Getting your driver’s license is a big moment. There are only a few parts of growing up that have anything beyond a symbolic meaning , but getting your driver’s license is definitely one of them – suddenly you’ll have all this freedom and the ability to go and visit who you like whenever you like. 

All that excitement means it’s easy to be just as nervous about taking your driver’s license test as about any other exam – but you don’t need to be (just as you don’t need to be with any other exam, as long as you’re prepared!). Luckily,  a lot of the same tips apply to preparing for and passing your driving test as apply to any other exam.

Know your material

In terms of the theory test, this is easy to do – learn the theory. As you would with any other exam, read, copy, repeat (or whatever your preferred method for rote learning is!). For the practical aspect, obviously the main answer is to practice as much as you can – but specifically, find out as much as you can about your local friends’ driving tests. What routes they took, what manoeuvres they were asked to do, etc etc. obviously you’ll want to practise them all anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to try and have an idea of what might come up. If nothing else, it will make you feel less nervous. 

Practise, practise, practise

This was touched on in point one, but it absolutely deserves its own bullet point. Practicing isn’t just about learning the moves and perfecting them, although it is – when it comes to practising driving, you’re also sharpening your reflexes and reactions and becoming a better driver with every hour you sit behind the wheel. This will increase your confidence as well as your skills, and both will make you more likely to pass your test.

Online Practice Tests

Something you’ll also want to make use of to get your driver’s license is online practice tests – if you practice the test as well as actually driving, you’ll be well on top of your game. These are simulations that are very similar to the real deal, so you will feel like you know what to expect on the day. Do as many as you can! Just make sure you’re doing the ones appropriate to your state, or that would be a nasty shock on the day.

Passing your driving test is just like any other exam – be prepared, and you can’t go far wrong. Good luck!