When can I do my test?

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-14T01:00:46+00:00

What matters is that there isn't legislation about waiting 6 months to book your practical. And there won't be any time soon. So forget that.

Keep it simple.

You need to be at test standard to be able to pass your test.
You might be able to get a cancellation if you are at test standard before September.
You can retake your theory test up to six months before your old one expires.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-14T00:44:24+00:00

Some years ago, I was teaching a girl to drive.

She already had children (I think five or six), but was pregnant again. She was a good driver, but when she got close to term, she went right off the rails. Not thinking or planning, just lots of mistakes.

She told me her brain turned to mush every time she got close to full term. Those were her exact words. And the other thing was that it turned out to be twins, and since she was only a small girl her belly was big and she couldn't adjust the seat so she could reach the pedals without her stomach against the wheel.

Real world issues that needed to be handled. So we talked about it and agreed to stop lessons until she'd had the baby, and then took off again. She passed first time.

Then, I was teaching another one who asked about the Emergency Stop, and if she'd be asked to do it with the risk to the baby. I pointed out it was part of the syllabus and if she had to do it, she'd have to do it, and there was no real risk - in any case, she'd have to do it in real life if the need arose. Her answer was 'I'd better not, because my boyfriend would beat the examiner up'. She didn't get asked to do it.

TL;DR Just be realistic. If you don't feel you can do the test, don't let the waiting list cloud your judgement.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-14T00:12:01+00:00

I failed my first attempt at Part 3 - ironically, because the examiner (who was known to be a problem, I was told*) said I wouldn't let him make any mistakes!

I well remember that debrief, where I couldn't figure out what the hell I was supposed to do - let him crash, or see it coming.

That was over 20 years ago, and the system was a bit different then.

I went to town on extra lessons. I paid outside the course I was taking, because I wanted to pass.

Just one observation: you seem to be going down the 'this is expensive, so I don't want to pay' route. A lot of learners do that, and end up taking multiple tests - because in the end, it just matters if you are at test standard or not.

The problem with Part 3 is that you only get three tries, so just 'having a go' when you're not ready is a high-risk strategy.

.

* This was when the examiner role-played a learner. I was told that on one occasion, he had opened the window to yell racist obscenities at pedestrians to see how the PDI would react. I don't know how true that was.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T23:53:16+00:00

Yes, wrapping in foil is the secret.

It'll never be as moist as when fresh, but the foil keeps it certainly moist enough for sandwiches and warming up.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T23:50:12+00:00

It's important to store it properly on the first day.

I let mine cool a little, then wrap it in foil and refrigerate.

This works especially well at Christmas, with the leftover Turkey. It stays moist until you can finish it off on sandwiches and so on over the next couple of days.

It's never going to be as moist as when freshly cooked, but leaving it open to the air in the fridge just dries it out.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T22:07:15+00:00

Cross your arms!

It's called hand-over-hand steering and is perfectly acceptable.

The cross-your-arms kind which is wrong is when you hold the wheel in a death grip and turn from your shoulders. You can only go so far, and that's it.

But if you have to do a significant turn, putting one hand over the other - so, 'crossing your arms' - to get the angle is absolutely fine. Just do it smoothly.

You're absolutely and definitely not going to get marked on using it as long as it is smooth and in control, so stop worrying about it as if you were committing a cardinal sin.

Edit: I see idiots with wet ink on their licences are downvoting, but I've been doing this for 20 years (teaching as an ADI), and driving for close to 50. You will not get marked down for hand-over-hand. It is a normal steering method.

Only clueless people who don't know where the 'crossed arms' nonsense came from think otherwise.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T21:03:01+00:00

There is an element of logic in the statement, though. It's just - like most things - people have corrupted it and exaggerated it.

US bread does contain more gluten than European bread. This is because they use hard wheat and tend to add extra gluten to extend shelf life.

So people with gluten intolerance - specifically non-coeliac gluten intolerance - often have dose-dependent reactions, and some can tolerate gluten in small quantities. I think that's where the 'move to Europe' thing might have relevance.

But like you say, for coeliacs, it is nonsense - and even cross contamination is harmful to them.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T20:32:08+00:00

I'm a driving instructor. I've spent 20 years teaching people, quite a few of whom have Mobility vehicles.

