Gambia Driving Test common mistakes
Gambia Driving Test · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating a police officer's hand signal as subordinate to the traffic light and continuing through a junction on green while an officer waves traffic to a stop.
Candidates memorise the light sequence in isolation and never learn the hierarchy of signals, so under pressure they fall back on the light they were watching rather than the officer controlling the scene.
What to do instead
Learn the rule as a ranked list: officer's signals override traffic lights, which override signs, which override road markings. Practise by sketching a junction with a green light and an officer signalling stop, and state aloud which instruction wins and why.
Reading a road marking as permission when it is a restriction, for example crossing a continuous centre line to overtake, or stopping inside a yellow box junction when the exit is blocked.
Markings are learned as pictures without the accompanying rule, and in a still diagram a continuous line looks much like a broken one, so recall collapses under exam pressure.
What to do instead
For each marking, learn the rule sentence attached to it, not just its shape: solid centre line means no crossing, box junction means do not enter unless your exit is clear. Build a two-column table of marking versus permitted action and test yourself on the rule column only.
Approaching a roundabout and either stopping unnecessarily when the way is clear, or entering without giving way to traffic already circulating from the right.
Candidates confuse give-way with stop, and many have practised at quiet junctions where no circulating vehicle ever appeared, so the give-way judgement was never exercised.
What to do instead
Learn the fixed sequence: decide on approach which exit you want, select the lane, give way to traffic from the right already on the roundabout, then proceed without stopping if clear. Practise the sequence verbally at three different roundabout layouts, including one where your exit is past the halfway point.
Failing to reduce speed and prepare to stop for a pedestrian already on a zebra crossing, or for a school crossing patrol showing a stop sign.
Candidates treat crossings as advisory markings and underestimate how early a stop must begin, especially where visibility of the crossing is limited by parked vehicles.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed approach routine: scan for crossing markings well ahead, cover the brake, check both sides for waiting pedestrians, and stop before the markings if anyone is on or stepping onto the crossing. Rehearse the routine on foot at a real crossing so the stopping point becomes visual memory.
Being unable to state which documents must be carried or produced when stopped, and confusing the roles of registration, roadworthiness certificate, insurance and driving licence.
Documentation is learned as a list of names without the purpose of each, and candidates who have never been through a roadside check have no mental picture of what is actually demanded.
What to do instead
Learn each document by the question it answers: who may drive (licence), is the vehicle registered and to whom (registration), is it mechanically fit (roadworthiness or inspection certificate), and who pays for damage to others (third-party insurance). Then state which must be valid at the moment of driving and which can be produced later.
Following the vehicle ahead too closely in rain or on unpaved roads, using a fixed gap that was learned for dry tarmac.
Candidates memorise a single following distance in metres and never learn it as a time gap, so they cannot scale it when grip and stopping distance change.
What to do instead
Learn the gap as seconds, not metres: pick a roadside object, count the time between the vehicle ahead passing it and your own vehicle reaching it, and require at least double the dry-weather count in rain or on loose surfaces. Practise the count as a passenger until it becomes automatic.
During a pre-drive check, looking at the tyres and lights but not actually testing them, for example failing to check tyre tread and pressure when cold, or not confirming that brake, indicator and head lights all function.
Candidates treat the check as a visual ritual to be performed for the examiner rather than a fault-finding procedure, so they glance rather than test.
What to do instead
Convert the check into a physical sequence with an action for each item: walk around and press each indicator and light in turn while watching the reflection or asking an assistant, press the tyre with a gauge rather than a glance, and check fluid levels with the engine cold. Say each item aloud as you do it.
At the scene of a collision, moving an injured casualty or leaving the scene before exchanging particulars, because of panic or fear of blame.
Candidates have rehearsed the driving task but never rehearsed the after-crash task, so the first minutes are governed by adrenaline and there is no learned script to follow.
What to do instead
Memorise a short ordered script: stop and secure the scene, switch on hazard lights and place a warning triangle where safe, check for injuries and call emergency services, do not move casualties unless there is immediate danger such as fire, then exchange names, addresses, vehicle details and insurance information. Recite the script until it can be produced without prompting.
Believing that a small amount of alcohol or a short night's sleep is acceptable because the driver feels alert, and being unable to state the legal alcohol limit or the signs of fatigue.
Impairment is judged by subjective feeling rather than by a rule, and candidates often do not know the legal threshold or that fatigue effects resemble alcohol effects in reaction time.
What to do instead
Learn the legal position as a fixed rule rather than a judgement call, and learn the fatigue signs to self-check: yawning, heavy eyelids, drifting within the lane, missing signs. Pair this with the practical remedy for fatigue, which is to stop and rest, not to open a window or turn up the radio.
On a motorcycle, riding in the centre of the lane or in a vehicle's blind spot, and braking on a wet surface using only the front brake.
Riders transfer car habits to two wheels, where lane position controls visibility and escape space, and where brake balance determines whether the machine stays upright.
What to do instead
Learn lane position as a deliberate choice: ride where the driver ahead can see you in the mirror and where you have an escape path, avoiding the oily centre strip. Learn braking as a progressive application of both brakes, with more front than rear, practised at low speed on a clean surface before relying on it in the wet.