It’s time to answer possibly the most popular question I get asked as a driving instructor. “Will I fail my driving test for stalling?” I get asked this question almost daily, in fact probably every client will ask this at some point on their learning journey.
The Answer…
The honest answer is you’re unlikely to get a serious or dangerous mark on your driving test if you stall the car. There are a few exceptions to this though. If you stall the car in a dangerous place or you cause a danger to other road users, you might get a serious fault.
The reason people fail their driving tests if they stall is mostly because of their reaction to stalling.
A lot of learners on their driving test will panic and lose control of the car, letting it roll backwards or forwards over a stop line are both examples of how you might fail for stalling.
What happens if I stall on my driving test?
If you stall, try to stay calm.
Restart the engine and check you’re in the correct gear and make sure you take your time.
Keep the car safe. That doesn’t mean slamming the brakes on. It means doing the right thing to keep the car and passengers safe. For instance, if you are moving forwards and it’s safe to, just start the engine again and get going. Slamming on the brakes could create a hazard and cause problems for the vehicles behind.
Get on with it. If you stall, don’t lose your focus. Take a calming breath, get the car started and after you’re sure it’s safe, get moving again. This will minimise the hold up to other road users.
Action plan
Make sure you reduce the risk of stalling on your driving test.
If you keep stalling then speak to your instructor about how to fix it on your next driving lesson.
Failing the driving test for stalling once is unusual but, if you don’t fix the problem in the lessons then stalling many times could lead to the faults adding up and a possible fail.
Stalling at the wrong time might mean you don’t pass the test.
Make sure your instructor is not helping you bring the clutch up and make sure that you test yourself at all the junctions that you don’t like.
Look for the root cause of the issue. Your instructor saying “bring the clutch up slower” probably won’t help. Look for patterns for where you might stall, lots of our learners stall on hills, at traffic lights, or if they are the first car in a queue of traffic. Generally, the root cause isn’t that you brought the clutch up too fast. It can sometimes be the pressure of trying not to stall, that can cause you to stall.
Revolution Driving School offers driving lessons in the Mansfield, Ashfield and Alfreton areas. Our driving instructors undergo intensive, professional training to make sure they deliver the very best tuition to our students.
Consistent driving lessons with a quality instructor customarily means fewer lessons needed.
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