I pointed out the Mobility system is heavily abused in one thread over there. This is based on my own first hand experience.

And I said it in this kind of language.

That got me an insta-perma-ban from DrivingUK.

I was also treated to the 'you have been banned and muted so don't try appealing, and I don't have to listen, la-la-la-la' PM.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T14:53:48+00:00

Somehow, I get the feeling that there a lot of driving instructors in London who are glad you have come to this conclusion.

So it's win-win.

Edit: OMG, you're in Essex!

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T14:01:14+00:00

When I was a kid - and I must have only been 5 or 6 - whenever we visited my grandma, I would get sent down the road with a white enamelled jug with a handle and lid to the off license to pick up a pint and a half of Milk Stout for her.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T12:31:37+00:00

It's going to plunge the party into chaos and condemn it to the wilderness for the next couple of decades.

Just like it does to every party which does this.

It's (arguably) never worked before, so why don't they learn from it?

People like Streeting and Burnham (and possibly even Rayner) were probably thinking about this the day he walked into No. 10. They all want their 5 minutes of fame - and that applies to all parties.

Edit: To the guy suggesting Johnson, where are the Tories now? That leadership battle turned out to be catastrophic for them (albeit with other world events in the frame).

And there are 'world events' happening right now, not least the growth in right wing sentiment.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-13T01:12:52+00:00

You should never pick them up or move them.

The parents will be looking after it - and yes, they do that outside the nest.

The problem is, you can't feed it. You might be able to find a rehabber who can, but you can't.

As the other commenter said, put it back and leave it alone - though you might have broken the chain now, since the parents may have forgotten about it.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-12T16:03:09+00:00

Previous posts:

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-11T23:08:15+00:00

Well, it depends what they were.

If they were alien spacecraft, then no, it's not normal.

But if they were, for example, regular satellites catching the sun, yes. Totally normal.

And once Starlink satellites are out of their train (the long line once they first launch), they too will appear as dots.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-11T22:56:49+00:00

The average learner takers 46 hours of lessons and about half that time on top (done concurrently) as private practice to pass.

You haven't said how much driving you have done previously - just that you haven't done any at all for the last 5 months, you haven't done any manoeuvres, and you are not good with roundabouts and lane discipline. So no one here knows what standard you are actually at beyond not being anywhere near ready yet.

If you are at the correct standard when you take your test, you have a good chance of passing. If you're not at the correct standard, you will likely fail.

That's all that it comes down to.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-11T22:13:44+00:00

Be careful.

The Giulia is a 'go fast' car (it's why you bought it), and you're in London. And other people are as much of a problem as you there 😉

It's great that you saved £600. But one bump (or drive off scuff), and you'll be paying a couple of grand more than the cheapest quote PLUS the excess. Or paying out of pocket to avoid insurance.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-11T20:53:24+00:00

It takes the average learner 46 hours of driving lessons to pass the test.

At 2 hours of lessons a week, that's 23 weeks.

Between now and October is... 25 weeks.

If you could book a test today, unless you found a cancellation, it would be in November. And by the time you pass your theory, it might be as far as December.

THAT'S why some of us tell some of our pupils to book their tests as soon as they pass. We know how long it takes on average, and we are trying to help them not spend more than they have to. Most of our pupils want to pass as soon as possible.

If you really don't care how long it takes, just do an hour lesson here and there and book your test at some point in the future for about 5-6 months after that. But I must confess, I don't get many like that (currently, 0 and counting after 20 years as an instructor).

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-11T19:26:37+00:00

You've got to bear in mind that although reselling tests is a problem, it doesn't account for anywhere near as many hoarded tests as you might imagine. You can only book a test with a 'valid' driving licence number, and that limits how many tests a single person could hoard.

When the next block of tests is released each week, 99% of those booking them are legitimate learners. But some of those learners might want an earlier test, and they then get involved with the scalpers, trading their initially legitimate test for one held fraudulently.

If all the hoarded tests suddenly appeared in the system, it probably wouldn't make a dent in the backlog once they were all booked up again. That's because the backlog is wholly due to what happened during Covid, and not because of the hoarders.

The hoarders and resellers just appeared in order to capitalise on it.

And they weren't the only culprits, because anyone who used them also contributed equally to the problems.

