REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

NGExhiles · 05-17-2013, 09:38 PM

Hey everyone, I recently just failed my N test due to a careless mistake. I had 2 demerits throughout the test and one dangerous action. One demerit was for parking too far from the curb which didn't really bother me cause I fixed that on the other 3 parking by the curb and the other one was for not knowing the right of way. I should've turned but I stopped and checked for traffic just in case.

Anyways, throughout the road test, I went from being nervous to calm back to being nervous. This is what threw me off. At the end of the test, I was 5 blocks away from ICBC when I ran a stop sign in a small residential area. The examiner told me to take a left and go straight, this is when I saw a stop sign at the end of the street but not the one closer to me. Needless to say, I ran it and she had to tell me to stop. Other than that, she said my test was fine and I would've passed except for that stop sign.

Now I'm mad for making such a stupid mistake but I know I can retake it in the next 2 weeks. I'm just wondering how often people cancel their tests... The latest appointments are in August, and the one I have booked for now is on August 1st but the earliest I can take it is on May 27th. I'm checking on the website everyday, hoping for someone to cancel. What are the odds of me getting a test within the month? Is it better for me to call back everyday and check online at the same time?

Also, I feel really conflicted because I don't know what to work on besides looking ahead and scanning the roads. My nerves did get me on the test but now I feel confident in my driving abilities and driving independently. Before the test, I guess you could say I was confident in my driving but not driving by myself. I was use to my parents being there to remind me of things on the road but after now that I failed, I'm more confident in myself. I just don't know what I need to improve on to prepare for my next test...

Thanks for the tips!

Lomac · 05-17-2013, 09:43 PM

There's honestly no such thing as too much practice. As your confidence in driving grows, your nervousness will dissipate. I'll be honest; nervous drivers scare the shit out of me. They (just speaking in general terms) are probably the most unpredictable sort of driver on the road.

If you want to improve your scanning, have a parent or friend who's allowed to be in your car as a teacher constantly ask you questions about certain things you should have spotted: what did the last yellow sign say? what's the speed limit? did you just pass two or four people walking on the soft shoulder? etc.

bottle · 05-17-2013, 09:46 PM

Nice first post, welcome to the forums!
I'm not a regular here either, but a similar situation happened to me several years back as well. I failed my first test because I failed to scan the street before crossing after a stop sign. It was a 2 way stop when I misinterpreted it as a 4 way.

Anyway, if that was the only thing that went wrong, I would say don't worry about it, just do what you normally do and you will be fine. The important thing is to be cautious and aware, but have confidence.

Back in the day when I took my exam, they used to shut down the system from approximately 12am - 6am, and all the open bookings cancelled (if any) would show up at 6 in the morning, that's how I got my exam in 2 weeks.
Apparently this is no longer true anymore, and I am not aware of how the booking system is updated with cancellations any more, a driving instructor may know better.

Either way, best of luck with the next exam, I'm sure you will do just fine. I'm also sure you will be able to test again within the next month as long as you keep on checking (or find out how the refreshing mechanism works now).

Jayboogz · 05-17-2013, 09:52 PM

Ur just unfamiliar with the area.. When I took my n the instructor took me to my neighborhood knew where every school zone stop sign etc. Drive with ur parents everyday possible to be more comfortable on the road. Can't be nervous behind the wheel at any time
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yourself · 05-17-2013, 09:54 PM

Heres a tip, find a parking lot, grab some cones from the dollar store and practice! Practice in the rain too. Setup obstacles and tests for yourself similar to whats on the N test. Use the car you practice in as your N test car. Goodluck!

MikeHB · 05-17-2013, 09:56 PM

Have you tried booking a test in a different location? I don't live in Vancouver but if the bookings are full where I live, I can try to book in another town that has less people and isn't too far away.
Just a thought, good luck!
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bing · 05-17-2013, 09:56 PM

put 300 dollars on the passenger seat just before the examiner hops into your vehicle

LP700-4 · 05-17-2013, 09:57 PM

I didnt fail my test but booked my test a bit too late (2 months before), only one available at the time was approx 3 weeks after my b-day. I kept checking every morning to the same results as you (none available). If i remember correctly it took until the friday before my b-day on tuesday that there were slots that popped up.

If not i heard you could walk into the licensing place when they open and say you would like to wait for any cancellations for road testing. Then you are on a wait list for that day and you get to go when and if any people dont show up.

jnesss · 05-17-2013, 10:05 PM

spend some time driving in your road test area before you take the test again. i had an instructor take me around burnaby and i found it helpful.

i remember on my road test, i went through some tricky streets: 3 way stops, downhill school zones, etc. if the streets look f'd up, you better remember them. good luck!

NGExhiles · 05-17-2013, 10:06 PM

Haha, thanks for the responses! I don't think nerves is the problem anymore, I mean yes when the test comes I will be a little nervous but once the driving starts the nerves will stop. I forgot to mention that my N test was in the rain and it didn't really bother me as much as I thought it would've.

