Question: I’m confident in my driving abilities, but there’s no way I’ll get a perfect score on my driving test. How many mistakes can I make on my Illinois driving test?
Answer: Most driving tests across the nation have two components: a written exam and a road test. You will need to pass the written exam before you are allowed to schedule your road test. However, rest assured that a perfect exam score is not required in Illinois or any other state. Even if you do not pass either your written or driving test the first time, most states allow you to retake the test.
Requirements before taking the road test in Illinois
Before you even worry about the test make sure that your car has all of these required equipment. According to the Illinois driver’s handbook, these are required to take the test:
- Working brakes and parking brake that can hold a car from rolling downhill
- Two headlights; must be used from sunset to sunrise and in rain, snow or fog.
- Two red taillights
- Turn signals on the front and rear
- White license plate light
- Front and rear parking lights
- Two sets of safety belts in the front seat
- One rearview mirror
- Approved safety glass for all windows; free of snow, ice or obstructions. No tint on the front windshield except for a 6-inch strip at the top.
- Operational wipers
- Horn
- Muffler
- Front and rear bumpers
Your car must also be properly insured, have valid front and rear plates and must be in the same weight class as the license you are seeking.
Automatic fails
You cannot make any mistake that counts as a traffic violation or do a dangerous action. These will result in an instant fail, meaning you will have to retake the test, no matter how well you drive for the rest of the test. There is a seven-day waiting period between tests. You can take the test up to three times in a one-year period, and if you do not pass, you will need to get your permit extended.
Some common mistakes that lead to instant fails include:
- Rolling stops
- Driving too fast or slow
- Failing to signal
- Fail to check blindspot
These are the elements that you will be tested on according to the driver’s handbook:
- Checking the vehicle controls, including the parking brake and mirrors. You must make all adjustments to seats, safety belts, mirrors and other equipment before the vehicle is put into motion.
- Backing the vehicle approximately 50 feet at a slow speed, straight and smoothly. Turn your head to the right and watch to the rear when performing this maneuver.
- Performing a turnabout using an alley on the left side of the street. Turn your left signal on before turning into the alley, back the car out of the alley and stay on your side of the street.
- Parking uphill on the side of the road.
- Starting uphill from a parked position.
- Parking downhill on the side of the road.
- Starting downhill from a parked position.
- Controlling your vehicle by obeying all traffic signs. This includes controls devices, rights of way, lane markings and properly using turn signals.
Remember, driving tests have some standards that you might forget in normal driving. For example the driver’s official workbook states that you should look over your right shoulder when backing up.
How many questions can you get wrong on your drivers test?
Illinois’s written exam consists of 35 questions – 15 traffic sign identification,and the rest of the 20 will either be multiple choice or true-false questions. You can see some practice questions in the official workbook.
The government does not say how many mistakes you can make, however a driving school has said that you must pass 80 percent of it which means you can only make seven mistakes.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Ashley Eneriz is an editor and finance writer with over 15 years of experience in a wide range of financial topics, including car loans and insurance. In editing for Jerry, Ashley aims to make all car material reader-friendly for both the new driver and car enthusiast alike. Prior to joining Jerry, Ashley was the financial deputy editor for ConsumerAffairs. Her work is featured on Forbes, Yahoo, MSN, The Hartford and more.
