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| Checks done during practical test |
In the past, I had written a post regarding Sweden Driving licence Theory/Knolwedge Test here.
There was a great response for it. I have passed my driving practical test on 2nd Dec 2020. Here are some tips based on my(& my friends') experiences.
Summary:
* Don't exceed recommended speed unless there is a need
* Practice, Practice & Practice
* Common sense over traffic rules, Self Confidence & Never give-up attitude
* Attentive Scanning: Traffic Safety - Consideration towards self & others
* Traffic Regulations
* Reversing & Parking
* Know the car before driving
* Safety Checks
You may also need a bit of luck and co-operations from other road users to pass test sometimes :-)
Details:
Avoid overspeed: Speed numbers on board indicate only maximum speed. However, I was trying to be very near to the maximum speed,which was stupid and not needed. Also, lot of other drivers on the road were actually exceeding the recommended speed.
Strong advice is to 1) not to exceed the recommended speed 2) Adapt your speed according to the road & weather conditions, also to the traffic.
It can be exceeded in emergency situations or someone behind our vehicle is quite close on Motorway for e.g. You may overspeed for a little while and explain your reason to the examiner, then come back to regular speed.
Practice: Commitment and effort are needed to pass the driving test in Sweden. If you are new driver or even a driver in the past but not habituated for so many symbols on the road, you will definitely need lot of practice. There is no alternative to the pratice. You can watch some videos on Youtube for tips & tricks but still you need to practice them :-) to execute them in exam.
Common sense, Self-Confidence & Never Give-up Attitude: It's very importat to use common sense sometimes over traffic rules. Don't blindly follow the rules.
Self confidence helps you to decide on your own while driving (Independent decision making, instead of asking examiner what to do).
You may fail in first attempt even after lot of practice because of stress, multiple mistakes or someone else did a mistake, which let you to do mistake but still don't give up. Because it's your attitude, which will help you to try another time but don't repeat the same mistakes again in subsequest attempts.There are people, who drives better but still took 3 attempts to pass the exam!
Scanning & Traffic Safety: It's very important to consider safety aspects while driving. For e.g driving in the dark, reversing around a corner, where there is less visibility or getting onto a bridge or hill area. Driving in a narrow street, where cars have been parked or near school area or parks, pedestrian crossing, bycycle paths etc. You need to scan attentively and start observing from far so that you can respond proactively. There is no compromise on this aspect. Even a single mistake in this area can lead to Fail you in the exam.
Traffic Regulations: You need to remember all traffic symbols, understand all traffic rules & regulations clearly instead of assuming them. For e.g. you should know "No through road", where to stop when you see STOP board/sign, where to position your car on the road during left/right turn, entering/exiting from a parking place, Right priority rule in residents area, no overtaking is allowed in some specific areas till you see an end symbol etc.
Reversing & Parking: Reversing must be done in lowest possible speed and look out all the sides and behind while reversing and do stop, if you are blocking someone and don't panic. Also, adjust the side mirrors to see better, for e.g. Kerb line or road markings etc so that you can steer vehicle correctly.
Parking: try to practice all types of parking: forward parking, reverse parking & parallel parking. Ensure car is positioned within the marking lines and aligned straight etc.
Know the car before driving & Safety Checks: In general, most of the controls in all cars are same but symbols may vary a little or their positions may be in different places. I drove Hybrid car & Volvo for the first time during my first & second attempts of the practical exams. I asked examiner about rear wipers because I didn't know how to switch on them.
Following checks are important to know:
* Lighting (Low beam, Full beam, Reverse lights, break lights, parking lights, fog lights, hazard lights)
* Tyre type (Winter/Summer/Studded), tyre pressure and tread depth
* Inside car bonnet: battery, engine oil, break fluid, power steering oil, glycol, windscreen washer fluid
* Adjusting Car seat (height, front/back, head rest etc)
* Adjusting mirrors (both sides & rear-view)
* Horn
* Heater/Fan
* Defrost
* Wipers (Front & Back) & washing
* Seat belt
* Breaks including hand-breaks
* Steering
Wish you good luck and all the best
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