What to expect on your practical driving test in Malta

Test-day nerves usually come from the unknown. So let us remove the unknown: here is exactly how the Transport Malta practical test runs, step by step, so you can walk in knowing precisely what is coming.

Before you drive: the checks

The examiner begins with a quick look over the vehicle. If the car is not roadworthy — expired road tax, damaged tyres, a broken light — the test will not go ahead, so make sure your training car is in order.

Then comes the eyesight check: you will be asked to read a number plate from 20.5 metres. This is not a formality — if you cannot read it, the test is stopped and recorded as a fail. If you wear glasses or lenses for driving, wear them.

Safety questions

Next are two safety-check questions — a "show me, tell me" on things like how you would check the brakes or a fluid level, asked in or beside the car before you set off. Your instructor will have drilled these with you.

The drive

The heart of the test is a minimum of 25 minutes of road driving. The examiner is watching for smooth, safe, aware driving: good observation and mirror use, correct positioning, sensible speed for the conditions, and confident handling of Malta's roundabouts and junctions.

The manoeuvres

You will be asked to perform set manoeuvres. One parking exercise is obligatory, plus one of either a turn-in-the-road or a straight reverse. An emergency stop or a left/right reverse may also be included.

For the turn-in-the-road, you steer the car to face the opposite way using forward and reverse gears — ideally in three turns, up to five — without touching the kerb or mounting the pavement.

How you are marked

Examiners record faults in three grades:

• Minor — a small error that does not create danger; a few will not fail you
• Grievous — a serious mistake
• Perilous — a dangerous fault

You will get the result and an explanation at the end.

The test is not designed to catch you out. It is a check that you can drive safely and independently — which, by the time your instructor puts you forward, you can.

Prepare properly, treat it as a normal drive with a passenger, and let your training do the work.