Angola Practical Driving Test common mistakes
Angola Practical Driving Test · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Releasing the clutch too quickly or fully at a standstill on a slope, causing the engine to stall or the car to roll back before moving off.
Candidates learn the friction point on flat ground and never practise the clutch-bite-plus-handbrake sequence on an incline, so they panic when they feel the car roll.
What to do instead
Practise hill starts: handbrake on, find the biting point until the bonnet lifts slightly, add light throttle, then release the handbrake only when you feel the car pull forward. Repeat until it is automatic.
Coasting with the clutch pedal held down or the gearbox in neutral while approaching junctions and bends.
Learners believe coasting gives smoother, quieter control and delays choosing a gear, but it removes engine braking and reduces steering and braking response.
What to do instead
Brake in gear, then select the correct gear before the hazard (block gear changes are fine). Keep the clutch fully up except for the brief moment of the gear change.
Checking only the interior mirror before signalling, braking or changing lane, with no shoulder (blind-spot) glance.
The interior mirror leaves large blind spots on both rear quarters, and exam pressure narrows attention to what is straight ahead.
What to do instead
Use a fixed sequence every time: mirrors (interior then relevant side), signal, then a quick head-check over the shoulder before moving out. Make the head movement visible to the examiner.
Rolling through or ignoring a STOP line, or treating a red light as a give-way when the junction looks clear.
Candidates read the road situation instead of the sign or signal, and in light traffic they assume stopping is unnecessary.
What to do instead
Treat STOP as a full stop with the front wheels behind the line, then observe and proceed. At red lights, stop and stay stopped until green, regardless of traffic.
Entering a roundabout without giving way to traffic already circulating, or changing lane inside the roundabout without mirror and signal.
Learners focus on finding their exit and misjudge the speed of circulating vehicles approaching from the left.
What to do instead
Approach slowly, look right and give way to circulating traffic, choose the correct lane before entry, and signal left before your exit. Do not change lanes inside the roundabout.
Following the vehicle ahead too closely, especially at speeds above 60 km/h or in rain and dust.
Candidates match the lead car's speed by feel rather than by a time gap, and underestimate stopping distance at higher speed or on poor surfaces.
What to do instead
Use the two-second rule in dry conditions and at least four seconds in rain, dust or at night. Pick a roadside marker and count as the lead vehicle passes it before you reach it.
Reversing or parallel parking using only the mirrors, without turning the head to look through the rear window and check both sides.
Mirrors leave blind areas close to the rear corners, and candidates fixate on one reference point instead of scanning all around.
What to do instead
Before reversing, walk-check or scan all around, then reverse slowly with continuous all-round observation: rear window, both mirrors and a shoulder glance. Stop and re-check whenever unsure.
Failing to anticipate hazards such as pedestrians stepping out, motorbikes overtaking in gaps, or vehicles pulling out of side roads, and reacting late.
Learners watch only the car immediately ahead and do not scan far enough ahead or read cues like brake lights, pedestrians at the kerb or side-road noses.
What to do instead
Scan 12 to 15 seconds ahead, cover the brake near junctions and pedestrian areas, and plan an escape route. Name hazards aloud during practice to build the habit.
Driving with a warning light illuminated (oil pressure, temperature, battery, brake) or ignoring pre-check items like tyres, lights and fluid levels.
Candidates do not know what the dashboard symbols mean and assume the vehicle was checked by someone else.
What to do instead
Learn the main warning lights and their meanings. Do a walk-round check before driving: tyres and pressures, lights, fluid levels, and that no red warning light stays on after start-up.
Using the steering wheel with one hand, crossing arms on tight turns, or letting the wheel slip back without control after a turn.
Nervousness and low-speed manoeuvres lead to poor hand position, which reduces control and makes smooth correction difficult.
What to do instead
Keep both hands at roughly the ten-to-two or quarter-to-three position, use push-pull steering through bends, and feed the wheel back hand over hand after the turn.