We know what you're thinking: Don't people usually say you should want to pass your driving test on the first try? Why should you ever hope for the opposite and want to not succeed on your first go? It might sound unconventional, but stick with us; there are actually plenty of good reasons why failing your first attempt can be a blessing in disguise.
Whether you're preparing for your driving test or you're thinking back to how you scored on your first road exam, this article might just help you gain a different perspective—and one that's much more optimistic.
You Become More Cautious
When you fail on your first try, you'll immediately feel dread. Oh, no. Now you'll have to go through all of that again. But what would you do next? You'd probably go back and review the rules, the mistakes you made, and how you can be better on your next attempt, right? Having already failed once, you surely don't want to experience failure again, so you'll study and practice twice as hard to ace it on your next try.
That mindset, the one that pushes you to want to do better your second time, is how you become a more cautious driver. If you were to instead get lucky and pass right away, you might not take your examiner's feedback as seriously; after all, why should you care if you already passed?
You Fix Your Mistakes Before They Become Bad Habits
If your examiner were to be too lenient and give you the pass despite you making multiple mistakes during your test, they wouldn't really be doing you a favor. Instead, all they'd be doing is enabling you to make those same mistakes in real-life situations on the road.
For example, maybe you forgot to shoulder check twice during your road exam. Three times would've struck you out, but your examiner gave you the pass because you only forgot to do it twice. What they don't know is that you aren't very good with shoulder checks—and now that they've passed you, you'll be even less likely to get better at it. Nothing is motivating you, anyway; you've already passed. Before you know it, though, these mistakes will continue to build until they become bad habits you can't unlearn.
You'll Become More Confident Without Being Overconfident
If you fail your first try, here's something you might not know will happen: you'll actually end up becoming more confident in your driving skills without being overconfident. This means you're more likely to be a better driver on the road—one that understands and follows all the rules—than one who thinks they're better than everyone.
Why? Because when you don't immediately pass, you'll actually push yourself to correct whatever you did wrong. If you pass on the first try, you might think you're a natural behind the wheel, and you don't need any further practice at all. Thinking you're better than everyone else on the road may also make you a more aggressive driver, and one who engages in road rage often.
All this to say: Don't take it the wrong way if you fail or have failed your road test, even if you did so multiple times. What matters is that you're now an experienced driver who knows how to handle all types of situations flawlessly, and you know exactly how to keep you and others safe on the road.
