75 percent of drivers describe their driving skills and knowledge as ‘very good’ or ‘good’, but is this really the case?

• 75 percent of drivers describe their driving skills and knowledge as ‘very good’ or ‘good’
• However, Carwow asked 2,000 drivers five questions from the official DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) driving theory test, with just 18 people (0.9 per cent) getting them all right
• Official DVSA data shows the driving theory test pass rate has declined by 20% over the past 15 years
• Take Carwow’s taster ‘theory test’ here and to see if your knowledge stacks up

Most UK motorists class themselves as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ drivers, but the vast majority would likely struggle with their theory test if they took it again today, according to the latest research from Carwow, the online car-changing marketplace.

Carwow put 2,000 drivers to the test (with five multiple-choice questions taken from the official DVSA driving theory test) and just 18 of the respondents got them all right – that’s about 1 in 100 (0.9 per cent).

The ‘pass rate’ for each of the five questions was less than half, with the hardest question being “Where, if anywhere, may you overtake on a one-way street?” – to which just 10 percent of respondents correctly answered ‘On either the right or the left’.

Fewer than one in five (19 percent) drivers knew that you can park on the right-hand side of a one-way street at night, while just 27 per cent correctly identified that 125 feet (38 meters) is the typical braking distance in a car from 50mph (in good, dry conditions).

The question with the most correct answers was ‘If you’ve broken down on a motorway, in which direction should you walk to find the nearest emergency telephone?’ with 46 percent correctly choosing ‘in the direction of the marker posts’.

Has the theory test got harder?

According to official figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, the pass rate for theory tests has been slowly declining over the past 15 years; in 2009, it was 65 percent, whereas this year, it’s just 45 percent – a record low.

And Carwow’s data backs this – it found that three quarters (75 percent) of drivers who have been driving for between 12 and 20 years passed their theory test the first time, compared to only half (56 per cent) of those who have been driving for 1-3 years and just 17 percent of those who have been driving less than a year.

So how does your knowledge stack up, and would you pass your theory test again today? The pass rate is 43/50 – so ideally you want to be getting most of the questions right on Carwow’s taster test – click here to have a go.

“The say practice makes perfect, and that’s certainly the case for the driving theory test. But I drive cars for a living and I still only got 80% of the answers right on this – so it isn’t easy!” said Mat Watson, Chief Content Officer at Carwow and presenter of the popular Carwow YouTube channel.

“Those looking to get their license need to do as much as they can to prepare – reading the highway code, and doing practice tests to familiarise themselves with the rules of the road.

“And the practice and learning doesn’t stop when you get your license – it was interesting that respondents to our survey aged between 18 and 24 were most likely to consider themselves ‘bad’ drivers. Some of it is likely just to be experience on the roads rather than competency but if that is you, there’s no shame in taking further lessons and avoiding any situations where you don’t feel confident or safe on the roads.”

The Carwow survey revealed that drivers aged between 25 and 35 were most likely to rate themselves as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ drivers, at 84 percent. Men were more likely than women to rate their driving ability highly – at 80 percent vs 65 percent.