In October 2010 independent driving was introduced to the practical driving test, at the same point the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) decided to no longer publish the test routes used by each test centre. The reasoning behind this decision was to make the test more realistic, you will now have to show that you can drive safely in real life situations.

The independent driving section will last for approximately 10 minutes, during this time you will be either asked to follow a series of directions, to follow traffic signs or a combination of both. One important fact to remember is that if you go the wrong it doesn’t matter (you won’t fail), your not being tested on your navigation skills. You are allowed to ask the examiner to confirm directions if you forget but always give yourself enough to react to what they say.

Your Rapide Driving Instructor will have knowledge of independent driving test routes from all Leicester test centres and therefor will be able to better prepare you for your test.