Being nervous about your driving test is normal, and a bit of tension is not a bad thing. If that tension makes you freeze, we can build up the lessons differently and the CBR has a special exam for test anxiety. Here you read what that is, what we do and what else helps.
Nerves come with the territory
The CBR says it itself: a bit of healthy tension before the test is not wrong at all. The examiner knows nerves are always there and does his or her best to put you at ease. So allow yourself to be nervous. Fighting it only costs you the attention you need for the road.
And nobody drives faultlessly. The point is not that you make no mistakes, but that you solve a mistake safely yourself. The examiner looks at the overall picture and is not out to fail you.
What we do in the lessons
Test anxiety is not dealt with on exam day but in the weeks before it. So say so as soon as you notice tension getting in your way, even if at first you can't quite put it into words.
- Building up more slowly We take more time per element and only move on when something really sits. Better a few extra lessons than an exam you are not ready for.
- Practising the way the exam goes We drive the roads around the exam centre, practise driving independently with a navigation system and repeat the special manoeuvres until they come naturally.
- Going through it for real once With an interim test you drive a practice exam with a real CBR examiner. Then the first time has already happened.
The CBR exam for test anxiety
If extreme nerves make you freeze, you can take a faalangstexamen at the CBR. You get an examiner specially trained in guiding people with test anxiety, who also has more time to put you at ease. During the drive you may ask for a time-out.
| Standard exam | Test-anxiety exam | |
|---|---|---|
| Total duration | 55 minutes | 1 hour and 20 minutes |
| Exam drive | 35 minutes | 35 minutes |
| Examiner | A CBR examiner | Specially trained in test anxiety |
| Requirements to pass | Standard requirements | Exactly the same requirements |
The extra time is there for calm, for explanation and for that time-out. The exam is not easier: it follows the same order, only the circumstances are calmer. Because it takes longer, it does cost more; the amounts are in the CBR's current fees.
We apply for the exam for you at the CBR. As with a normal exam, you must have passed your theory first.
What helps on the day itself
Good preparation is half the work, the CBR writes, and then the nerves are usually a bit less. Make a lesson plan with us up to the exam and book that exam in good time, so you are not rushed. Beyond that, it is mostly small things that help: you'll find them in the list for exam day.
Sources: CBR: test anxiety and the driving exam, CBR: nervous about your driving exam