Before you can apply for or take your practical driving test you will need to take and pass the theory test. (You can not even book a date for your practical test until this has been passed.) The theory test has two elements, a series of multiple choice questions and a hazard perception test. In order to pass the test you must pass both of these elements at the same time. If you fail the questions but pass the hazard perception, or vice versa, then you will fail the whole test.
The Questions
You will have to answer 50 multiple choice questions covering a range of driving related topics. You will have 57 minutes in which to answer the questions. The pass mark is 43 out of 50. The test is taken on a touch screen computer. Each question will appear with a choice of possible answers, you will need to touch the computer screen corresponding to the answer you wish to choose. For some questions you will need to select more than one answer but this will be clearly stated, ie, mark one answer, mark three answers. You have the option to flag questions you are not sure about and return to them later in the tsest. At the end of the test you
The hazard perception test
After the break you will be shown a short tutorial video clip about how the hazard perception test works. You will be show a series of 14 video clips which feature every day road scenes. In each clip there will be at least one developing hazard, but one of the clips will feature two developing hazards. You will need to click the mouse button every time you see a hazard which would cause you as a the driver to take some kind of avoiding action, eg. slow down. You will be scored on how quickly you respond to the hazards. The maximum you can score on each hazard is five. This would be for the earliest possible response to a hazard and the score will decrease the longer you take to respond right down to 0 for a response which is too late.
In order to pass the hazard perception part of the theory test is you will need to score 44 out of a possible 75 marks.