How many times of Driving Tests (TP) you took to pass? - Part 2

[beigan]

How come got 6 months seperation one?

Btw i am a 2B learner at bbdc...

Because I can't commit to revision in the day. That was my biggest mistake. Was on probation after swapping job. Too scared to ask for half day leave as economy not good

 

[thomas00]

Hi all. Do u usually chat with your instructor while driving? Or make small talk

Depends on instructors. Some instructors will chat with you, some very serious no nonsense type.

 

[Buzy_bee]

Hi all. Do u usually chat with your instructor while driving? Or make small talk

Depends. Some look very stern I just keep quiet, some very friendly face we will chit chat quite a bit.

 

[Buzy_bee]

bbdc refunds the leftover money by cheque immediately after one passes the TP test right?

Yes n remember to cancel your bookings. I got my refund within less than 2 weeks.

 

[Idme231]

Because I can't commit to revision in the day. That was my biggest mistake. Was on probation after swapping job. Too scared to ask for half day leave as economy not good

That might be the reason for not doing tp well... and also, for me , i always make mistake before the test day of my TP, strike kerb... my instructor warn me... always dont be afraid to make mistake so you know what you did is correct/wrong...

 

[beigan]

That might be the reason for not doing tp well... and also, for me , i always make mistake before the test day of my TP, strike kerb... my instructor warn me... always dont be afraid to make mistake so you know what you did is correct/wrong...

It is definitely the reason why I do badly. 2 months of hard core training followed up 6 months of doing nothing with driving.

But for my time, you need to wait 2-3 months before you can go for TP test after booking. Because it was so packed back then. It is so much better now that ppl can go for test in a week.

I'm like in a catch 22 situation. Don't know what to do and every choice is not the best. Unfortunately, I think giving up is the right choice because financially, the money is really alot to me. The license ain't gonna put food on the table.

 

[olinjem]

It is definitely the reason why I do badly. 2 months of hard core training followed up 6 months of doing nothing with driving.

But for my time, you need to wait 2-3 months before you can go for TP test after booking. Because it was so packed back then. It is so much better now that ppl can go for test in a week.

I'm like in a catch 22 situation. Don't know what to do and every choice is not the best. Unfortunately, I think giving up is the right choice because financially, the money is really alot to me. The license ain't gonna put food on the table.

Go for another try. Its a lot of money, yes but you spent the bulk of it already. after failing over stupidity the second time i really want to go and pass no matter how.

 

[Idme231]

It is definitely the reason why I do badly. 2 months of hard core training followed up 6 months of doing nothing with driving.

But for my time, you need to wait 2-3 months before you can go for TP test after booking. Because it was so packed back then. It is so much better now that ppl can go for test in a week.

I'm like in a catch 22 situation. Don't know what to do and every choice is not the best. Unfortunately, I think giving up is the right choice because financially, the money is really alot to me. The license ain't gonna put food on the table.

I took up private previously in CDC and was cheaper alot than school, gave up school
Because the school doesnt teach me well nor the instructors there are so so. And it was expensive too. I can guess that the market rate now for learning a lesson is 70-80 dollars. Took me 4 months to did so.

Oh please dont say that, believe me , that licence will help you really alot in tough times beside providing transport when needed, the jobs of being a driver is tough and tiring, but it will provide you food on the table very well. Finding a job? You need it if you are in the Engineering industry majority for a person like me, because you get calls for doing maintenance. Without that you can forget about getting a job.

After class 3, i took 2B in the case when it is needed, since i rarely use class 3 vehicle these days, why not? I am encouraged to do so, but for you, how? Not scolding you or anything, but just saying my own statement, your choice.

 

[eriolmoon2008]

Failed 1st try: 38 point - Main component failed me is sweer the car and never check blind spot.

Failed 2nd try: 32 point - wrong lane to turn right at main exit gate, cause other driver evasion

Passed on 3rd try. 16 demerits point. Heng only 1 major fault that is never lane change when there’s obstacles infront. Instructor give chance and warn me. Jin happy boy!!!


Below are the tips from cdc 3A Car. Hopefully can help someone to pass.

Full lock half window or door knob, depend on door meter location is at center or at front of wheel, signal, full lock wheel and turn at slow speed. Circuit drive in slow speed. Outside speed depends on traffic conditions.

