Woman, 22, who ‘catastrophically failed’ her driving test with three majors including breaking the speed limit gets her licence after travelling 65 miles to try again in the town with the UK’s highest pass rate
- Emma Cannon, 22, passed her test after travelling 65 miles to Dorchester, Dorset
- She has urged others to think about their practical test location before booking
A woman who ‘catastrophically failed’ her driving test with three majors travelled to the location with the country’s highest pass rate and got her licence.
Emma Cannon, 22, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, said she thought she would ‘never pass’ her test after going over the speed limit and breaking down in tears during her first attempt.
But Miss Cannon was ‘over the moon’ to pass with just one minor after she travelled 65 miles to Dorchester, Dorset, the place in the UK with the highest pass rate.
She has urged other drivers to consider the location of their test centre when booking to give themselves the best chance of passing.
She said: ‘I started driving in April 2022 and I had my first test booked in my local area in Chippenham for the end of October.
But Miss Cannon was ‘over the moon’ to pass with just one minor after she travelled 65 miles to Dorchester, Dorset, the place in the UK with the highest pass rate
‘It was a disaster, it was so bad. I felt uncomfortable and on edge, I was making the most stupid mistakes.
‘I forgot to turn my lights on and when she asked me to open the bonnet, I tried to put the stick in the wrong place.’
Miss Cannon things went from bad to worse when she was given instructed to do a parallel park.
She said: ‘I got my manoeuvre within five minutes and knew I had failed. I parked on the pavement. I asked if I could adjust and she said no.’
She burst into tears at this point and just wanted to get ‘back to the test centre’ but had to carry on.
Miss Cannon added: ‘We were driving along and the test instructor didn’t say anything. She took me to a junction that led onto a dual carriageway.
‘She thought I wasn’t looking at the road enough so slammed the breaks on and took over the wheel. We carried on going but I really just wanted to get back to the test centre.’
She said she ended up speeding because there was a 30mph limit due to roadworks and got three majors.
Miss Cannon said the instructor had ‘no emotion’ when she was told she had failed the test.
But she searched the internet for the area which had the highest pass rate in the UK and discovered it was Dorchester, Dorset, 65 miles away.
She drove down in her car with her mum in the passenger seat and took the test in February 2022.
She said: ‘It was such a different experience the people were so nice, they put me at ease. I didn’t know the area, it was very rural. The test instructor was really nice and made me feel comfortable.’
‘I was just so happy, it’s amazing now I can drive. I live in the middle of nowhere so I was going mental. There’s three buses a day where I live.
‘I was so scared for so long but I think the instructor you get really makes a difference. A lot of it in your head, you start overthinking it.’
