Oh my god. The elation man. And just the joy of knowing that all your efforts aren't wasted.
Apparently, from research and chatting with others, the average person will require 2-3 tries before passing. The thing though, is that under my instructor, a good majority of his students passed on first try.
But before I go further into the entire journey, let me just share what my experience was for my test.
I booked my test for 8.10 am at the comfortdelgro test centre in Ubi. I'm not sure about you, but from what I heard, cdc at ubi has one of the tougher test courses. Perhaps its due to the heavy traffic around that area (industrial area with a lot of heavy vehicles and reckless drivers). And so I was naturally nervous, no matter how much I told myself to treat it like any other day.
It started out with a warm-up with my own instructor. And during the warm-up, I was making quite a few careless mistakes like turning into the wrong lane, forgetting to check blind spot, lag response etc. Honestly, these can be attributed to the fact that I was having 5am mornings for the entire week leading up to my test on Thursday. I'm just not a morning morning person, and so it took a toll on me. I was, very simply put, exhausted. But gotta keep the adrenaline pumping if I want to pass. And so, I just chilled and relaxed despite my instructor's shouting and calmed myself down.
After going round the circuit and practicing on all the possible tests, it was time to report. So at cdc, if you are a private candidate, you will park your car along a stretch of parking lots that lead into the circuit. We were a little late, and so there was only one lot left, and it was all the way at the front. Oh well, not that its a problem. So after parking, my instructor quickly got down with my ic and pdl and ran to the reporting station for some odd reason I didn't know. Me on the other hand went to relieve my bladder at the toilet. After my instructor was done, he came over and led me to the test holding room, where everyone awaits for the tester to come.
There, I just chilled, had a drink of water, and stretched my tired legs (the clutch pedal is a pain in the ass). My assigned tester was one of the first few to come and get me, and so I went out. He first confirmed my NRIC with me, and then after exchanging names, we got to the car. The tester fitted the appropriate labels onto the car while I placed my belongings. After that, once we got into the car, he fixed the camera. I waited till he was somewhat done. And then the tester briefed me very briefly about starting the test and that I must do emergency brake when he slaps in front of him. And then the test started.
So it started out with the settling down part. So basically, I shifted my seat, put on my seat belt, checked all 3 mirrors, released handbrake and engaged first gear, and then moved off left into the circuit, on the command of the tester.
Once in the circuit, I was first told to do directional change. And so I did it as I would normally do. And then we left and went onto s-course. Got that done and over with, and then had to cut across to do slope. Once that was done, I went onto parallel parking, and then turned to do crank course. After coming out, turned to do reverse parking. I screwed this part a little bit as I had to turn out once more due to being really close to the kerb. It was no problem, in fact I was already in, but my perfectionist side didn't like how close I was to the kerb. No points incurred her. But the traffic was really heavy in the circuit for some odd reason. And so I encountered some trouble going out.
And then this happened. So I was done with all the stations already and was told by the tester to go out. But right at the stop line, was a parallel parking lot. It would have been no problem, except I had already stopped, and this learner driver insisted on reversing into the lot. I couldn't reverse at that point in time, and I clearly remembered having turned out before the car started reversing. And so, I wasn't sure if the tester would blame me instead. Imagine my joy when the tester rolled down the windows and told the student to back off. Yay to me! Means it isn't my fault! Whew!
Ok so I turned out as the tester instructed me to. And just as my instructor told me beforehand, on the way out of the test centre, my tester decided to test my emergency brake as he slapped all of a sudden. Thank god for my fast reflexes cos I actually stoned for a split second, but my leg was fast enough to jam the brakes. I braked so hard my belongings fell all onto the ground. Even the instructor was a bit shocked at how hard it was. But, that's actually a good thing!
