street, some broke the speed limit, many signalled late, wrongly or not at all.

I arrived at the Driving Test Centre at Rochdale to see how I’d fare under real test conditions, courtesy of assistant chief examiner Ashley Bateman.

Last year, 42.7 per cent of car drivers who took their test here passed. Mr Bateman explained that I’d be driving for about 40 minutes and his task was simply to determine whether or not I was safe. I could cross my hands and still pass. I could turn right when he asked me to turn left and, as long as I did so safely, I could still pass. Safety was his sole concern.

Before we got as far as putting the key in the ignition there were a couple of surprises. Could I please lift the bonnet and explain how I would check the oil level. And how would I tell if the power steering was working? Oil was easy, the steering I’d never even thought about, so I made it up.

Questions like these never arose in my day. No such thing then as a Theory Test, although you did have to memorise road signs and the 315ft stopping distance for a car at 70mph.

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre

And so to the roads of Rochdale. Major roads, roundabouts, traffic lights, windy little roads with speed humps, nasty right turns (many learner drivers try to avoid these at all cost) the emergency (or controlled) stop, lots of stopping and starting to see if I checked mirrors and blindspots, and a “turn in the road” – three-point turn to you and me.

I was, of course, on my best behaviour, never creeping over 30mph, eyes on the rear view even more than the road ahead, handbrake applied at every opportunity, corners uncut.

Most people who fail their test do so at junctions, followed by reversing and similar manoeuvres, followed by poor use of mirrors. Mr Bateman had explained the rules beforehand. One “serious” or “dangerous” fault and you fail. Fewer than 15 “driving faults” – minor errors like being slow to change lanes or slightly hitting the kerb – and you’ll still pass.

The Driving Test form also records, interestingly, whether the examiner had to intervene ie grab the steering wheel.

That’s generally a fail.

I knew I’d still have my licence whatever the outcome, but I wanted the reassurance that I really should be allowed on the road. And, thankfully, that’s what I got. Mr Bateman did his adding up at the end of the test and was pleased to tell me I had passed. Five driving faults – two “steering” and three “moving away”. Small faults, but Huge surge of relief.

I’m pleased to be able to tell you…

Every driver who’s legally on the road must have been safe enough at some time to pass their test. On balance I think experience on the road during a driving lifetime will outweigh bad habits, especially when there’s an examiner sitting next to you in the car. So three failures out of four may be a good headline figure, but I really question whether as many driver as that really are as bad – under test conditions – as that.

More from John at
blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.