Learning to drive can be one of the most exciting yet stressful times in your life, so it’s only natural that you want to find not only the best driving instructor, but also the best local test centre with high pass rates.
Looking at pass rates across the country, these can vary dramatically. However, the average for the last year is 47.1%, which has increased year-on-year since 2014. Over 17,000 tests were passed with zero faults at all.
Within the East of England, including Essex, the average pass rate is the same as the whole of the UK, 47%.
When it comes to Essex test centres, results for the year 2016/17 show they rank in the following order when it comes to pass rates:
- Chelmsford (Hanbury Road) 49%
- Brentwood 49%
- Chelmsford (Hoffmans Way) 47%
- Clacton on Sea 45%
- Loughton 45%
- Colchester 41%
- Basildon 37%
Statistics show some of the highest pass rates across the country are in rural areas, including Scotland and North Yorkshire, but this isn’t always a given, and it’s not always black and white. Some test centres are always going to have advantages over others.
There’s a couple of important things to take into consideration when it comes to pass rates, which can be applied when learning to drive in Essex.
Junctions observation
Gov.uk details observation at junctions as being the top reason for failing a driving test in the year 2016/17.
This isn’t surprising, and having a tricky junction right outside of a test centre may throw some people off as soon as they start.
When researching a test centre, it can sometimes help to avoid those which have very busy junctions straight away, unless you like a challenge!
Response to signals (traffic lights/signs)
Response time is vital to get right, so if you turn out onto a busy road straight away, your response time could be impacted, especially if you’re not a very confident driver.
For those test centres near to lots of traffic lights, or other signal-heavy areas, remember to practise the route carefully so you don’t get caught out.
Steering control
Again, vital for not only passing your test, but also being a good driver, steering control needs to be flawless.
For those test centres which could encounter tricky turns and manoeuvres early on, or last thing, ensure your steering control is up to scratch so there’s no room for unnecessary mistakes.
For more information on pass rates and test centres in Essex, just get in touch.
