Having picked a date to do my theory test, I was starting to be a little concerned that I had never received any confirmation of the test actually going ahead the closer the date was getting.
As it turns out, when you try to book your theory test through certain websites you should use caution in your choice and ensure it is a reputable site. For me, I had hoped to get my test over and done with relatively swiftly so I could go on to doing my IBT. According to this one site, you can pick pretty much any date and morning/afternoon/evening time slots.
What the less trustworthy sites don’t tell you is that your booking may be taken by them and then they in turn book through the reputable crowd who you should have used in the first place…. my point being that if you wish to book your theory test, don’t waste your time on any other website but the actual Prometric site – they will send back a confirmation and also a reminder (if the date wasn’t already embedded in your brain while you study frantically!!). Also, you may well end up spending more money on these other sites who claim that your repeat test is free, when according to the officials this is not the case – the long and short of it is steer very clear of these other sites!!
Well, after all of the initial confusion I managed to get a date and time to sit the theory test. It would always be a wise move to use the most up to date study guide to ensure you don’t get caught out with new questions. I speak as the voice of experience – I managed to pass but would have had a more impressive score if I had not used a 2 year old study guide!!
From this I filled out the Learner Licence form, got my mugshots and the cash to pay for my lovely new plastic learner permit. It was at this point that I had learnt that a friend of mine had also caught the biker bug and had just passed their theory test – they are situated in the sunny south east of the country whilst I was more Midlands. Funnily enough they got their new permit within 3 weeks and I had to wait a frustrating 6 weeks before I could take the next step to bikerhood. This may not mean too much in the grand scheme of things but when these applications are being dealt with centrally then surely 3 weeks for one county should also mean 3 weeks for any other? Apparently not.
I decided to play it safe and book my IBT for nearly 7 weeks after application for my permit was sent off….. luckily it just arrived on time!! Now that that worry was out of the way I was free to stress over the matter of learning how to handle a motorbike….. Would I be able to actually do the “Drive In/Ride Out” in the space of two days? Only one way of finding out!