Today was my first driving test in Iizuka, Japan and I could not pass the test.
My question is that I dont speak japanese so I didnt know why I couldn’t pass the test
At the end of the test, the police officer told me something in japanese that I couldnt understand then he wrote “speed up” on a paper.
So what does it mean? I was too slow or too fast???
He didnt let me to complete the test. Before to go to Z area he told me to park the car. As Far as I know, I did pretty well.
17 comments
If you couldn’t understand what they said and have no way of telling us what they said, I think we could not either…
Speed up could mean both, for a broken english. What was your speed when driving on straight sections / normal bends?
How in the world is anybody but you going to know why you failed the test
Next time put your smartphone to record the audio. Listening to what he spoke would help to understand.
Were you driving slowly?
The test is notorious for failing people even if they do everything right. It’s a cheap way of getting the license without going to school. Schools cost quite a bit. Understanding Japanese is a separate issue but you never know , you may or may not have done something wrong. I had a similar experience. I couldn’t even finish after some mistakes. Honestly the stress of just taking the test . I’d rather go to school.
It’s impossible to know why they failed you without hearing the comments, but the safe way to pass the tests is to do hand gestures.
Look into the back mirror? Gesture. Look at the airways mirrors? Gestur. Looking at the left back windows when making a left turn? Gesture. This way you ensure you do every dance move and they see it clearly.
Did they give you an instruction sheet? Usually you have to follow it to the dot. If they tell you to go 40, go 40.
Took me 4 tries to pass.
You sure it was a police officer? I thought it was the license center that does this stuff.
If you don’t go through a driving school, they often will deliberately fail people multiple times. It’s one of the few dodgy things about Japan like stealing umbrellas or bicycles.
When I took my test one person failed before they put the car in D. They did not adjust the mirror. It’s tough out there. Sounds like you were driving too slow. Speed limits are posted on the course.
Let me tell you a funny story I failed the test twice for my speed. Once was too slow and once was too fast both times I was doing the same speed.
They’re not going to tell you what you did wrong if speed is the problem.
You probably didn’t get close to curb while turning (even around bends). Or didn’t yield at the nonexistent invisible hedge that is magically there. You also lose points if you don’t cross your arms. Did you check the car before getting in (each prefecture is different Gunma: just get in, Tokyo: crouch down and check under the car.)
Did you double check before changing lanes, did you remember the course? Did you remember to check before going on to the road? Did you do the V check?
Keep at it, and you’ll pass eventually. However, it’ll be a lot easier if you are able to find out why you failed. Try these things:
a. try to remember the sounds of what you heard and repeat them to a friend who speaks Japanese. The friend might be able to translate (after guessing) what you heard.
b. remember exactly what you were doing when you failed: I failed for a couple of things, including having the front of my car (but not the tires) over the white stop line and brushing a 2-cm-high curb.
Treat the driving test as a cheap driving school, and you’ll be fine.
Here is a link to a menu for different services in your area.
[https://www-police-pref-fukuoka-jp.j-server.com/LUCPPF/ns/tl.cgi/https://www.police.pref.fukuoka.jp/koutsu-anzen/01.html?SLANG=ja&TLANG=en&XMODE=0&XPARAM=sw,&XCHARSET=UTF-8&XPORG=,&XJSID=0](https://www-police-pref-fukuoka-jp.j-server.com/LUCPPF/ns/tl.cgi/https://www.police.pref.fukuoka.jp/koutsu-anzen/01.html?SLANG=ja&TLANG=en&XMODE=0&XPARAM=sw,&XCHARSET=UTF-8&XPORG=,&XJSID=0)
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Check the driving center links on that page. You will some information about practicing for the test and renting their vehicles and course open times. The course car rental is about 2000 yen per hour (it looks like, I could be wrong). I passed the third time after telling the examiner that I had practiced over the course of three weekends (as he had recommended). I also drove the course pretty much the same way all three times (my father-in-law coached me as to what to expect though). I found out that , at least in my area, the only ones who take the driving test are the foreign nationals who refuse to go to diving school (and pay 300,000 to 400,000 yen for the privilege) and Japanese drivers who have lost their licenses because of violations or drink driving, which is what they so strict.
And, you can purchase a few hours of practice and training from a driving school for a reasonable amount, and that may help. Don’t feel bad, we have all gone through it, failed a few times, but eventually we made it. Good luck.
First of all, it’s not just a driving test, but a driving **skills** test. They don’t just test you when you are driving, the test is already begun *before your even enter the car*. It is said that this is the hardest driving test in the world. You need actual preparation and proper training to pass. A lot of foreigner will take the test 4-6 times until the examiner gave up and just took a pity on the examinee.
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The most proper way to prepare is to search driving school in your area and ask if they offer training classes to prepare for the license conversion test. A class is about 10.000-15.000 JPY for 2 hours in my area. Some people will only need 1 class, some people need multiple classes. As you don’t speak Japanese, bring a Japanese friend with you.
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Read the Bible on driving in Japan, the “Rules of The Road” by JAF (Japan Automobile Federation). Every single theory is there, and if you read it carefully, you will know where you make your mistakes. **Do not skim the book.** It’s very meticulous and you skim the details, you will learn nothing from the book. For example, you need to be able to turn on your signal exactly 30 meters from before your turn, not sooner or later. Then, you need to execute a maneuver to shield your car from possible cyclist.
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As I said earlier, the test is already began before you enter the car. They check whether you checked the surroundings of the car before entering, they check how you go from the left-side of the car to the right-side of car. They check how you turn on the car, they check how fast you change your gaze, they check the order you see your mirrors.
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If you do not want to spend money at all (or have no opportunity to attend driving lessons), you can watch youtube, already plenty of tutorials in English. SoraNews24 also has a series about a journalist’s struggle with the test, he explained quite clearly what you do.
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Practice, study, practice, study, and face the next test with new confidence. Failure is common, do not give up and good luck on your next one.
I also drove in Japan for many years before I got my Japanese license and still failed the driver’s test. The driving center offered a 2 lesson crash course for 5000yen I believe. It helped me a lot in memorizing the 2 courses and all the tiny things like walking around the car, etc. I aced the 2nd time. Does your driving center offer the crash course?
Both my mom (non Japanese) and my sister (Japanese but grew up in a different country) failed their driving test twice and finally passed the third time. They said the police officer will check everything even before you ride and start the car. Meaning, if you looked left and right before opening the car door, if you adjusted or checked all your mirrors, seatbelt, everything has an order for them. It is very めんどくさい but you gotta do what you gotta do.
In drivings school they teach us lock the door-adjust the seat-mirror-seatbelt. They’re also very strict when it comes to looking at your side mirror, rear mirror and turning your head to actually look at the side your going to turn before making the turn. About speed, just keep an eye for the speed limit or the required speed for that road and follow it.
Good luck!!!
Man I must be lucky, I studied for two weeks before trying to get my license here and passed the driving test my first try. Pretty common sense after you learn the rules. You must have been doing something drastically wrong for them to tell you to stop before the test was even finished.
I would always advice people just spend the extra on driving school if they can afford the time and money.
My co-worker took his first Karimen test before I even started driving school but I got my license two weeks ago and he just failed his 4th attempt at the karimen. The time and stress is not worth saving the money never mind the fact license center is only open on weekdays so you have to take time off work every single time.
All in all I spent 330,000 on driving school (which included priority lesson booking and test fees) and so glad I did.
What they keep telling my co-worker is that his positioning is not good and drives too far on the left.