Slope course -
Signal before turning in
Accelerate until the cone or line than stop
Signal left if at park at right
Signal right if at park at left
foot brake than pull up hand brake
slowly release foot brake and step on accelerator gradually
check neighbour and blindspot, let go handbrake and move
signal next lane

S course -
Slow speed. signal before turn, check blind spot, full lock left and turn right at slow speed at the door knob at curb, follow the curve, Full lock left on the left kerb. signal before exit the lane.

Crank course -
signal before turn, check blind spot, full lock at slow speed. signal before exit the lane.

Ramp course -
turn in at slow speed
brake slow until front wheel hit the kerb, accelerate than brake before hitting the pole.
Reverse gear, signal right, adjust right mirror, check rear mirror for car, check 360 blind spot, slowly release brake, top left map reverse while stationary, other lane reverse once the wheel hit the floor. slowly brake, check blind spot when car is center, brake slowly to hit the kerb accelerate than brake before hit the back pole. Forward gear, move out slowly, adjust mirror, signal left and full lock turn slowly

Directional change -
Slow down while turning
Full lock at left, straighten the wheel. Stop at shoulder 3.0 side kerb. Reverse gear, adjust right mirror, check rear mirror for car, check 360 degree, reverse until 3.5 kerb full lock right, stop once straighten and check rear blind spot, reverse and stop at left car side mirror. forward gear , Adjust mirror and Signal left and full lock left slowly.

Parallel Parking -
Drive till middle of the kerb lane and stops at mirror under the Sign number.
Reverse gear, check rear mirror, 360 degree check, reverse until left front door knob 35% of the yellow line. Check rear blind spot and Full lock left until right mirror can see fully the first kerb line.
Adjust the right mirror to see the right wheel and straighten the car until the wheel touch the yellow line. Check rear blind spot and full lock right. Adjust the car forward and reverse until is center of the parking lot. Park and hand brake.
Reverse gear, rear check, reverse and check right mirror until the wheel near the kerb. Adjust right mirror, Forward gear and signal right and check blind spot and full lock right and move out slowly.

Vertical parking -
Center the Car until left mirror is half of the other road. Check left rear window if need anymore space forward. Reverse gear and adjust right mirror check rear window. Check rear mirror for any car. 360 degree check than reverse until rear left mirror is near the back kerb corner. Check rear blind spot and full lock left. Adjust the car until is center of the parking lot. Too right forward the car 2 sec and reverse again. Too left straighten the car 2 sec and full lock left again. Straighten the car and check rear bind spot. Reverse until below the rear mirror of the side kerb. Park and hand brake. Forward gear and signal move out slowly after car front door.

E-brake -
done inside circuit. Step on brake immediately if the tester hit the dashboard.




Exit left gate, signal left and stop at stop line. check right lane incoming car and left blind spot before moving out.

Exit at main gate got right and left lane. change correct lane after pedestrian line. Stop at stop line. check incoming car and check blind spot before moving out.

Hand straighten before changing lane. Signal left or right. Check rear mirror, side mirror and blind spot in split second to front view than turn at 1 or 11 clock. Never over take and accelerate to over take car. give way to fast moving car. Safety First.

U-turn at shoulder level in slow speed.
Keep left lane at all time.

Filter lane check 3 times blind spot before turning - Entering, turning curve and exiting the filter lane. Slow down at filter lane.

Always face in-front after checking any direction for lane change. Safety first.

Drive safe!!

 

[bysodus]

Idk since got camera maybe can dispute?

I had the same tester today. Probably the oldest tester in CDC. This is how it went for me (Auto car):

Name called by him. Checked my IC, told me to lead me to the car (pvt PDI btw). Sat in the car, gave me a spiel on - road conditions keep changing, calm yourself, keep alert.

Then said, when you are ready move out to the left.

I drove towards the circuit, and first thing he wanted to check was lane change on a curve, which i did ok.

asked me to turn into 13 (yellow and black bar), but there were already two cars inside. Waited for a minute, then he said drive on.....

