*#@?£$&^£!

Date: 22 December 2006 20:49:29

To Croydon to sit the ADI Part 1. This is the Theory and Hazard Perception part of the qualifying process.

The Theory part of the test went like a dream I scored 93%, which was less than I'd hoped (and less than I scored last time) but still way above the required pass mark of 85%.

Next came the Hazard Perception Test. For this, you sit and watch a series of clips on the screen and click the mouse as you see a hazard developing. As a measure to control potential cheating, if you click continuously throughout the clip, you get a scary looking message at the end and lose any points for that clip.

So, the first few clips went OK. Then came a clip with what appeared to be a fast developing hazard. At the end of that clip I received the scary message with the big red "X" and the words "You responded in an unacceptable manner You will score 0 for this clip"

I was aware that I had clicked the mouse 3 times very quickly in succession, but even so was surprised to get this message at the end as I had been careful not to click repeatedky throughout the clip. Well, annoyed as I was, the way the test was going I figured I could afford to lose a potential 5 points and I carried on, being very careful not to click too rapidly, so I was gobsmacked when the same thing happened again about 4 clips later. Again, I hadn't been clicking repeatedly throughout but only as I saw a hazard develop. This time I hadn't been clicking rapidly, but it seems that the clicks were deemed to be "too evenly spaced". ( I wonder what would happen if I was driving, and my actual reactions to a real hazard were deemed to be "too evenly spaced"). Once this had happened twice I realised that having lost a potential of 10 points it was unlikely I would pass. I was right. Oh well, that's another 50 quid the DSA will make out of me.

On checking the DSA website, it seems I'm not alone in this and found a document with a Q&A about the Hazard Perception test. The reply is somewhat <a href="
http://www.dsa.gov.uk/download.asp?path=/Documents/FOI/HPT/IA00024PA.pdf"_blank">non committal on the subject.

It's bad enough failing when I know I should have passed. What's even worse is the implication of cheating.