‘It felt like forever, but it couldn’t have been more than 30 seconds...’

Taking the driving test

Sarah Slevin

I braked, pulled the handbrake, took the car out of gear, and let out a breath.

“Now we’ll head back to the test centre, and I’ll give you the result.”

The driving tester then got out of my car, and headed toward the RSA building ahead of me, a short walk to reach the door.

I took out the keys and started the walk, completely unaware of my fate – had I passed?

I was sure I failed.

At the start of the test, I pulled out of the car park, the tester sitting very far back in the passenger seat, and I convinced myself that I ran the first stop mark on the road.

Rob said no matter what happens, even if you think you’ve failed, keep going positively. You never know – you might just do enough well after to avoid failure.

Rob (Robert Doyle) was my driving instructor, and he has a stellar reputation of first-time passers.

So that’s what I did. Keep going. Stay positive and do what you always do.

Mirrors, signal, watch speed, watch the road, keep good road position, stop at stop signs…

“Now I want you to take a right, then another back into the test centre, and find somewhere to park that is safe.”

I pull into the driving test centre car park – a busy place, but not so bad today – and I manage to pull in to a nice spot and straighten up.

I braked, pulled the handbrake, took the car out of gear, and let out a breath.

I sanitised my hands on the way in to the centre and sat down at the desk where I was first asked questions, and waited.

It felt like forever, but really it could not have been more than 30 seconds, until the tester said: “Congratulations, you passed.”

“Oh my God, phew.”

Feeling absolutely delighted and almost emotional, I waited as he filled out the paperwork.

When I looked at my result after, I had only three faults, and none were the imaginary stop sign I thought I’d messed up!

I left the centre, approached the pedestrian crossing, and was waved on by a driver to cross the road, but as I crossed the woman mouthed to me “did you pass?”.

I gave her the thumbs up, proudly holding my ‘Certification of competency’, and then realised the first person I told was a stranger who looked nearly as happy for me as I was for myself.

Of course, once I got back into my car, I messaged my driving instructor, Rob, my boyfriend, Robbie, who greeted me shortly after with a congrats card, and my family, who had sat in the car with me more times than I can count.

I’ve completed Junior and Leaving Cert exams, piano exams, a singing exam, university exams, but this was the one I was most anxious to pass. Getting behind the wheel for the first time is a daunting task, and one maybe I had put off for far too long.

Funnily enough, it was Covid-19 that pushed me to learn properly, in March 2020, when I found myself once again living at home in Westmeath.

When I took off for college in 2013, I pretty much moved to Galway a few years later, but the restrictions brought me home and I found myself with time to spare. So, it was time to get behind the wheel.

My younger brother, Darragh, quickly became my main driving instructor; that is until I was back in Galway studying and started doing my lessons.

Covid-19 restrictions meant that a year separated my first lesson and my driving test date.

I had completed my 12 compulsory lessons in the summer and applied for my test in June, and finally got the “invite” in late September to book my driving test slot for October.

I had opted to do my test in Galway, so consulted with my instructor, Rob, on the best time and date to choose. The main advice was to avoid school and work traffic.

And anyone that knows Galway city traffic knows that it is not a simple task to pick a time when traffic experiences a lull.

Happy days though – I went for a Tuesday at precisely 10.34am, not realising at the time that I had actually chosen a day when schools were off for midterm – even happier days.

I made the decision to only tell two people about my test, something which I would highly recommend doing: the less outside anticipation and pressure, the better.

Now, I simply await my physical licence and look forward to many safe road trips!