A WOMAN who “catastrophically failed” her driving test finally passed using a clever hack.
Emma Cannon, 22, from Wiltshire, broke down in tears after going over the speed limit during her first attempt in her hometown of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
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The singer, otherwise known as Elkie, failed her test with three majors and thought she would “never pass” – until she worked out the way to success.
Elkie went online to research the place in the UK with the highest pass rate, which turned out to be Dorchester, Dorset, which is 65 miles away from her home town.
The determined learner driver booked her test in Dorchester through the test cancellation app, and drove the 1hr 45min journey with her mum to stay the night before.
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.
“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.”
According to Elkie, things when from bad to worse when she was given parallel parking as her manoeuvre.
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.”
According to Elkie, she burst into tears but had to carry on the test, adding: “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 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.”
Elkie also ended up speeding in a 30mph area during her test and failed with three majors.
She said: “She told me I failed but had no emotion and didn’t seem to care.”
After her horrible experience she swore that she would not return to Chippenham test centre.
She set about looking into which area in the UK had the highest pass rate, and after a quick google search discovered it was Dorchester, Dorset – a two hour drive away.
Elkie took her second test in February, 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.”
According to the new driver, she only received two minors – one for not knowing where the break fluid went and one for not looking for long enough when turning onto a dual carriageway.
She suggested being in an unfamiliar location actually helped her to pass.
Elkie said: “I think in a new area, you have to read the signs and road more.
“I wasn’t in my head so much as I was having to pay attention.”
For her manoeuvre, Elkie was asked to forward park into a bay.
“It was the best parking I have ever done,” she said.
Elkie was over the moon when the test instructor told her she had passed.
She said: “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.
“In my first test I could barely speak and I was in tears.
“If that was a real life scenario, you wouldn’t continue to drive.”
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