And yes, I have been looking around other cities but they've all been booked to around the end of August as well.

I have been through the neighborhood more than enough times to know where all the playground/school zones were so I did not get tricked when I was told to turn into the middle of one.

I drive about 3-4 hours every week (30-45 minutes every day), this being accumulated of course, from home to school and school back home but it's a bit different because it's mostly on the highway and I have no problems with keeping speed, lane changes, and intersections.

vafanculo · 05-17-2013, 10:53 PM

I'm glad you failed. You can't prepare for missing a stop sign. You either have it, or not. Are you sure it wasn't nerves? You should hope that it is.

If you wouldn't miss that stop sign driving on your own, you have no reason, on a test. Just drive confident.
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firebird79_00 · 05-17-2013, 11:03 PM

You can call an ICBC centre as well and try for an earlier appointment. It says on the website that's all that's available but you will be able to get a better time by calling.
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coolname · 05-17-2013, 11:18 PM

just keeping checking, as you get closer to the date the more cancellations there are, nobody will cancel a test two weeks in advance but plenty of people will just a couple days in advance

tmc22 · 05-17-2013, 11:21 PM

If I remember correctly (did my road test a little over a year ago), you can go into the ICBC center and basically just wait there until a spot opens up when someone cancels. A couple of my friends did this and my instructor also had told me. Good luck!

kwy · 05-17-2013, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yourself

Heres a tip, find a parking lot, grab some cones from the dollar store and practice! Practice in the rain too. Setup obstacles and tests for yourself similar to whats on the N test. Use the car you practice in as your N test car. Goodluck!

lol being able to navigate smoothly around cones in an empty parking lot does little to prepare you for driving on the road with other road users. An awesome race car driver might be an awful driver on the road because he is not fully aware of his surroundings or does not know the rules of the road. Road sense is something that comes with experience. I'll admit right now that when I got my N, I did not deserve it.

NGExhiles · 05-17-2013, 11:30 PM

Notice that I said "I don't think nerves is the problem anymore" meaning that during the test, yes, I did admit that nerves was part of it but now it is not.

xXSupa · 05-18-2013, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnesss

spend some time driving in your road test area before you take the test again. i had an instructor take me around burnaby and i found it helpful.

i remember on my road test, i went through some tricky streets: 3 way stops, downhill school zones, etc. if the streets look f'd up, you better remember them. good luck!

This is very true. If you know all the obstacles of an area, you should have no problems with the exam. In the case where you get nervous, you just have to try to calm yourself I guess, and not over think things.

For my exam a few years back, I had my driving instructor take me along all the popular routes and show me all the tricky places. When the test came along, I was pretty confident, and passed in 1 try. The only mistake I made was that I was too cautious, and drove slow in some areas. The examiner overlooked that though due to heavy rain that day.

As for bookings, if you check & call everyday, I'm sure you'll get a spot within the next month.

Anyways, good luck!

kakucaekz · 05-18-2013, 02:40 AM

I have an uncle who works as a road examiner, and he told me that you might be able to walk in any day, wait a bit and take a test that someone missed. Lots of people either cancel last minute or don't show. Not sure how this holds to other locations, as he's located in Richmond.

dryjesus · 05-18-2013, 02:50 AM

If you can't find the appointment you want online, call them and see what they got anyway. I was getting an error when trying to book my test online, so I called in to do it instead. I ended up getting an even better time for me that wasn't showing online.

BBMme · 05-18-2013, 03:49 AM

Don't run the stop sign next time=p staying calm helps too
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Gazorcoop · 05-18-2013, 08:47 AM

Book another location. The last time I checked, there were always cancellations anywhere from 1-5 days from when I checked
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hc529 · 05-18-2013, 09:05 AM

try another location.. couple years ago

I had myself booked for a test on july 18th.. But i forgot to renew my.license on my birthday... It pushed my test 10days after...

So i had to re book the exam. At the time, the earliest was 5months wait..

And i kno port coquitlam just opened up... And i got the earliest date july 28th
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NGExhiles · 05-19-2013, 02:54 AM

Yeah, so far I went from August 27th to the 15th to the 1st of August. Hopefully someone cancels during this week so I'll have an appointment by the end of the 2 weeks. I've been checking online everyday but I doubt anyone would cancel two weeks in advance.

Fafine · 05-19-2013, 03:04 AM

if you got a day off you can camp at icbc in hopes someone cancels.
my friend did that for his class 5, just went on his day off and someone actually canceled.

otherwise just keep checking

NGExhiles · 05-26-2013, 02:49 PM

Just a little update for anyone who's interested

I kept constantly checking online for a spot and I found one! Exactly on the day when I can retake it too. So for those who are in the same situation I was, don't worry, you'll get an opening when you get closer to the day your test is.

And one last question...
I'm taking my test in Port Coquitlam, how fast are you suppose to be going in residential/small streets? Last time, I kept around 30-40, and if the streets were long enough, I'd try to aim for 50 but I'm not really sure what the examiners had in mind. Thanks!