Ok, so I went out, and as expected, the roads were really busy at the 8am period. But, I clearly made sure that there was no oncoming car from the right (the only one being a L-plate car turning into the test centre). And then I turned left, checked briefly for no oncoming vehicles and turned. And then halfway into a turning, a motorcycle sped onto my lane out of nowhere. Thank god I jammed the brakes in time. Gosh you wouldn't believe how shocked and angry I was at that stupid motorcycle. Didn't he realise how dangerous it was! The good thing was that it was not my fault, because I definitely did not miss the motorcycle, since the instructor would have lifted the handbrakes before I even get to jam brake. And so, whew! But ok, with that over, I drove on. From there on, I made some careless mistakes, the most major being accidentally going over my lane. And then I was also called out for not having checked blindspot on my left turns.
Those were all ok. The biggest scare of my life came when I stupidly used the right-most lane to turn right, and then had to keep left because we were going back to the test centre. And mind you, it was a four-lane road congested road. I literally just kept repeating "shit shit shit shit" in my head as I signalled left and very desperately look on for any kind-hearted souls to let me cut. No such luck as it was two huge trucks on the immediate left lane. I didn't even bother trying with them, and thank god I didn't cos they sped by without giving a thought to me. And then a few other smaller cars also sped by, giving me no chance at all as I rolled slowly on the right lane, hogging it on first gear as I tried desperately to find an opening. Finally, it came when a car somehow started driving slower , and it was a distance away. Once that was established on my mind, I cut in without a second thought.
And then the third lane was less congested due to the green light ahead, although still rather congested. I used the front mirror and physically turned to check for cars before cutting in again.
At this point, the fourth lane was a dotted yellow bus lane. And because of that, I knew that it was going to turn into the straight yellow bus lane soon anyway. So I asked the tester out loud if he wants me to keep to that lane. He understood that it was going to be bus lane, and also said that there was an accident in the front anyway, so it's ok. And so I drove on, and cut left once the dotted lanes came up, and turned into the test centre. Once I parked my car appropriately, the tester led me up to the second level, and told me to wait while he enters a separate room.
Ok, at this point, I actually totally believed that I failed. One thing was due to the fact that I drifted lanes once, and I wasn't sure if he was unhappy with my very slow left cutting. And overall, I didn't know if he was a good or bad tester.
He appeared after a short while and led me into this conference area where the testers would debrief the students. Once he sat down, he smiled and said "don't so black face lah, pass lah." And immediately my face brightened up. Hahaha!! And I just kept thanking him. He highlighted my mistakes out to me and passed me with 18 demerit points. Yay! He then briefed me on what to do next. So basically I just had to pay for my license at the counter and then proceed to watch the safety video at the next available timing, that is 9.55am. It was 9am when he let me go though, so I had plenty of time.
So that's it! A really nerve-wrecking test session. And thank god I don't have to go through it again!
Ok, so now, my personal thoughts. I think after going through the process myself and chatting with friends who are also learning driving, I can safely conclude that the instructor matters. It barely matters what school you take your test in, whether you are a good student or not, or whether its private or school. All that matters is that your instructor must be good.
Why do I say that?
For this, I really have to commend my instructor. He is a really experienced instructor holding class 3, 4 and 5 licenses, and have taught for all 3 classes. And when teaching, his main intention is to teach his students how to drive safely and in real-life situations, second to passing the test of course. He is very experienced with the test routes and format at cdc as well, and will impart all that he knows, which I believe is every possible trick that makes sense, to his learners to ensure that they can pass on their first try. And I think this is very important. Because ultimately, you want to pass the test and actually be ABLE to drive on the road without dying!
I've heard of people who needs multiple tries before passing, and my thought is always, did you reflect on why you couldn't pass on those past few rounds? And I think what some have said is quite true, if you can't pass even after so many times, are you sure you are "safe enough" for the road?
It's one thing to not value your life and drive recklessly. But don't drag others down with you.
But of course, sometimes its truly not a problem of theirs. Like my friend who failed twice already, she couldn't pass the 2 times due to only two areas, vertical and parallel parking. And I was just like, how is that possible??? Apparently, her instructor didn't bother teaching her the tricks, claiming that "real life got no tricks". Like huh? There's no "real life" to talk about if you can't even pass please.
So there you have it! My experience as a private candidate.
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