Tips To Pass Your TP

TIPS TO PASS YOUR TP

Try to make the warmups before the test, its crucial if you are using a different car everytime in your training. Get to know the accelerator responsiveness, deadzones*. The clutch biting point and the brake points/ deadzones*/ responsiveness.


Relax. Nothing worst than having yourself against yourself. Staying calm will allow you to remember steps and procedures better, so you won’t mess up- critical in the circuit stage.

Roughly know the circuit and test routes, even when you are not supposed to learn it in detail. So you can prep your next move/turn if the tester fails or is late in giving you the prompt. Most importantly it gives you the overall confidence to drive.Like they always say- make it a habit to turn your head to check blindspots. But really do the check! and not only going through the motion. Moreover you will come to a point where blindpoint checking will become a second nature to you – you will notice yourself turning your head everytime you drive/ lanechange/ turn, in extreme cases even as a passenger or riding on the bus!

Always respond verbally or “echo” (parrot repeat) towards the tester’s commands on test routes, adds to overall impression and tells him that he’s not talking to the wall!

Don’t forget, you are sharing the road with other road users in your test. Always let aggressive/fast vehicles go before lane change to right (i.e right turn/ u-turn), though you have the right of way, you are always on a losing end in a test.

Always beware of taxis, buses suddenly stopping/obstructing you. Try not to follow behind one at all times, unless where the situation permits.Don’t rush, its always better to wait if you feel unsafe to move off. Its better to be penalised for unnecessary waiting than failing the test straightaway by almost causing an accident.

Don’t be intimidated by the tester, instead try to “befriend him” a good impression lasts, though some can really be a sore thumb, don’t be dishearted either or it will be a long gloomy ride to a retest later.

Don’t be distracted by the tester, esp when he jolts down something on his checklist even you’ve done nothing wrong, keep concentrating on the road, those may be distraction tools.

Don’t drive too slow (a misconception of a safe driver), instead drive close but below the speed limit so you won’t be much of a hazard on the road. There is infact a penalty for driving slower than what the road conditions allow, but don’t be too happy on the right foot either. You will almost never need to go up to 5th gear unless your route have a very long straight, if do remember the speed limit.

When moving off/slope its always ok to accelerate more than usual and make a din (no fault) than stalling or causing an obstruction (fail).

In the circuit, if you feel that you are gonna hit the kerb, don’t push it- Its better to reverse and make adjustments (no fault on first attempt, 2pts on additonal adjustments) than mounting the kerb (fail).

Anticipate traffic light changes other parts of the junctions so as not to delay movement when the light is already green in your favour. You are not expected to zoom off once the lights turn green, but at least it makes you are aware of the light conditions in the junction itself. The green light is more deadly than red. Always cover the foot brake when doing so and switch to the accelerator if you come within the “no stop” zone before the stop line, proceed with caution!

Know the junctions that feature right turns with right turn green arrows in your test route, prevents sudden “E-brakes” in junctions when you suddenly see an approaching car. Also, with the green arrow, you can actually make the right turn despite red for going straight.

The test is a show of application of what you’ve learnt in driving school- show it to the tester! i.e slowdown before junction/zebra crossing/before turns etc… Taking note of such details even a normal average licensed driver cares less about.In an E-brake test, only clutch in when your feet had been transferred onto the brake pedal, then hit both pedals hard, NEVER hit the clutch before the brake (wrong technique, gliding feeling), or the clutch too late after the brake (stall). The car should produce a klung-klung-klung (manual) during the sudden stop.

Choose test dates and time which don’t clash with peak traffic, school dismissal timings, Friday Muslim prayers, increasing the chances of a less packed road & pedestrian situation.

Lastly, if you fail try again! don’t be dishearted by failure, book another testdate & practice more. A fact is that your chances of passing increases with each try, testers usually do not favor first time passes.

Extra Tip for repeat testees: If you’ve failed many tests before, to the extent of having to renew another PDL, attach the old PDL behind the new one altogether. Though serving no acutal purpose, the records of your previous tests behind your old PDL tells and indicates to the tester alot of your ordeal and driving experience. They won’t miss it as they have to flip it to record the test behind your new PDL. Provided you do not have any major mistakes in the test, this might actually increase your chances of passing especially to those testers who pass people based on experience and not on 1st attempts.



Article from: Shaunchng