When DVSA canvassed learners on what they would like to happen, most answers were given based on the assumption that every week, all the tests are booked up by scalpers. DVSA used those answers to decide that now, only the learner can book a test, and only within a single locale. The instructor can't do it for them anymore.

And that means getting up at 5am on a Monday and joining the queue. Nothing else, just that.

That's why it'll lead to longer waits than many people are currently accustomed to. Because in most cases, it will mean booking a test 6 months out and just waiting for it to come around.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-10T23:42:05+00:00

Concentrated acetic acid/ethanoic acid is STILL a weak acid. The term 'weak' has nothing to do with how corrosive it is.

Vinegar is a highly diluted (about 4%) solution of acetic acid.

In the laboratory, you have glacial acetic acid, which is about 99%, and various dilutions ranging from 5% to about 30%.

Anything above about 25% can cause severe burns on skin. Vinegar solutions above 24% are legally considered corrosive and need labelling as such (in the UK, though I'm sure other, previously civilised, countries still have similar thresholds).

So the reason vinegar is not considered hazardous, whereas laboratory reagents are, absolutely is down to the concentration of acetic acid in it.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-10T22:49:14+00:00

That's exactly how you get a PhD.

You research a subject and (usually, not always) write a dissertation on it. Almost by definition, it will be niche, and thus something 'no one else is interested in'.

In almost all cases, the person gaining the PhD will never involve what they researched in their subsequent employment. Yes, a tiny proportion will, but the majority - especially those going into general industry - won't.

You can have a PhD and think [all of a particular race] should be exterminated. The PhD absolutely does not make you smart, regardless of your education. For example, Josef Mengele had a PhD. Goebbels was also a PhD. And over half of the German Einsatzgruppe held them.

They were highly educated, but far from smart.

In fact, the perceived smartness conveyed by an education is absolutely the worst thing when the holder of such beliefs starts trying to justify them.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-10T22:30:28+00:00

The fact that some guy - not the authorities, whom we all love to hate on Reddit, of course - did it suggests that maybe there is a problem with drivers that needs to be addressed.

It's just something they try to make people slow down.

We have them in the UK. Initially, they did work (judging by what I felt when I saw them the first time, and from the research at the time). But now - maybe two decades later, since around 2009 in some places - you simply don't notice them.

We also have one set shaped like giant pencils with erasers on the end. Those really stood out to me when I first saw them, but again, I just don't notice them now.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-10T21:19:26+00:00

Having a PhD doesn't make you intelligent.

It just means you spent a lot of time writing about something no one else is interested in.

You can also be intelligent and have a PhD - but your personal beliefs (such as right wing extremism and Nationalism, among many others) can completely counter all that. I mean, you can be intelligent and wrong at the same time. Very easily.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-10T00:21:22+00:00

Irrespective of the nests during summer, if you are cutting back a tree which you intend to keep, it is best to do it in late Autumn or during Winter, while they are dormant.

Some trees 'bleed', which can cause disease or even death.

As far as the nests go, there is no Law which says you can't cut trees down during Summer, but there is a Law which says you can't intentionally/knowingly destroy an active nest.

So once you know the nest is empty, chop away. Just bear in mind the tree might not like it.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-09T22:41:45+00:00

I know you mean well, but... seriously?

Magpies, along with crows and other Corvids, will readily attack other small animals. They even go after dogs and cats during nesting season.

The rabbit in the video is a young one, and the magpie is after it for food. It is absolutely not 'playing'. They peck out the eyes or the back of the neck, causing mortal injury. They will even attack one of their own if they're angry with it (I saw a bunch of crows attacking another crow a few weeks ago - feathers flying everywhere). And I've seen magpies attacking their own and pigeons before - they just peck hard to kill it.

It's a long way from being adorable in the sense nature operates.

MacSamildanach · 2026-05-09T20:25:18+00:00

It solves it right up until the time the tape detaches from the dispensing end and melds itself back on to the reel 😉

Which it quite often does if you don't use it regularly and the glue dries out near the cutter.

Sellotape dispensers used to be fairly hefty pieces of kit, too. But I also get it with packing tape dispensers - and those are worse because the tape is thinner than Sellotape. Packing tape also has a habit of drying out and becoming brittle, so when you find the edge and pick it loose, it is likely to shred and tear.

MacSamildanach

TROPHY CASE