Transcription
I always advise my students: just don't talk to the examiner. Looking at a remark you occasionally make about something you see along the way is, of course, always fine, but don't have full conversations. That only has risks. Too often, I'm sitting in the back and in front of me, a whole conversation is taking place between the examiner and the student about holiday plans, or what kind of education they're doing, or what kind of work, I don't know. And I'm looking out the window, and I see how a "no entry" sign is displayed. So in my head, I'm already thinking, "Oh, pay attention, pay attention, there's a sign there, pay attention now." In the middle of the conversation, of course, not full focus forward. Intervention and failed. It was super cozy in the car, but what's the use if you fail? Or how we approach a crossroads with multiple lanes. A student is cheerfully talking again about what kind of education they're doing or something similar, and I'm already looking ahead, thinking, "Oh, we're approaching lanes, choose the right lane, think about which lane you need, consider where you need to end up." But yes, again, in the middle of the story, so not full focus forward. And from the left lane, suddenly into the right lane, and thus failed again. Really a shame. And in itself, an examiner doesn't do this on purpose. It's not like they're trying to distract you. And usually, they also ask beforehand, "Do you prefer to talk a bit during the drive, or rather not?" Well, my advice then: agree not to do it. And believe me, an examiner finds that no problem at all, because they have eight exam candidates a day. So I think they get tired of having the same conversations with everyone every hour. So just agree to just not talk. And really, it's not completely silent in the car. You can have your radio on, no problem at all. Occasionally saying something about the situation you see, no problem. What the hell? Yes, that's the only thing. Understand me, he also indicates the route, so it's not like it has to be completely silent. It's more like, don't have conversations, and agree that with the examiner beforehand, so you don't start asking those questions. I sometimes have students who really want to talk because they are very nervous. So if you have a lot of trouble with that, you can agree that with the examiner. But yes, make sure you realize very well that when you are talking, when you are telling something, your attention is not fully on the road. You can easily overlook something. So be especially quiet when you notice that you are approaching a more difficult section, especially at crossroads, narrow streets, all those kinds of things. Make sure you already think beforehand, "Okay, I'm going to be quiet here." You can also stop talking in the middle of your story. The examiner understands that completely. Sometimes they also say, "Oh, pay attention now," or sometimes they give a hint to remind you. But yes, not all of them do that, so you can't count on it. You have to realize that yourself. So preferably, just don't talk to the examiner. And if you really feel the need, make sure you are very aware that you are dividing your attention very well. The conversation is not important, the drive is.
Tip number two: don't keep thinking about mistakes you've made, and don't try to think about the result either. It happens very often that mistakes are made in an exam. A perfect drive simply doesn't exist. Mistakes will happen, and an examiner even expects you to make mistakes. The examiner is primarily curious: how do you deal with it? In short, do you remain calm, do you resolve it safely? Then it's actually always fine. They do look at whether it's not structural, of course. So if a certain mistake occurs very regularly, then it's simply not right in your system. But with many mistakes, they understand that it's due to tension, or at all. Stalling the engine once can happen. Everyone has that, even people with a driver's license sometimes stall the engine. Even if you drive away from the CBR and the engine stalls immediately, don't panic. Just restart calmly, take your time for your clutch, and the examiner really doesn't think, "Oh, what kind of person is this sitting next to me? They experience that constantly." Everyone is tense during an exam, and especially at the beginning of such a drive, that tension is at its highest. So don't worry if you, for example, forget the handbrake for a moment, or if the engine stalls, or maybe the engine stalls twice. Keep your calm, show the examiner that you are not rushed by it and therefore not driving unsafely. Keep calm and resolve it calmly, then you convince the examiner that it's okay. So an examiner primarily looks at whether it's a structural problem or an incident. Incidents can happen, as long as they are not too serious, of course. If it's a major safety grip, then you know, of course, that you've failed. But small mistakes in all sorts of categories, forgetting the turn signal, maybe once or twice, not being sure about the speed, maybe the examiner says, "Hey, you're driving a bit too fast, or you're