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The Gary Meggs Pre-Test Method

Most of my competition choose to hire in a third party to do their pre-tests for first-time drivers. In case you don’t know, these are ‘pretend’ versions of the real thing, and they make a great show of being as tough as the Road Safety Authority examiners in Clifden, Galway. Well I live in Clifden and I have a passing knowledge of all of them. I prefer to say they are scrupulously correct and don’t believe in doing favours (which sounds about right to me).

Besides, who knows better which errors to watch out for than the person who trained them? I have a policy of never dropping my guard, which is why I always come across as strict. If you’ll excuse the expression, driving is a deadly serious business. And that’s how I believe in doing driver training especially when it comes to youngsters.

I have a pretty good idea of what happens during an official test. Most of it is according to a set of rules and standards, and I debrief my students afterwards for lessons learned and latest trends. That way I can fine-tune my Pre-Test to what’s happening at the Testing Station combined with an individual student’s weak and strong points. If you know of a better method I’d love to hear of it.

My approach to the rules of the road and road signs makes the first part of the test a virtual cakewalk. Because I quiz my students as part of every training module, by the time all 12 are done they know them off pat like their ten times table. Pretty much the same goes for the pre-test roadworthy and driver controls. As a Mercedes-qualified mechanic you can safely bet they know the answers.

My method of scoring high points with the first part of the test works a treat, because by the time the practical driving test comes around the examiner is half way to being convinced he has a good candidate. I don’t release the pressure during this part of my Pre-Testing procedure. In fact, the folk in Clifden, Galway where I live are used to seeing my students sweating.

It’s all in a good cause of course, and after the youngster passes the actual test – almost all of mine do – we can relax and have a good laugh over it. Then I can tick off another successful driver training assignment.