Pass Your Driving Test
Portsmouth
Driving Test Routes
Portsmouth Practical Driving Test Centre
If you are planning on taking your practical driving test at the Portsmouth test centre you won’t find it too much trouble to locate it. Situated on James Callaghan Drive opposite Fort Southwick, the test centre is in close proximity to the M27 and around 20 minutes away from the centre of Portsmouth itself. We suggest getting to know your chosen test centre a bit better? The best way to do this is by reading our guide below. We will take you through directions, pass rates, test routes and much more!
Address
Opposite Fort Southwick, James Callaghan Drive, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO17 6AR
Tests Offered at Portsmouth
- Car
- ADI part 3
Parking
There are parking spaces available at this centre
Toilets
Male and female toilets are available
Disabled Access
Arrangements will be made at this test centre if you have a disability
Phone Number
0239 2385225
Check out the gov.uk – ‘book your driving test’ service for availability.
Directions to get to Portsmouth Practical Driving Test Centre
If you are not familiar with the area the best route to the test centre is to head towards Portsmouth on either the A3(M) or the M27, however do not go into Portsmouth as the test centre is situated about 20 mins outside of Portsmouth on the scenic Portsdown Hill B2177 James Callaghan Drive overlooking the city of Portsmouth. Here are the best directions to get there
What to expect on your practical driving test at Portsmouth
This is the day and finally you are ready to take your practical driving test! Of course you will be feeling a little nervous? you don’t need to be, the examiner is just going to be observing you driving safely, and the test is very straight forward and shouldn’t be anything new to you.
On the day of the test you just need to be at Portsmouth DVSA Driving Test Centre 10 mins before your test, making sure you have your Provisional Driving License with you. The test will be as follows.
- An eyesight test, you’ll need to read a number plate from a distance of 20 metres.
- One “tell me” questions covering vehicle safety and maintenance. (click here)
20 minutes of general driving, where you’ll be following instructions from the driving test examiner, and will also need to perform one of the following manoeuvres
One “show me” questions covering vehicle controls, this will be asked while you are driving along. (click here)
- 20 minutes of independent driving, you will either follow sat nav directions or sign posts to reach a set destination
- You may also be asked to perform an emergency stop.
Once you get back to Portsmouth driving test centre, you’ll find out if all of your hard work has paid off. The examiner will tell you the result and give you some feedback which will contain any faults you might have accumulated. If you pass, the examiner will also give you a test pass certificate and the opportunity to send off for your new licence then and there. The full test report will be sent to you via the email that you provided when you booked your driving test.
More details can be found Here
More about Portsmouth
If you’re to be a qualified driver in the Portsmouth area, be prepared to face a variety of difficult traffic conditions and road types. Whilst the driving examiner isn’t looking to fail you, their job is to make sure that you are actually ready to remove the L plates. As such, they’ll take you through a thorough test to see if you can handle safely all of the challenges Portsmouth has to offer. With a variety of dual carriageways, residential roads, and congested areas, you’ll also need to be at ease with responding to different speed limits.
Want to be more familiar with Portsmouth? here are some useful links below.
Driving Test Routes
Having local knowledge of the test area will give you a great advantage when it comes to taking your driving test. The DVSA does not make test routes public however, The test routes available on our site are the knowledge gained from local driving instructors who are able to either sit in on lessons or can track their cars whilst they are out on test. They are all current routes that can be used by the DVSA examiners. Downloading the test routes yourself if you have someone else that you can practise driving with will be a huge advantage and potentially save you a considerable amount of money and possibly speed up the time it will take to pass your test.
We are so confident in the quality of our test routes we always offer a free sample of one of the routes for you to take look at and practice before buying the full pack of routes – click HERE for a FREE Portsmouth Driving Test Route
Portsmouth Practical Driving Test Centre - Pass Rates
| 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 |
| 44.46 % | 47.18 % | 53.29 % | 50.42 % | 49.38 % |
What If I Fail?
It can be very upsetting to not pass your driving test, but as you can see from the figures above that quite a few people do not pass their driving test immediately, it may take them several attempts. Don’t be disheartened by this and take the time to do further practise and seek professional advice from an instructor if you feel it is nessasary.
Once you feel ready to take your test you can re-book through the gov.uk – ‘book your driving test’ service additionally, you can use various websites/apps to find earlier cancellation appointments the one we recommend is below
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