driving a bit too slow." That can happen once. It shouldn't happen too often, of course, but once can happen. And so don't immediately think, "Oh my god, this is going terribly. This won't work out at all," because that will only make you drive worse. Just keep doing your best, and often the examiner thinks, "Well, a few mistakes, but the person remains calm about it. So we'll just see how the rest of the drive goes." So that's what they look at: is it structural or is it an incident? And of course, as long as they are not too big mistakes, a major safety grip, then you will of course always fail on that. And what is also a shame is if you make a mistake, that you then keep thinking about it. So suppose you approached a crossroads too fast, so you weren't completely focused, and you think, "Oh, that wasn't so smart." The examiner has of course noticed that too. But don't keep thinking about that situation afterwards. Make sure you immediately refocus on the road, because every moment you are thinking about a previous situation is a moment when you can miss something new. So it happens very often that someone makes a small mistake, nothing wrong, but because of it, you keep dwelling on it in your head, thinking, "Oh, how stupid. Oh, why did I do this? Why didn't I pay attention to that?" And meanwhile, you miss a car coming from the right, you get an intervention, and you've failed because of that. So try to accept mistakes. Try to just think, "Oh, I didn't do that so smartly. I need to keep an eye on that. Okay, what do I see now? What am I going to do there? What's coming up?" So only be concerned with the future, and not with the past, and not even with the present. So thinking about the outcome or things like that, no. Just think about what you're approaching, how you're going to do it, what you can see there, what information you see: signs, side streets, speeds. Keep all your focus on that. So not on talking to the examiner, but also certainly not on mistakes you've made or whether you've passed or not. And generally, estimating whether you've passed or not, that's impossible to do. Of course, a very big mistake, a major intervention, yes, then you've failed. But suppose you're driving and you've made some mistakes that you think, "Oh, I don't know. I think I've already failed." Yes, maybe you have, maybe not. It's unpredictable. I've had students who thought they did everything right, they didn't notice anything wrong, they didn't notice at all that they made a mistake or anything like that, they came back with a good feeling, and upon return, the examiner says, "Unfortunately, I don't have good news for you. You've failed." And yes, that can just happen because you might have overlooked three side streets. If you overlook them, you naturally don't realize you're overlooking them. So without realizing it, you've actually already failed. The same, for example, with your blind spot check. If you forget your blind spot check a few times at an important moment, and the examiner sees it, then you don't realize it yourself, but you have failed. So in that respect, it's impossible to estimate. And the reverse also applies. You think you've made some mistakes: the engine stalled, forgot the turn signal, remark about the maximum speed that wasn't right, you waited too long to overtake once. The examiner said, "Try to overtake." Yes, not ideal, but the examiner looks at the whole drive and primarily looks at structural problems, whether there are no major safety problems. So you might think, "Oh, it's going so badly, and it's not going well, and this and that," and then you come back from the drive, and the examiner just says, "Congratulations, you've passed. A bit of a sloppy drive, but you managed to keep it safe, so sufficient." So let's leave it to the examiner to judge. It's very difficult to estimate. Even when I'm sitting in the back, I can estimate it a bit better because I ride along a lot, but yes, sometimes I'm not entirely sure either. Then I think, "Yes, maybe the examiner saw something that I couldn't see from the back." It's simply unpredictable. So every moment you are busy with the outcome, you are not busy with what you are approaching, what information you can see, and thus actually preventing mistakes. So try to let it go. The only thing you can do is your best, and then upon return, hope it was good enough. So try to go in with that attitude and try not to be busy with the outcome or with the mistakes you've made during the drive. Just try to show your best all the time. And if you've made some mistakes and later in the drive you show very good things, there's a good chance that you've compensated a bit with those good things, and that the examiner still thinks, "Well, it's sufficient." For the examiner, it's also a kind of scale. You make a mistake, and then they think, "Hmm, that's not going very well. Maybe I should let this student fail." And then later you do a few things very well, and it goes in the right direction again. So again, it's difficult to estimate. So focus primarily on the drive. That's the only thing you should be concerned with.
