Advice for "N" driving test?

Lexa Fayte · October 06, 2016, 10:16:36 AM

Hello all!

I'm going for my N test in a couple of weeks here and I'm wondering if there's any tips, tricks, and general advice anyone can give me.

I'm particularly curious about the initial walk around inspection (pre-road trip check) part of the exam- I don't have much of an idea of what to expect there. I'm comfortable and confident with my driving, but would still love to hear driving advice as well.

So please, share your stories and wisdom; all help is greatly appreciated :3

Thanks,
Lexa

Final Update:
I did it! I passed my driving test and have acquired my N :D
Now I just need to get a car hahaha

Thank you so much to everyone who shared their experiences and general tips, tricks, and advice.

Update 1:
Didn't pass my test.
Major reasons were my shoulder checking and 360 check before leaving parking weren't explicit enough (so the instructor thought I wasn't checking)
One minor reason that added to that was parallel parking (which I kind of expected; I hit the curb :/)

positive take aways were that my perception was amazing and my overall driving was great (minus the explicitness of shoulder checking)

re-booked for late December (earliest possible appointment I could find)

Thank you all for the amazing advice! If there is anything else that comes to mind, I'm still all ears.
Getting ready for round 2! I got this >:3

Lazurith · October 06, 2016, 12:07:06 PM

Ok! From what I remember anyways, also you're going to get your N, not get rid of it right?

But uh, walk around check is to see if your brake lights work and such mostly, then they'll ask you to turn your low beam headlights/normal headlights, and high beams. There might be other smaller things but the main thing is they'll ask you if you know your hand signals (https://images.esurance.com/img_look-for-signals.jpg)

Thennnn you pretty much drive around and follow whatever they say but it's mainly just watching for school/playground zones and being mindful of your speed I think

Lexa Fayte · October 06, 2016, 02:27:41 PM

Quote from: Lazurith on October 06, 2016, 12:07:06 PM
Ok! From what I remember anyways, also you're going to get your N, not get rid of it right?

But uh, walk around check is to see if your brake lights work and such mostly, then they'll ask you to turn your low beam headlights/normal headlights, and high beams. There might be other smaller things but the main thing is they'll ask you if you know your hand signals (https://images.esurance.com/img_look-for-signals.jpg)

Thennnn you pretty much drive around and follow whatever they say but it's mainly just watching for school/playground zones and being mindful of your speed I think

Yes, I'm going to get my N (hopefully first try)

That sounds not too bad; Hadn't heard of being asked about hand signals before, so that's really good to know.
School zones I'm hoping they won't try to trip me up on at all (I'd like to think people are nice haha)
I'll be sure to keep those things in mind :)

Thank you!

Temrin · October 06, 2016, 04:56:01 PM

You can find testing guides on ICBC's website too.
http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/driving-guides/Pages/Default.aspx

The biggest things i remember not being on these guides (or wasn't super clear at the time) when i tested many years ago and the biggest things that helped me were:
1) Tell the tester what you are doing. Literally tell them "I am blind spot checking" or "I am going to creep forward because i can't see if there is oncoming traffic" When you come to a stop somewhere. Over exaggerate your movements (be safe. obv) if you can (specially for blind spot checking because sometimes its hard to see if a person did it properly or not and they will dock marks if they think your not doing it) I was told that if the tester has to use their passenger brakes (if your in one of their testing vehicles that have them) it is an auto fail so the best thing you can do is to walk them through what you are doing. They cannot read your mind :)

2) When the driver asks you to pull over and open your door, you can automatically fail if you open your door without blind spot checking. So make sure you pull over to a safe location, blind spot check and tell them your doing it, THEN open the door. This particular test is to see weather or not you are being mindful of pedestrians or cyclists or even potentially, other cars, depending on where you've parked. If you opened the door without looking, you could hit someone walking/cycling or even the door could get hit by another vehicle.

3) If they ask you to turn or remind you of a turn they told you they wanted you to take and the white line of the turning lane is already at your car, do not go into the turning late. it is considered unsafe and they will dock big marks off you for it. Just tell them it is unsafe to turn at this point and continue the way you were going until they direct you to take another turn.

But yeah. Other then that, things are fairly straight forward. Follow the speed signs, school zone signs, lights, etc. The manual on their website is good stuff. Be sure to review it. It should have a section on what you check outside the car before getting in and everything.