Asked me to turn right into S course 22 (i think)...then come out, and go up ramp 12. now there were plenty of cars going around, and i wanted to give way to a car which was

closer to the ramp, but he egged me to move on. went up the ramp, did the handbrake, right indicator etc. but he pointed out that i didnt check rear view mirror (his pet peeve during my test btw). asked me to turn left, and go into 42 parallel parking, however then told me to go to 43, i did the parallel parking but the back kerb just touched :. I was not convinced but he told me to go out and look. i did that and saw it had just touched, told him so (in hindsight, no point doing that), but he said that means an accident. Anyways i composed myself and moved out...

Next went into 27 crank course. came out and go left. My test was at 10:15am, and there were lot of cars in the circuit, so i was waiting and giving way from time to time, but the tester was quite impatient. he egged me on to move and weave through the cars. next was vertical parking in 34, and i had to adjust and did ok. made sure there was enough tolerance at the back to not hit the kerb.

he then asked me to exit the course through exit 2, asked me to go left...traveled towards eunos link, he tested me on u-turn, did that ok. by this time he was totally
impatient, he scolded me for not checking rear view mirror (which i was doing quickly and probably he wanted me to stare at it). He was totally getting antsy and trying to

make me nervous but i kept my cool (mentally telling myself to be cool), at one point i was close to crossing a junction and the light turned amber. i kept going as i was at
the front arrow and didn't want to stop suddenly.

When i was going in (bus) lane near entry 3, he made sure to check his watch to see if bus timings are not applicable. asked me to do a lane change. now here the unusual thing happened. A white car suddenly decided to tag along at my blind spot. and he kept at it for like 50 meters, so i was not changing the lane. the tester uncle shouted at me. and i told him that there is car in my blind spot......anyways i held my ground (safety first), and then when the stupid driver moved off, i changed lane.

At another point he asked me to change lane after a junction, i did that, and i quickly looked at my right side mirror to see a car speeding in that lane...waited for it to go

as i kept at my normal speed but uncle hit the rear view mirror 2-3 times saying i didnt check it (by this time i thought my test is certainly fail, but again i told myself its not done until its done), i just nodding and acknowledging his shouting. returned to the CDC, and asked me to turn in gate 1, now here i should have turned into the right
lane (since there was a guy walking in the right lane i turned into the left), but again he shouted why the right lane. I think by now the tester was at his highest blood pressure and i was feeling like a 3 year old (i am 40 btw).

Made me sit in the tester room as i was totally despondent now that he would fail me. on page 1 i saw at least 18 points ...and he started scolding me again - why you stare at side mirror, dont look at rear view mirror, why you speed up at junction....my confidence was dropping but i kept nodding....and then he turned over the page and i saw no more

points! i had passed !!! he then went on to lecture me further, and included another lady (who had gone through the test and waiting) in complaining about my driving. finally he signed off that my life is in my hands.

Told me go to admin services center downstairs to see the video. went there it was fully occupied, then a CDC driving instructor told me to better go up to second floor and view the video at the terminals there. now i thought i had had enough of scolding for 1 day (in fact never has anyone scolded me in the last 16-17 years since i graduated college).but guess what ran into my tester again and he scolded me (sounding like i cant follow instructions) that i told you to go down why are you here. again i had to explain that i was told to come here. and he seemed fine at the explanation and let me go.

For those whose who are despondent or nervous, let me give you some stats about myself:
- Earned a motorcycle license (after proper testing) in India 16 years ago. Drove for 30,000 kms in rough road conditions, and with people having limited regards and road sense (i.e. ultra careful driver by now)
-Earned a driver license in US (after proper testing), and drove for 8 years there - > 100,000 miles across the mean streets of NYC, Boston, new jersey etc. Trained at least 5 people in driving in US, all of whom earned their license successfully.
- Took 2 road lessons and 6 circuit lessons from a PDI, begining 11 Jan (and TP was today 8 Feb).
- I have no intention of buying or renting a car and driving in Singapore, just needed the license as i want to drive on overseas trips.

