Independent driving on your test

Checked against DVSA guidance on GOV.UK in October 2026.

How long it lasts

GOV.UK says you'll drive for around 35 minutes on the car driving test, or around 65 minutes on an extended test if you've been banned from driving. Within that, you'll drive independently for 20 to 35 minutes. You'll drive in various road and traffic conditions, but not on motorways.

Sat nav or traffic signs

During the independent part you'll follow either:

• directions from a sat nav
• traffic signs
• a combination of both

The examiner tells you which. If it's a sat nav, they set it up for you, and you can't use your own. At any time when you're not following a sat nav or traffic signs, the examiner gives you turn-by-turn directions instead.

According to the guidance for examiners, the examiner asks you to pull up on the left and explains clearly what they want before the independent part starts. For a sat nav, the DVSA's test wordings include a warning not to rely on the speeds the sat nav shows, as they may not be accurate. For traffic signs, the examiner names a destination to follow the signs for. It's a good moment to ask if anything is unclear. If you have dyslexia or dyspraxia and it affects your driving, tell your examiner: the same guidance asks them to choose the type of independent drive that suits you best.

If you go wrong

This is the part that worries most learners, and it's simpler than it sounds. GOV.UK says the examiner will not give you a fault for taking a wrong turning. They'll help you get back on the route. If you can't see a traffic sign, for example because trees cover it, the examiner gives you directions until you can see the next one.

The examiner guidance goes further: going off route, or needing reminders of where to go, are not faults in themselves. So if you've forgotten a direction, ask.

What does get marked is how you drive. If you realise late that you're in the wrong lane, the safe choice is to carry on the way your lane goes and let the route be fixed afterwards. Cutting across lanes or braking hard to make a turn can be a fault, and potentially a serious one, even though the wrong turn itself wouldn't have been.

What's really being assessed

Independent driving shows whether you can drive safely while making your own decisions, the way you will once you've passed. The examiner is still marking everything else as normal: your observations at junctions, mirrors and signals, speed, positioning and how you respond to signs and other road users.

Planning ahead is the skill that ties it together. The earlier you know where you're going, the earlier you can check your mirrors, signal, and get into the right lane.

Following a sat nav

• Listen more than you look. The spoken instructions tell you most of what you need. Glance at the screen only when it's safe.
• Signs and limits still apply. If the sat nav seems to contradict a no entry sign or a lane marking, the road wins. Read speed limits from the signs, not the screen.
• Don't let the screen distract you. Highway Code rule 150 warns about distraction from in-vehicle systems such as sat navs, and says you must keep proper control of your vehicle at all times.

Following traffic signs

• Know the colours. In the Highway Code's traffic signs section, signs on primary routes have green backgrounds and signs on non-primary and local routes have white backgrounds with black borders.
• Read signs early. Advance direction signs show the layout of the junction ahead, so you can pick your lane in good time.
• Lane markings help. Arrows and destination names painted on the road often confirm which lane you need.
• Hold on to the destination. If you forget which place you're following signs for, ask. Needing a reminder isn't a fault.

Test routes aren't published

GOV.UK is clear that driving test routes are not published, so you can't learn a route before your test. The best preparation is driving lots of different roads near your test centre with your instructor or supervising driver: busy junctions, roundabouts, dual carriageways and quiet residential streets, following signs to places you haven't been before.

Driving Test Simulator doesn't show real test routes either. It's an independent practice tool that lets you drive the real road layout around a test centre, so you get used to the kinds of roads your examiner can choose from.