Driving Test - HGV ~ P Valentine

Can You Appeal a Failed Driving Test?

Before we go further in this article, we need to clear the air on if you can appeal and it’s just not a wasted effort.

Yes, you can appeal your driving test result, but it’s important to know that an appeal will not overturn the result or grant you a pass.

Instead, an appeal challenges the way the test was conducted. If successful, you may be entitled to a free retest. So in other words you will need to retake the test regardless albeit it’s going to be free.

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I just thought I would share this, does anyone think that an instructor is not going to be harder on the 2nd test, even if you win the appeal.

Also, is this not a case of the police investigating police, and any examiner will hardly ever overturn a colleagues decision to fail you ?

Ps this is not sour grapes, I have a full HGV License.

PPs the section on top is copied, so not my words.

Edited by HGV ~ P Valentine on 07/06/2025 at 12:31

Driving Test - mcb100
It’s an examiner that conducts driving tests, not instructors.
Two different people.
Driving Test - alan1302

Can You Appeal a Failed Driving Test?

Before we go further in this article, we need to clear the air on if you can appeal and it’s just not a wasted effort.

Yes, you can appeal your driving test result, but it’s important to know that an appeal will not overturn the result or grant you a pass.

Instead, an appeal challenges the way the test was conducted. If successful, you may be entitled to a free retest. So in other words you will need to retake the test regardless albeit it’s going to be free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just thought I would share this, does anyone think that an instructor is not going to be harder on the 2nd test, even if you win the appeal.

Also, is this not a case of the police investigating police, and any examiner will hardly ever overturn a colleagues decision to fail you ?

Ps this is not sour grapes, I have a full HGV License.

PPs the section on top is copied, so not my words.

Assuming you mean examiner - would they know that you have a test before? And if they are professional then they would not be tougher on your 2nd test anyway, so no, they would not be.

Driving Test - focussed
"Assuming you mean examiner - would they know that you have a test before? And if they are professional then they would not be tougher on your 2nd test anyway, so no, they would not be"

Assuming the HGV testing procedure is similar to the car test, regarding how would the DVSA examiner know that you have taken a previous test and failed? They may look your name up on their system before the test, and/or just ask "is this your first HGV test?"

The fail you are enquiring about, what was the basis of the fail?
Was it on the show me / tell me questions or on the on road driving faults?

Was it one major fault, or a accumulation of minor faults, 12 allowed on HGV test - 15 allowed on car test.

And was your instructor with you during the test? It's encouraged on the car test, but
I never sat in on a pupil's test - I always emphasised during their training that during the test they are on their own.

Driving Test - Bromptonaut

It's a similar principal to Judicial Review; was the proper process followed?

As with Judicial Review the result requires 'authority' to try again, and get it right this time.

If you stop and think even for a nano second nobody should get a full license because the examiner cocked up at some point.

They may well have been criminally dangerous at driving whatever the errors of process.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 09/06/2025 at 12:17

Driving Test - focussed
More or less what I was trying to get from the OP, was it a possible procedural fault of the examiner, or an on-road driving fault, minor, major or dangerous.

If it's an on road fault, it's the pupil's opinion against the examiner - no possible grounds for calling foul on that one.
Driving Test - Bromptonaut
More or less what I was trying to get from the OP.

I think PV is quoting something they've read elsewhere and seem animated by.

Possibly needs more thought than it was given.