So the moral of the story is that you can run into all sorts of characters as your tester but you have to maintain your cool (easier said than done though).I have the
following advice:

1) Mental conditioning is important. Maintain your cool, and assume things will not go to plan.
2) Luck is super important.
3) The top reasons for a fail are incurring big points like mount the kerb or strike the kerb. You have to avoid that somehow.Leave enough tolerance at back wheel when doing parallel parking and only turn when your shoulder passes out of the vertical parking. Again you can be ultra slow at these steps and make sure you dont screw up, even if the tester is pulling your hair.
4) While i am still surprised to have passed even after all the scolding i received, i can say after having driven for many years that the testers many times are unreasonable.
i actually sense that the tester may be nervous with a new driver(they are also trying to keep their cool) and shout at you unnecessarily. For example:
a) my tester indicated that i was not looking at the rear view mirror (which i acknowleded i did once on the up ramp 12), however on road i was glancing at the rear view at all changes and even other times. And he said i was staring at side mirror on lane change. now somehow my side mirror glance was exaggerated. so its a double edged sword, if you look more you are told you stare, and when you glance you are told that you didnt look.
b) he shouted at me for not changing a lane, when there was a vehicle which was tagging me at my right blind spot for more thant 50 meters. This was totally uncalled for, and if you dont maintain your cool, you will listen to your tester and might cause accident.
c) Even in the circuit the testers (depending on their personality) may be unreasonable, but there you should follow the instructions as speeds are ultra slow.

Good luck ! thanks to the previous posters in this forum who gave me a good idea on what to expect. hence posting back.

 

[kRuixx]

Hi all, what does it mean by incorrect checking of blindspots/mirrors? If you always check everything will they penalise for doing unnecessary things or as the prev poster mentioned, scolded for staring at the mirror?

 

[eriolmoon2008]

Hi all, what does it mean by incorrect checking of blindspots/mirrors? If you always check everything will they penalise for doing unnecessary things or as the prev poster mentioned, scolded for staring at the mirror?

For my tp experience, incorrect checking means either you never turn fully to check blind spot (Over shoulder, whole body turn back to check rear window) or check wrong side of mirror.

The TP tester usually like to see learner obvious checking... for wayang purpose.. but not too much unnecessary checking ... it dangerous also....
You should just glance, not stare. Keep glancing and look infront until u can make decision... always look infront after checking any blindspot/mirror before moving forward or lane change. safety first.

 

[bysodus]

For my tp experience, incorrect checking means either you never turn fully to check blind spot (Over shoulder, whole body turn back to check rear window) or check wrong side of mirror.

The TP tester usually like to see learner obvious checking... for wayang purpose.. but not too much unnecessary checking ... it dangerous also....
You should just glance, not stare. Keep glancing and look infront until u can make decision... always look infront after checking any blindspot/mirror before moving forward or lane change. safety first.

Agree that half the TP is wayang...you have to make sure you are being safe and also do enough wayang....

 

[Elijahonli]

yar... make sure that your head must turn to check... if its not obvious enough for them to know, how can they be sure that you really got check....

 

[kRuixx]

Thanks! Oh yeah and for the test itself is it allowed to tilt the mirrors downwards for circuit, like what the instructor does during lessons?

 

[Elijahonli]

Thanks! Oh yeah and for the test itself is it allowed to tilt the mirrors downwards for circuit, like what the instructor does during lessons?

yes you are allowed to tilt your mirrors.

 

[shaggerinos]

Going for lesson later hope I don’t kena 6617

 

[olinjem]

Passed on 3rd try

Went for my third TP today. Still all nerves but the tester was a nice and calm man. It really did help a little in being less nervous. I passed with 12 points. 2 points in circuit and 10 points outside.

2 points in circuit is considered for me itself is a huge improvement from 30 points for my first tp and one immediate failure for my second. On the roads, its a lot of forgot to off signal and one blind spot.

To those who havent sat for the test or failed on their previous tries, please try again. Do not be disheartened.

 

[hafiz30]

Hi guys, name is hafiz. did my tp 2 weeks ago and kena 40 points with 0 immediate failures. got arnd 16 points in circuit and rest is outside. I'm from SSDC and private student. just want to ask a question, is it true that there's a passing quota? and is there a good timing to take my 2nd tp test? planning to take during last week of February or 1st week of march on weekdays at 10;15am.. pls advise! thank yoU!!

 

[StanII]

Hi guys, name is hafiz. did my tp 2 weeks ago and kena 40 points with 0 immediate failures. got arnd 16 points in circuit and rest is outside. I'm from SSDC and private student. just want to ask a question, is it true that there's a passing quota? and is there a good timing to take my 2nd tp test? planning to take during last week of February or 1st week of march on weekdays at 10;15am.. pls advise! thank yoU!!

What are your mistakes mainly on?

Fail to check safety? Or never check blind spots?