You have completed your driving lessons, and now you are ready to take the driving test—but are you? In reality, you can never predict the outcome. What you can do is to do your best and get prepared with the following information:
- Requirements
You can take a practical driving test once you meet all the requirements for the learner’s license. Also known as L1, you can get this if you:
- Passed the driver’s knowledge test
- Completed at least 120 hours of driving experience (which you need to record in a logbook)
- Are at least 16 years old
- Completed and passed the eyesight test
For the driving experience, you should have driven at night (sunset to sunrise) for a total of 20 hours. You may also enroll in the driver’s course or take any of the driving lessons from EzLicence offers in NSW. Both will give you bonus hours in the logbook.
You may skip the 120-hour driving experience if you’re already 25 years old and above. The number of required hours also drops to 50 if you’re under 25 but living in rural or remote areas.
- Actual Test
The NSW government has a comprehensive guide to introduce you to the practical driving test. These are the essential points:
- You need to drive your car, which you will use for the testing. You should arrive with someone who owns a full driver’s license. You cannot drive your vehicle if you fail.
- You will go through different courses spread out in 25 zones. In these sections, you will encounter certain situations. Your behavior will be subject to assessment.
- During the practical driving test, you will ride with the testing officer. Sometimes a monitoring officer will be there as well. Their job is to observe the testing officer, not you.
The officer will then assess you in five areas:
- Speed management
- Decision making
- Hazard response
- Vehicle control
- Road positioning
The government acknowledges that driving isn’t risk-free, but it’s essential to display low-risk behaviors when on the road.
To give you the best shot in passing, here are a few tips:
- Cooperate with the testing officer.
- Read the rules before you take the test.
- Consider booking driving lessons at EzLicence. It will help refresh your memory, and you can get more pointers from the instructors.
- Stay calm. Take a deep breath.
- Maintain proper posture.
- Test Results
NSW has some of the strictest guidelines for passing a driver’s test. For instance, you cannot make more than 15 non-critical errors during the exam. You must have zero critical mistakes.
These errors could include intentionally violating the road rules or over-speeding. Some of these will result in immediate failure, regardless of how you performed in other scenarios. The testing officer will call off the test as well.
You will know your results on the same day. If you pass, you will walk out with a P1 license.
Otherwise, the registry will give you the test score sheet with the general comments from the testing officer. You may then retake the driving test after seven days.
Over the years, the number of road crash fatalities in New South Wales has declined significantly. It’s partly thanks to the efforts of the government to produce more responsible drivers.
Getting a provisional license in NSW may be time-consuming with a difficult exam. In the end, you’re helping the state maintain safer roads.
