This video is an excellent guide to where to practice before your driving test at the Success Licensing Centre in Western Australia.
I will show you the area’s most straightforward and very likely driving test route. You should be fine securing a parking bay in the early morning hours, even a few minutes before the commencement of your test, but the car park is usually packed after 9 a.m. There are five marked bays for driving assessments but no guarantees one will be available.
They are just opposite the entry to the DOT office. It’s best to arrive half an hour before the start of your driving test to ensure you find a bay during busy hours. If you can’t secure a spot in the car park, don’t panic.
There’s plenty of space on Kemp Road just outside the car park. Check for pedestrians and any traffic.
The exit from the service station just after the pedestrian crossing is always busy, so keep an eye on the cars coming out from there. When you leave the car park, you will turn right on Kemp Road and shortly after, you will likely receive the instructions to turn left at the roundabout to Beeliar Drive. The volume of traffic coming through this roundabout is always high. Anticipate the traffic from a distance keeping the flow in mind and proceed as soon as possible.
70 kilometres per hour speed limit here on Belair Drive unless stated otherwise.
Keep an eye on any road works in the area.
When the assessor asks you to turn right at the next intersection and if you’re travelling in the left lane, you must change lanes in time and do all the relevant checks. I will link the video explaining how to change lanes and merge correctly. When you drive into the slip line here, enter as soon as the lane starts. Otherwise, you must check your blind spot if you miss it by a few meters.
Also, don’t slow down before you enter the turning lane unless there’s congested traffic in front of you. This slip lane is about 80 meters long, so don’t rush jumping on the brake because you don’t want to hold up anyone proceeding straight ahead. Pay attention to the white four-wheel drive for a moment. First, wait until that vehicle clears enough space before you commit to turning.
Watch your timing to avoid getting stranded in the middle of the path of oncoming traffic.
I will link the video explaining that. When you turn right to Dunraven Drive, you can expect to do the exercise Left Something Behind. Be aware of your speed if your assessment is between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. or 2:30 to 4 p.m. on school days. There are a few school zones in this pocket. Dunraven Drive becomes Osprey Drive after you cross Yangban Road. Assessors often take candidates to Tern Loop, only a couple of hundred meters from Yangban Primary School. Stick around for exercise Left Something Behind. This one is one of the quietest roads, and many students like this area compared to other test centres in the Perth metro area. Expect parked cars on the side of the road and ensure you overtake correctly.
You must indicate right, check your rearview mirror to see if someone’s overtaking you and check your blind spot before you deviate. I will not focus on this topic now, but you’ll find a detailed video in the description. Just follow the road and wait until the examiner asks you to pull over on the side of the road. As soon as you receive the instruction to stop on the side of the road, start planning.
Indicate well before you stop. Avoid stopping near bus stops, intersections and blind bends. Also, don’t cover fire hydrant markings. The rule book says to keep one meter clear, but we should allow a bit longer. Fire trucks must have clear access to fire hydrants, and even property occupants should not park on top of them. When the examiner prompts you to drive off, do the necessary indication and checks and generate speed because you don’t know when you will receive the instruction to turn around and return to the same address. So, remember, don’t slow down until you receive the instruction to come back.
When you do, indicate promptly and pick the best available option.
This time we’re using a side street to make a U-turn. Don’t expect any other communication from the examiner. You shouldn’t understeer when you’re making a U-turn on the side street, don’t over-accelerate because you’re going to lose control, and also when you get to this point, make sure you give way because you no longer have priority on this street. I will link the playlist on the exercise Left Something Behind in the description.
If you are unfamiliar with possible scenarios, check it out.
You should be mindful of your flow because if you slow down prematurely when you’re driving back to the house, you might lose a significant number of points for flow. Remember, no more communication from the assessor at this point. You must indicate in time if the next-door driveway is available that’s usually the best solution. Many candidates make critical mistakes during the last part of the exercise by over-accelerating and incorrectly observing. The most common failure is for poor observation when you’re doing the Exercise Left Something Behind. If you miss something that’s coming towards you, that would be an immediate failure. Check your rear window frequently, and as soon as you intercept the vehicle coming towards you, stop and freeze. Use a side bubble mirror if you have one.
They are inexpensive, and they do the job. You can see how far from the kerb you are, and you can also see when you get parallel. Remember to stop at the same place you started. They’re not going to give you any additional instructions. Often I get asked if you can chat with the assessor while doing a driving assessment. It will depend on how much it’s going to take your mind off driving because if it’s going to distract you, I suggest keeping your mind on the task. From here, you’ll be heading towards the shops.
On the way to the exercise Stopping for Shopping, you might have some great challenges.
