Hey Congrats!! How good does it feel to have some freedom! how was your test? it looks like botany has a way better pass rate than maroubra...who was your rta instructor? i think i had alex.. he was really nice
It feels awesome! I don't remember the name of mine, but he was quite nice too. While I was there waiting to be called, he passed a girl and another instructor failed some other girl. so maybe he's just super nice? haha who knows.
gummie - I got to overhear why the girl who failed did so though, apparently she was driving WAY too slowly, ran a yellow light (which the instructor quite sarcastically and harshly pointed out was contradictory to her driving slowly) and missed too many observation checks...so yeah keep that in mind. It was quite useful overhearing that right before my test too...hehe
Also, I did a reverse parallel park and a kerb side stop for mine, so I guess you should take that into account. I did the reverse parallel very soon into the test too, practically as soon as I turned into Mascot from Botany rd, which I was not expecting so just be mindful of that.
In the back streets of Mascot and Botany, be careful of the lane markings. Sometimes they are solid until only a few metres away from an intersection, so be sure not to cross them until then.
And yeah the stop sign is still there.
The other thing is even if you think you've failed like I did, keep your confidence up and relax. Slow down when there are hazards (like for me, a dog running onto the road amongst many other things), but don't just stop in the middle of the road, keep moving slowly, checking your rearview mirror for people behind you.
Aside from nearly ruining the reverse parallel and not turning into the right street that my instructor had requested (I thought I failed because of this! but it was fine because it was a one-off and a genuine mistake, I honestly couldn't see the street that the instructor wanted me to turn into and I guess he was quite sympathetic too), everything else was really easy. Just be confident and relax!
Oh and another thing...on my way home I inadvertently followed someone else who was doing their test for the first bit of it....they went up Botany rd towards the city, and then left eventually into some side street in Mascot. so yeah maybe practise in that area too...