(the tester i had was really quiet and sounded like he just expected me to know what he wanted from me. So it was an unfun test for me but i know some people who've gotten some decent and even fun testers. But don't expect them to go easy on you. They will try to trip you up. Thats the whole point of the test. To make sure you've been driving safely with your L and that you can continue to drive safely without someone in the car to help you.)

LynxStyle · October 08, 2016, 02:32:14 PM

Hey Lexa,

As chatted offline, big things to look out for that they tried to trick me with:

To expand on Lazurith's point of school/playground zones: Time of Day & Time of Week.

Some School Playgrounds count as playground zones on weekends, others are strictly school zones (mon-friday, rusty on the start and end times but that is something worth looking into).
Signed Playground zones are in effect Dawn -> Dusk
Especially in the Lower Mainland area (be it Vancouver, Burnaby, Surry, etc.) note if there are any Rush Hour alternating lanes or effects. Example: if they take you into the ~~manning~~ Stanly park area (derp), note that the lanes can change based on rush hour priority, so it is key to keep an eye on the digital signs.

Other things they may try to catch you with are Bus-only lanes and HOV lanes if your N test has any highway driving portion (I know when I took my N & Full in Victoria the Highway entering & exiting was a critical part of the testing).

To Mirror Temrin's points:
Get a feel for your tester during the introduction and "motor off" portion of the test, prior to pulling out of the parking stall. Some instructors will fail you for chatting outright, I was lucky and the lady that tested me actually gave me credit for talking through all my actions and thoughts with her as I was driving "No mam; I do no feel comfortable cutting across 3 lanes to take the left hand turn with less than a block to go, the smart and safe option would be to turn right into this residential area, commit a proper 3-point turn, and then use the light to cross during rush hour here".

Lexa Fayte · October 09, 2016, 12:31:54 AM

@Temrin
Those three major things are super useful to know.
I feel like the third one would've gotten me, just because of the mind set of "do what they tell you unless it's unsafe"; going into a turning lane a fraction of a second late may not register as too late, so it's really good to know that I should just keep driving and tell them it's unsafe.
I'll also definitely check over the book :)

@LynxStyle
I'll be taking my test in the Langely Willowbrook area at 3PM, so there shouldn't be any crazy digital signs; it's also before rush-hour, so I should be okay there as well.
But I could definitely see them taking me onto the highway. I'm fairly familiar with the area and highway there, but I'll definitely look out to see if they're trying to get me into a Bus only HOV.

A big thanks, for the advice so far; I'm learning lots :D

Owl · October 10, 2016, 02:08:04 PM

Here's something that comes to mind

When I first took my N test, mine was when it was snowing. And I had no idea how to defog the windows. So my tester failed me on the prep section because she had to do it

Another was if a driver honks at you, you lose points for that as well.

Anyway the N test is probably the hardest test. It's recommended you take your class 5 as soon as possible (you have to wait two years though). Because if you get ticketed by a police officer once on your N, you might have to take the Class 7 a second time inorder to be eligible.

Lexa Fayte · October 10, 2016, 02:40:08 PM

Quote from: Owl on October 10, 2016, 02:08:04 PM
Here's something that comes to mind

When I first took my N test, mine was when it was snowing. And I had no idea how to defog the windows. So my tester failed me on the prep section because she had to do it

Another was if a driver honks at you, you lose points for that as well.

Anyway the N test is probably the hardest test. It's recommended you take your class 5 as soon as possible (you have to wait two years though). Because if you get ticketed by a police officer once on your N, you might have to take the Class 7 a second time inorder to be eligible.

Can't imagine it snowing at this time of year, but stranger things have happened haha
I'll be sure to know how to do a defog.

Also, I have to wonder if they would fail me for someone honking at me if they are just being an arse. I recently had someone honk at me while I was waiting for a gap to take a left turn; really dangerous intersection, and I couldn't see on coming traffic past the opposing car turning left. I'm not going to go if I can't see, I could turn straight into traffic :/
Hope that something like that wouldn't fail me; guess I'd just let the instructor know I can't see and it's unsafe to turn.

For sure would like to get class 5 ASAP; planning on taking lessons to shorten the 2 years to 1.5 :D
Had no idea that getting a ticket could potentially mean taking the test again. Scary thought.
Ironically, I want to be a police officer, so getting ticketed would be really bad for many reasons lol

Thank you for your advice :3

Lazurith · October 11, 2016, 05:58:42 PM

Eh... the instructor you get pretty heavily influences how easy your test is, like the difference is night and day

Lexa Fayte · October 13, 2016, 11:01:25 AM

Quote from: Lazurith on October 11, 2016, 05:58:42 PM
Eh... the instructor you get pretty heavily influences how easy your test is, like the difference is night and day

Ahh, the only part I can't control; I will have to hope for good RNG :P

I'm taking the test in Langley, where I used to live - most of the people there are nice, so hopefully the instructor is as well.

