Dorchester

How To Get There

If you’re situated in Dorchester, you’ll want to head onto Damers Road before turning onto Bridport Road. Next, turn onto Middle Farm Way and follow it onto Peverell Avenue West. Lastly, you’ll need to turn onto Peninsula Way and then switch to Great Cranford Street. If, like many learners heading to Dorchester test centre for their practical, you’re not so centrally located, you can make use of A roads like the A35, A37 and A354. To make sure you don’t take a wrong turn, we’d recommend using these directions with your sat nav.

A Bit More About Dorchester

As with other test centres in the UK, the DVSA thought long and hard about the location of Dorchester’s test centre. Its current spot was chosen because it offers examiners a variety of road types and traffic systems. For starters, the Poundbury area has plenty of narrow residential roads which are ideal for pulling over and the driving test manoeuvres. It’s on these roads that you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for any unexpected pedestrians and cyclists, not to mention changes in speed limit. The examiner will eventually move you closer to the centre of Dorchester itself which comes with tricky junctions, busier roads and challenging roundabouts (particularly along the A35). Don’t worry if it all sounds a bit overwhelming—your driving course will help you prepare!

If you’re looking for information regarding public transport, the weather or the history of Dorchester, have a gander at these resources:

• National Rail
• Bus
• Council
• BBC Weather
• More about Dorchester

Dorchester Test Route

No-one likes the unknown. That’s why so many learners try to look up their test routes. If you know the roads you’re supposed to head down, surely the test will be easier? Whether that’s the case or not, you, unfortunately, don’t get a choice here. The DVSA stopped publishing its routes in 2010, so you won’t be able to find your Dorchester test route. This actually works in your favour. It prevents you from spending too much time memorising routes, instead of ironing out your bad habits and flexing your driving skills. Of course, if you still want a sneak peek of what to expect, you can watch videos of Dorchester test routes on YouTube. Alternatively, you can try downloading our sample Dorchester driving test routes.

Dorchester Test Pass Rates

One of the biggest areas of interest for learner drivers happens to be an area that we’re also quite interested in: driving test pass rates. The minute that the DVSA updates its latest stats, we’re there—deep diving into all of the numbers so that we can uncover interesting trends. From how your transmission choice can affect your chances of passing to how your pass rate can vary by area, we’ve covered a range of interesting finds on the PassMeFast blog.

Of course, if you haven’t got the time for it, we’ll keep things short and sweet. Those in the UK currently have a 45.9% chance of passing their test. As for those heading over to Dorchester test centre, check out pass rates from the last five years in the table below...

2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
63.0%	62.6%	64.2%	62.4%	59.5%

Well, well, well. Dorchester’s certainly been knocking it out of the park lately! The test centres pass rates have been well above the national average and are sure to boost any learner’s confidence. Before you get too carried away, however, please remember that high pass rates aren’t a surefire way of knowing that you’ll pass. The best way to get the outcome you want is to keep building up your driving skills and experience.

What If I Can’t Go To Dorchester?

There are plenty of reasons why learners might want to switch test centres. If you’ve failed a test at a centre, for example, you might want a change in scenery. If you’re keen on taking your test as soon as possible, and skipping the long waiting times, casting your net wider by picking a backup test centre is also a good move to make. Whatever the reason is, there are plenty of alternative test centres to head to near the Dorchester area—the closest of which are Poole and Yeovil.

What To Expect On The Day

After all of the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into learning to drive, it’s finally time to take the dreaded driving test. Though it might be a terrifying prospect, try to bear in mind that this is the final hurdle in your learning journey. All you need to do is keep your cool and show the examiner that you’re a safe driver. Do that and you’re sure to get your hands on a full driving licence.

Speaking of licences, you’ll need to triple check that you have your provisional with you on your big day. If you forget it, you will not be allowed to take the test. You also won’t get the test fee back. To give yourself enough time to park the car and meet the examiner, you’ll need to get to Dorchester test centre 10 minutes before your appointment starts.

Your practical will follow this basic format:

• An eyesight test, where you’ll need to read a number plate from a distance of 20 metres
• Two “show me, tell me” questions covering vehicle safety and maintenance
• Twenty minutes of general driving, where you’ll be guided by the examiner, and will also need to perform one of the following manoeuvres:
  • Parallel parking
  • Bay parking
  • Pulling up on the right
• Twenty minutes of independent driving, during which you’ll either follow sat nav directions or sign posts to reach a set destination

After approximately 40 minutes, your test route will guide you back to Dorchester test centre. Though you’re probably dying to get your results immediately, you’ll have to hold your horses for a moment. The examiner will need a minute or so to tot up the faults you’ve accumulated (if any). Don’t worry if this all goes over your head. You’ll get a full breakdown of this on either a sheet or an email sent via the driving test app.

But What If I Fail?

Understandably, almost all learner drivers try to prepare for the worst case scenario: failing their driving test. We won’t lie to you. It’s a pretty disheartening experience to end up failing after putting in so much time and energy into learning to drive. Instead of dwelling on it, however, you need to get back behind the wheel and iron out the bad habits mentioned in your feedback sheet. If you need extra help with this, we’d recommend trying a refresher course with a local ADI.

Once you’re ready to take another test, why not book a fast-track practical test with PassMeFast? We’ll help you find a date that’s weeks, or even months ahead of standard waiting times! To get started, give us a call on 0333 123 4949, or contact us online.

Improve Your Chances With PassMeFast

If you want to give yourself the best chance possible of passing the driving test, it’s vital that you pick the right driving school. Rather than taking hourly lessons that are spaced apart by weeks, you might be better suited to an intensive or semi-intensive course. PassMeFast’s courses are designed to be completely flexible. No matter how busy you are, you and your instructor will work together to fit your lessons (that can be completed in 2 to 5 hour blocks) around your schedule. By the time your test rolls on by, you’ll know Dorchester like the back of your hand!

If this sounds like music to your ears, head on over to our course prices page to get a look at our tailored crash course packages. For in-depth descriptions and videos, have a gander at our driving courses rundown. Once you’ve picked a course out, you can book in online, or over the phone on 0333 123 4949.

If you’ve had driving experience in the past, it can be difficult to figure out how many more hours you need to get test-ready. Fortunately, our sales advisors are more than experienced in recommending the perfect number of course hours to learners. So, give them a bell and they’ll walk you through your options. Alternatively, answer a few simple questions and our course recommender will do the rest!