Taking your driver’s license test for the first time can be a little intimidating. It may help you to remember that many people pass their exams and get their driver’s licenses every week. When you know what to expect and you prepare well, you can be the proud owner of a driver’s license.
What Does the Data Say About Passing Road Tests?
This article at CBSnews.com offers the results from a survey by CarInsurance.com where they drew questions from state driver’s license practice tests that gives us some idea of the potential pass/fail ratio. Here’s what the survey found:
- Only 56% of the respondents were able to achieve the 80% score that was required to pass the test.
- Women got an average score of 78%.
- Men got an average score of 71%.
- People over the age of 40 got an average score of 79%.
- People under the age of 40 got an average score of only 67%.
It’s important not to take it for granted that you’ll pass your road test on the first try. Drivers can and do fail their tests. A road test is somewhat subjective. Some of whether you pass it is up to you and some of it is up to the examiner. Each examiner and testing facility have their own culture and approach to testing. Since you can only control your portion of the test, it’s important to prepare well for it. Remember that the whole goal behind driver testing is to ensure that you are a safe driver on the road for the protection of others and for you.
Depending on where you live, you may have a choice of where to take your test.
The first thing to do is to get a driving manual for your state. Read it through and start studying. You may assume that you already know a lot about driving, but there are lots of rules that you might not be familiar with. You’ll need to know about the color and shape of road signs, rules for traffic laws, rules for driving, and other driving and safety rules. You’ll also need to know the specific driving laws in your state such as rules for mobile phones in cars, driving in construction zones, and pulling over for emergency vehicles.