I'll post a follow up in this thread of how it goes.

Nyro · October 18, 2016, 12:08:44 AM

Whatever you do, don't drive a big truck when the tester is going to ask you to park in a really tiny parking space. My last N test I failed (it was also my first) because the instructor was a bag and made me park in the smallest parking spot ever driving a really big truck (there is apparently another instructor that is nice from a different city that would take students with big vehicles to a different parking spot . . .) I'm kind of nervous of doing the test again . . . fun.

Also, don't slow down when changing lanes, and especially don't forget about a school / playground zone when driving through it. (Those are things I did that didn't help). And if you see some old guy in a wheelchair near the corner, even if he's ten feet away and moving really slowly, wait, because the instructor might get mad at you if you go.

Lexa Fayte · October 19, 2016, 11:49:16 AM

Quote from: Nyro on October 18, 2016, 12:08:44 AM
Whatever you do, don't drive a big truck when the tester is going to ask you to park in a really tiny parking space. My last N test I failed (it was also my first) because the instructor was a bag and made me park in the smallest parking spot ever driving a really big truck (there is apparently another instructor that is nice from a different city that would take students with big vehicles to a different parking spot . . .) I'm kind of nervous of doing the test again . . . fun.

Also, don't slow down when changing lanes, and especially don't forget about a school / playground zone when driving through it. (Those are things I did that didn't help). And if you see some old guy in a wheelchair near the corner, even if he's ten feet away and moving really slowly, wait, because the instructor might get mad at you if you go.

Hey thanks for the advice :D

Yea, I won't be driving a large truck, though I am driving an SUV; it's the smallest in it's class, but it's still bigger than a regular old car. I'm fairly comfortable in it, but definitely will have to watch my turning radius and such when parking and turning.

Usually my problem with changing lanes is speeding up instead of slowing down haha
something about doing a shoulder check makes me press the gas :/ will have to watch out for that.

You should totally try for your test again; I hear if you've done it before it's a little different the next time around (as in people usually pass). I'm sure you can do it :3

tokar · October 24, 2016, 12:09:28 AM

Quote from: Lexa Fayte on October 19, 2016, 11:49:16 AM
Hey thanks for the advice :D

Yea, I won't be driving a large truck, though I am driving an SUV; it's the smallest in it's class, but it's still bigger than a regular old car. I'm fairly comfortable in it, but definitely will have to watch my turning radius and such when parking and turning.

Usually my problem with changing lanes is speeding up instead of slowing down haha
something about doing a shoulder check makes me press the gas :/ will have to watch out for that.

You should totally try for your test again; I hear if you've done it before it's a little different the next time around (as in people usually pass). I'm sure you can do it :3

If you have a friend with a smaller car that would be willing to let you use during the test, ask. It would be lots less pressure on you.

Or..... you can contact a driving school to book their car, plus a one hour lesson before your test. This to get pointers and familiar with the car.

Sure it will cost some but a good investment against a retest.

Good luck

Lexa Fayte · October 24, 2016, 09:45:57 PM

Quote from: tokar on October 24, 2016, 12:09:28 AM
If you have a friend with a smaller car that would be willing to let you use during the test, ask. It would be lots less pressure on you.

Or..... you can contact a driving school to book their car, plus a one hour lesson before your test. This to get pointers and familiar with the car.

Sure it will cost some but a good investment against a retest.

Good luck

Had my test last Friday, I didn't end up passing unfortunately; my shoulder checking when taking right turns and my 360 check when leaving parking weren't verbose enough (was told that I need to put my chin to my shoulder to make it more apparent, just like I had done when switching lanes; the instructor really liked my shoulder checking when switching lanes).

Other than that it went fairly smoothly (besides parallel parking that is), and the instructor even said my perception was extremely good.
So it's just making sure I do very explicit shoulder checks in two months when I take my exam again.

been meaning to post an update, but I've been exceptionally busy with school work over the past few days.

My mom does have a smaller car which she is willing to let me use; I think the size of the car I used was okay, it's not overly huge, but I will definitely think it over. I'm honestly comfortable driving both cars, it's just more convenient to use my dad's care since I live with him currently.

Thank you for making that point though, it might be helpful to drive a smaller car :)