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Woman travels 500 miles to take UK's 'easiest' driving test - but fails

24 October 2022, 16:28 | Updated: 25 October 2022, 06:31

"I was feeling confident. Especially after learning that Mull’s single roundabout would not be on the route!". Picture: Getty

Constance made the 10-hour trip from London to the Isle of Mull in the hope she'd pass second time around.

A woman desperate to pass her driving test drove from London to Scotland in a bid to beat what she believed was the UK's easiest examination – and still failed.

Constance Kampfner made the whopping 500-mile trip to the Isle of Mull, a small island off the west coast of Scotland, where the pass rate regularly sits at around 90%.

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The 10-hour long journey, which also included a ferry crossing, seemed like an adventure worth taking if it meant acing her time at the test centre and coming home with that sought-after certificate.

Not only did this particular part of the Inner Hebrides consist mainly of single-track roads but there was only one roundabout and nowhere to attempt parallel parking.

Unfortunately Constance failed her test for a second time. Picture: Getty

However her hopes and dreams came crashing down when the instructor announced at the end of her test that she had in fact failed once again.

Speaking about her crafty – but unsuccessful – plan, Constance told the Times: "I was determined I would pass my driving test the second time – I simply needed to optimise my chances.

"A quick Google search told me where I needed to go, the Isle of Mull. I booked for the earliest available date, in mid-December."

She added: "For their lessons, residents tend to head to Oban on the mainland, where the ferry to the island departs from.

"None of the instructors I got hold of fancied the trip, each warning me of high chances that my crossing would be cancelled in bad weather.

"I took to Facebook, where local paramedic Mairi took pity and offered her blue Mini," she added.

She frustratingly fell into the 10% who didn't make the cut. Picture: Getty

Constance continued: "I was feeling confident. Especially after learning that Mull’s single roundabout would not be on the route and that there was nowhere to parallel park."

"With its craggy mountains and lochs set against bracken and evergreen forests, Mull would be stunning at any time but under the sunlight it sparkled.

"One particular stretch of road along the seafront running towards Tobermory had me nearly toppling into the silvery water."

The stunning landscape and help from locals sparked confidence in the budding driver, who felt sure this was the perfect location to pass her test.

But the bad news came swiftly after she realised her examiner wouldn't make proper eye contact with her.

The instructor said: "I don’t like to talk about people who fail their tests. Think of it as just not passing."

Constance added: "He had mentioned a few times that I was straying too far into the middle of the road for his liking, but I had taken it to be friendly advice.

"Instead, it turned out to be my downfall."