I’m a driving instructor and there’s a simple error that will make you FAIL your test & it’s not to do with skill

A DRIVING instructor has revealed the simple error that could make you FAIL your test – and it’s nothing to do with skill behind the wheel.

Noel Gaughan told learners to make sure their cars are clean and tidy or they could be left disappointed.

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The advice comes after a learner driver from Blackpool failed her test before even turning the engine on as her car was too dirty.

Paul Turner said his 17-year-old daughter was “distraught” when her examiner said she wouldn’t be getting her full licence – or even the chance to have a go – due to pencil rubber filings underneath the passenger seat.

Speaking on the incident, Gaughan believes that a clean car should form part of the driving test.

It is right, it’s a work environment for the examiner and for the person learning to drive and you’ve got to have a nice clean car.

Noel Gaughan

He told GMB “It is right, it’s a work environment for the examiner and for the person learning to drive and you’ve got to have a nice clean car.

“You don’t want to be getting distracted by having bottles, cans and paper all over the car.”

He added: “I don’t know if they’ve actually failed, they might have been put down as test not completed, but it’s the same result pretty much and they will have to wait a long time for a new test.”

The studio then quizzed the instructor on whether the rules were too harsh with failure due to rubber shavings seeming “a bit extreme.”

Gaughan said: “You have to have a limit on what is allowable or not allowable whether it’s rubber shavings or cans or whatever it might be.

“That’s a distraction for the examiner and the learner driver.”

However, Gaughan added that the issue could have easily been resolved by the instructor.

“What the instructor could have done and should have done is to get a mini-vacuum cleaner and take two seconds to clean it up, job done.

“That’s what I do, I have a vacuum at the back of the car. A nice clean car for the examiner shows a lot of respect.”

The guidance for people wishing to take a test is that they must “clear and clean the inside of your car beforehand”.

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