Tip number three: you can't fail for driving the wrong route. And I mean driving the wrong route. So if you realize, "Oh, I should have taken that side street," or "Oh, I should have taken that exit," don't try to do it at the last moment. Just think, "Okay, too bad, I can't prepare it properly anymore. I'll just keep driving," and then you'll think of another solution to get there anyway. So never do anything at the last moment without being able to prepare it properly, because you can fail for that. Because then you look, for example, too rushed, or you miss someone driving next to you, or how the examiner sees that you don't maintain your calm and overview and do something very hastily. Yes, you can fail for that, because that can be really dangerous. Whereas if you are sensible and think, "Oh well, too late, I'll take the next exit or something like that," then the examiner just thinks, "Okay, great, they stay calm. Nothing wrong." If you drive wrong later, it doesn't immediately cause an accident or a blockage because someone slams on the brakes. So that's the most important thing: never do anything at the last moment. Just drive the wrong way if you can't prepare it properly anymore. Even with navigation, the same applies. You are not judged on how well you follow the navigation or how well you drive the route. You are purely judged on how well you can divide your attention. So especially whether you don't do things at the last moment, or precisely because you are confused by the navigation, and that can happen very often, that you drive dangerously because of it, or drive too slowly, which obstructs other people. So remember, it's not about the route. So if you doubt with navigation, choose something that you are sure you can do safely, and then it doesn't matter if it's the right route and easy. Even with navigation, if you drive wrong, it will automatically recalculate, and then you can just follow the route again. At the traffic light, turn left and continue the road in the direction of N200 center. Turn left at the traffic light and continue the road in the direction of N200 center. At the traffic light, turn around and continue the road. If the navigation says, "Try to turn around," and you think, "Well, I don't find this a pleasant road to turn around on," then just don't do it. Just turn right into a parking lot or a residential area, turn around there, and go back that way. Perfectly fine. Or because you missed an exit, just take the next one, and that's even easier. Of course, it doesn't work everywhere, but try to come up with a solution like that. Just do something that you can execute safely and easily, preferably a bit. And you are not judged on the route, so that's no problem at all. So they look much more at whether you remain calm and composed, maintain an overview when something goes wrong, than whether you make the right decision every time, whether you drive the right route every time. You are judged 0% on that, purely on safety, flow, and independence. So, if you drive wrong, try to solve it yourself. But whether you choose the best solution doesn't even matter. I once had an exam where someone had quite a lot of trouble with the route. Eventually, within 2 minutes, we went the wrong way five times. That student was completely lost, literally. So they really didn't know where to go anymore. Then they just chose another option, again the wrong one, and they really came to the end of the route. And that student was naturally very stressed because they thought, "Oh my god, this is going completely wrong." And at one point, the examiner even said, "Well, I'll turn off the navigation for a moment, because otherwise I'll be late for the next exam. I'll give the route from here again." And then they helped again by explaining the route a bit more clearly, and then they finally got back on the right route. Yes, that student naturally thought, "Okay, this is it. I've completely failed. What a disaster." Yes, that's how you feel then. And upon return, we walk inside, sit at a table in the exam room, and the examiner says, "Congratulations, you've passed." And she was naturally completely confused, "What? Are you sure? Really?" She was completely surprised. Beautiful moment. And the examiner said, "Yes, I found it so impressive. I've never seen anyone so confused about the route, but you kept looking in your mirrors, you kept driving, you kept making decisions, albeit the wrong decisions, regarding the route, but yes, that doesn't matter. The point is that you keep driving safely." And of course, if you have your driver's license, maybe you'll have to calculate more driving time because you'll drive the wrong way more often. But yes, who suffers from that? Yourself. But does that matter much? Then you'll get your driver's license because the examiner doesn't care how long you're on the road, as long as you get there safely and as long as you don't obstruct other people. So remember, just keep driving safely, no matter how confused you are. Then it can still go well. And what you can also say, if you are driving a route and you have a lot of doubt, stop doubting. And that sounds very stupid, "Yes, yes, that's precisely the problem, that's not possible." Yes, it is. Just choose something. You doubt between two options, just choose one. It doesn't matter which one you take. Yes, preferably the one you can execute well. But if you have to choose between two exits, take the furthest one, because you can at least prepare that one well. So in case of doubt, stop doubting, just guess, just guess the route. Of course, check if there's no "no entry" sign. That's a different story. But regarding the route, it doesn't matter. So just go for something and make sure you execute it safely.