The first one is a T-junction. You’ll be turning right from Dunraven Drive to Belair Drive. Expect a long wait here, but you have to be patient. Only proceed if you are 100 per cent sure. After you squeeze into the refuge lane, wait for the traffic from the left-hand side to clear. I will link the video explaining exactly how to turn right safely at a major busy T-junction. Some drivers are petrified of this scenario but if you know how to execute it safely you shouldn’t worry about it. Now we’re back on Beeliar Drive, heading towards the shops where you will do reverse parking. They also may include reverse parallel parking on the way to the shops.
At this point in your test, you should think about scoring points for your high-speed driving not parking because you may get carried away and exceed the speed limit. You wouldn’t believe how many fails for speeding because they think too far ahead. Anticipating roundabouts from a distance will ensure better flow. Your approach to any giveaway intersection will depend on whether you are preparing to stop or getting ready to proceed. I can’t stress enough how vital this technique is to score maximum points for flow.
If you start to observe late your decision-making process will be longer, and as a result, you might hold up traffic. Another school zone here. Keep an eye on the speed gauge don’t exceed the speed limit because they’re a little bit stricter when it comes to school zone and roadworks. Also, watch out for wildlife, especially in the spring season. Failing to protect Wildlife on the road will result in driving test termination.
I can’t entirely agree with many who claim that the Success Test Centre is the most challenging place to pass. However, a few problematic places within the Success test area could be more transparent for inexperienced drivers which I will explain thoroughly in the following video. Expect to do reverse parallel parking here on Bluebush Avenue.
People often ask whether every test includes parallel parking. To the best of my knowledge only a small percentage.
Interestingly, many who don’t meet standards for parallel parking fail because of poor observation skills. So, check your mirrors, check behind, improve your situational awareness. I find parallel parking less demanding than bay parking. The key is to start and complete the maneuver as soon as possible to avoid too many drivers approaching from behind. Now the assessor will likely ask you to go to the shops on the corner of Bluebush and Lakefront Avenue for the exercise Stopping for Shopping if you drive around this pocket in Beeliar.
Beeliar Community Centre car park is the quietest in the area. Just off Lakefront Avenue, many who pass driving tests claim they felt lucky not to park in Gateway City shopping centre considered the most challenging spot because of the high volume of shoppers in the car park. Sometimes they want you to reverse park next to any car or tell you to reverse park anywhere. Some examiners ask you to reverse park on the right side. One of the low-speed maneuvers that only a few practices.
Be well prepared so that nothing can surprise you. Some candidates hesitate to proceed through this part of the car park because of the shape of the path here and lose points for flow. Continue driving straight here without stopping. Some assume that the assessor is trying to trick them into making an error.
They will not deceive you and lead you the wrong way to see how you react.
Overseas license holders report that examiners in their countries purposely misled candidates to test their skills in intercepting wrong actions, it’s not the case in Australia.
The last section of the driving test is driving back to the licensing centre. Often test candidates relax if they see that the assessment has taken about half an hour so far and make mistakes due to losing focus.
I suggest not celebrating prematurely. Hold the analysis until you park the car at the centre and switch the engine off.
On the way back there’s a challenging turn onto Belair Drive and many need help to perform well here. Especially during peak hours. Only one vehicle can fit inside the refuge lane so ensure that the car waiting in there clears before you commit to turning in the middle if it’s safe and clear for you to do so. At this point, if the refuge lane was clear, you still must give way to the vehicle turning right from your left side because they are turning off the main road, and you are entering the main road. Only commit to turning if you will not interfere with the path of oncoming traffic.
To perform this maneuver 10 out of 10 times safely you must take driving lessons from a reputable driving instructor who not only has dual controls fitted in the car but can operate them effectively from the passenger side. If you have the slightest doubt wait for a better opportunity to clear.
If you hesitate for one second, different actions may be necessary. It’s the last minute of your driving test at the Success Test Centre. You must still fill out a few boxes before turning off the engine.
Assessors will not prompt you to change lanes. In this scenario, they instruct you to turn right shortly but will not mention all the necessary checks and indication which you must do independently. If you think it’s better to remain in the right lane to avoid the hassle later on, it’s not because the right lanes in Australia and the UK are Fast Lanes. Keep in the left lane when possible. Turning right on Kemp Road and soon after back in the test centre car park.
Don’t forget to anticipate the roundabout traffic from a distance. Keep your focus on signaling correctly and on time and switch them off if there’s a possibility of misleading other road users such as here when you’re passing the service station entry. Remember to re-indicate as soon as you pass the server because you can still lose vital points for signaling even seconds before finishing your PDA. So there you go.
The most common driving test route at the Success Centre.
Keep an eye on the channel for advice on how to drive better, safer and of course the top tips on how to nail your driving test. Please subscribe to support my work if you haven’t subscribed already. As always, feel free to ask any relevant questions in the comment section below. Thanks for watching and I’ll catch you next time.
Video Title Driving Test SUCCESS Western Australia
https://whop.com/gdi-69f7/domains-cc
