Driving test: Theory test pattern
- Theory test:
There are two parts to the theory test : the multiple-choice test and the hazard perception test. Both is required to be taken and passed in the same session in order to attain a theory test certificate, which can then be used to book the practical driving test within two years of the theory pass.- Pattern of the test
Multiple-choice test- This part of the theory test is performed on a touch screen computer system.
- The test has 50 multiple choice questions and the examinee must answer at least 43 of them correctly to pass.
- Each question may have more than one answer and this will be indicated in the question. All questions are randomly chosen from a bank of thousands on a collection of topics.
- The test lasts for 57 minutes even though examinees with certain special needs can apply for more time. All 50 questions ought to be answered.
- The test allows 15 minutes practice time at the start of the exam to get used to answering the questions and how to use the system.
- To answer a question the examinee simply touches their choice of answer from the listed answers on the computer screen.
- If a mistake is made the examinee can deselect a choice and reselect a different option.
- To pass the test, 43 of the 50 questions (86%) must be answered correctly.
- For lorry and bus drivers, 100 questions are asked over a 115-minute period, and 85 out of 100 must be answered correctly to pass.
- Prior to 3 September 2007, the car and motorcycle multiple-choice tests comprised 35 questions, with a pass mark of 30 within a 40 minute time limit.
Hazard perception- Examinees look at fourteen one-minute clips (nineteen clips for lorry and bus examinees) filmed from the point of view of a car driver and have to point out, usually by clicking a mouse button or touching the screen, when they examine a developing hazard.
- All of the Hazard clips will include one developing hazard, and one will include two such hazards.
- The sooner an examinee reacts to a developing hazard, the more points are scored, from five down to one, with no score if the examinee reacts too late.
- Thus the utmost likely score is 75 (100 for lorry and bus tests). The pass mark is 44 for car drivers and motorcyclists and 57 when qualifying as an Approved Driving Instructor. Lorry and Bus drivers must score 67 out of 100.
- For the purposes of the test, a "developing hazard" is defined as something which requires the driver to adjust speed and/or path. Potential hazards are road hazards that no instant action needs to be taken, but are worth observing in case their status changes.
- Clicking on potential hazards is satisfactory, but the scoring window only opens if that hazard develops, thus examinees have to remember to react if the status of a hazard changes, and not just when the potential hazard is first spotted.
