Sevenoaks driving examiners
The Sevenoaks driving examiners are the DVSA staff who conduct practical tests at Sevenoaks Driving Test Centre. Geoff Newman, who has sat in on more than 120 of their tests, describes them as professional, patient and fair, and says they do what they reasonably can to put candidates at ease while still doing their job properly.[1]
Quotas
A common myth is that examiners must fail a set share of candidates. They do not. DVSA has stated that examiners are never given a target pass rate and that every test is judged on its own merits.[2] Newman adds that he has heard Sevenoaks examiners express real disappointment when nobody passed during a morning.[1] Because examiners apply one standard consistently, he argues the real variable is the candidate's preparation.
How the test is allocated
The booking system, not the examiner, assigns the examiner, route, manoeuvre and safety questions before the candidate arrives. Nothing about the test is decided on first impressions, so there is no point hoping for an easy route or a favourite manoeuvre.[1]
The examiner's job
During a drive the examiner is watching the candidate and other road users, planning where a manoeuvre can be done safely, adapting to traffic and making split-second judgements, all from a moving car.[1] In icy weather, Newman has heard of examiners gritting the roads around the centre themselves so that tests can go ahead safely.[1]
In the car
Conversation
Chatting is fine if the examiner starts it and it doesn't distract. Candidates can answer light questions naturally, but should not lead the conversation, ask personal questions, or raise politics, religion or current affairs. Examiners will not help with driving decisions; asked whether to give way, an examiner is likely to say "do what you think is safe". Building rapport does not make an examiner more lenient.[1]
Speak clearly
Answers should be clear rather than mumbled. Over the noise of the engine and traffic, a quiet reply may simply not be heard.[1]
The iPad
Examiners record the test on an iPad. Tapping may just mean a manoeuvre or stop has been logged, or it may be a fault. Candidates cannot tell which, and Newman advises ignoring it completely, since trying to read meaning into it is a quick way to lose focus.[1]
Windows and the radio
Examiners often open their window for fresh air; candidates who are cold can ask for it to be closed. The radio is allowed but usually best left off. Newman makes one exception for very anxious drivers, for whom quiet, calm music can steady the nerves, as long as every instruction can still be heard.[1]
Handshakes
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, examiners do not shake hands. It is not meant as rudeness.[1]
Accessibility
Examiners are used to helping candidates who find left and right difficult and may offer to point as well as speak; writing L and R on the backs of the hands is allowed. They also adapt their wording for candidates whose first language is not English. See Test-day nerves and Overseas and international drivers.[1]
See also
References
- Newman, Geoff (2026). Sevenoaks Driving Test Secrets, chapters 1, 3, 7, 11, 22, 23 and 24.
- "Are driving test examiners set targets?". Driving Test Success, quoting DVSA.