Test day nerves

"Move off when you're ready, please." A simple enough request, so why has your leg started to shake, your mouth gone dry, and your mind gone blank?

Don't worry - you're in good company. Even your instructor, who looked a model of calm unflappability, is pacing the floor of the waiting room.

Fortunately, there are almost as many remedies for test day nerves as there are traffic jams on the M25. If only there was a magic bullet!

Here is a selection of possible cures:

• Get a good night's sleep the night before.
• Don't go to the test on an empty stomach - research shows that eating before an important test can improve performance.
• Bananas are supposed to be very beneficial - tests have been done.
• Take a small bottle of water with you. When you're parked, take a sip.
• Try Rescue Remedy - it could work.
• Make sure you have driven several times in the days leading up to the test. If you take lessons once a week, take a couple of extra ones so you are not rusty on the day.
• Take your documents with you when you leave home. Nothing's going to make you more nervous than sitting in the waiting room, and realising that your licence is somewhere else!
• Ask questions! If you're not sure where the examiner wants you to go, or what they mean, ask. The examiner knows exactly where you will be going - you don't. 
• Ask your instructor (or whoever goes with you to test) to sit in the back of the car. You can take someone with you for moral support.
• Occasionally another examiner will sit in the back when you take your test. Don't be put off, this is simply a normal quality control exercise. This extra examiner is making sure your examiner does their job properly - they are not concerned with your drive.
• Perhaps the best advice of all - be prepared! If you have practised enough, you should find it easy to pass!

It's worth remembering the examiner does tests all day, every day. In an average week, (s)he may have seen 30 to 40 learners. It's unlikely you'll be the worst!

You should aim to drive as if you were giving someone a lift, in an area you don't know. Your passenger might have to tell you which way to go, but you wouldn't expect them to tell you how to drive - would you?