Tip four. Tip four. The interim test and tension before the exam. It's not really a tip, but tension in general. The interim test is something that actually helps a lot against tension. The interim test is actually a kind of mock exam where you actually go to the CBR and with a real examiner next to you, you actually drive a complete exam route. And during this exam route, you do everything exactly the same way as on the real exam. So you actually experience everything once beforehand. And that takes away a lot of tension, because when you go to the real exam, you know exactly what to expect, because you've already experienced it once during that interim test. If you don't have an interim test in your package, or your driving school doesn't do interim tests, that varies a bit per driving school, you can always ask your instructor if he wants to drive a kind of test with you. So just from the CBR, a full exam route, and just pretend it's an exam. So he or she says nothing about how you drive. If you make mistakes, he says nothing, unless it's really necessary, of course. But it's basically the same as the interim test, because then you get used to driving in a test manner, and that can ultimately help on the real exam. Furthermore, tension is of course always a difficult thing. You don't have full control over that. The only thing you can do is keep your attention focused on driving. So just busy with what I see, where am I driving to? Try not to think about how it's going or what the examiner will think of me. No, just be busy with driving the car. And for the rest, yes, it's something that one person suffers from more than another. Unfortunately, you'll always have that. What can help is eating a banana beforehand or taking some valerian pills. They contain calming substances that might make you a bit calmer. And if it doesn't work, maybe the placebo effect will still help a bit. So it can't hurt anyway. So you can do that if you want. But for the rest, it's mainly about arriving well-prepared. So having had enough lessons, maybe having had that interim test, and yes, then you'll arrive at the exam with a better feeling than if you have the feeling, "Oh, it's not going well at all, and I have no idea what to expect." Yes, then it will be a lot more exciting, of course. And the last tip is: pay close attention to what the examiner says. Sometimes there are hints hidden in the assignment he gives. An examiner is not allowed to lie to you. So he's not allowed to say, "First the street on the right," and then there's a "no entry" sign. But he can say, "First the possibility on the right." Purely by that word "possibility," you can already predict that a trap is to be expected. The same applies to double assignments. If he says, "Second traffic light left," assume that he means that you should sort yourself to the left as early as possible. Or if he says, "Turn right shortly, and then immediately left again." He gives a double assignment because you have to make a smart route choice. For example, in that case, take the left lane for turning right beforehand, or if there's only one, come out in the left lane. So make sure you hear a double assignment, that an alarm bell goes off in your head, immediately start looking for lane information, and consider what the best choice is. For more tips on lanes and sorting, check my lanes video on this channel. What can also happen is that he says something about your driving style, for example, "Try to drive a bit," then you're driving too slowly, or "Try to drive the maximum speed where possible," then you're driving too slowly, or you're not overtaking when it's easy. The hint can, of course, also be about other things, such as not keeping enough distance or forgetting your turn signal. And there are more things to think of. So actually, if he says something about your driving style, it's a hint. But definitely do something with it, because it's also a kind of warning that you're not doing well at this moment. And if he has to give the same warning more often, then you have a chance that he will ultimately let you fail for it. If you have comments or questions, let me know in the comments and like and subscribe if you want more videos.