One down, four to go – today I passed my PCV Driver Theory Test. This was the multiple choice question module, which I took at the test centre in Torquay.
After scoring 48 out of 50 in the second online practice test I was fairly confident that I’d pass but I’d revised frantically anyway. I was nervous as I walked down into town in the rain, rehearsing in my head some of the questions that were likely to cause me trouble. These would be the ones involving numbers; EU driving hours, weights, distances and so on. I kept reassuring myself “It’ll be OK. After all, it’s not rocket science, is it?”
As I stood in the waiting area there was a young woman at the desk in a bit of a state. She’d turned up to re-take her theory test but had forgotten to bring the paper counterpart of her driver’s licence. The man behind the desk was adamant that she couldn’t take the test without both parts and she was adamant that she hadn’t needed to show it the first time. He was right of course so, while she phoned a friend, I got myself booked in. The woman was just telling her friend that she’d have to cancel the booking (and forfeit the fee) when Mr Jobsworth turned into Mr Second Chance and told the lady that, if she could be back within 15 minutes with her licence, she could still take the test.
By this time I’d been signed in and had stowed my coat, phone and umbrella in a locker and was ready to take the test. The small room was divided into about 10 workstations with touch screens and I was allocated number 4. There was a brief on-screen introduction to the test, most of which I’d seen before in the online practice tests. I ran through it anyway. I cleaned my glasses, blew my nose, said a little prayer, took a deep breath and hit the ‘go’ button.