What kind of show-me, tell-me questions will you be asked?

The examiner will ask you one show-me and one tell-me question during your driving test. Ask your instructor how to do all the checks.

List of tell-me questions for the driving exam

The tell-me question is done before the test:

1. Tell me how you would check the brakes are working before starting a journey
2. Tell me where you’d find the car’s recommended tyre pressures and how you’d check each tyre
3. Tell me how you’d make sure your head restraint is correctly adjusted so it provides the best protection
4. Tell me how you’d check the tyres have sufficient tread depth and are in a safe condition
5. Tell me how you’d check the headlights and taillights are working
6. Tell me how you’d know if there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system
7. Tell me how you’d check the indicators are working
8. Tell me how you’d check the brake lights are working
9. Tell me how you’d check the power steering is working before starting a journey
10. Tell me how you’d switch on the rear fog lights and explain when you’d use them
11. Tell me how you switch your headlight from dipped to main beam and explain how you know the main beam is on
12. Open the bonnet and tell me how you’d check the engine has sufficient oil
13. Open the bonnet and tell me how you’d check the engine has sufficient engine coolant
14. Open the bonnet and tell me how you’d check that you have a safe level of hydraulic brake fluid

Watch the video for the answers of the tell-me questions.

List of show-me questions for the driving exam

You’ll do one of these while you are driving.

1. When it’s safe, show me how you’d wash and clean the rear windscreen
2. When it’s safe, show me how you’d wash and clean the front windscreen
3. When it’s safe, show me how you’d switch on your dipped headlights
4. When it’s safe, show me how you’d set the rear demister
5. When it’s safe, show me how you’d operate the horn
6. When it’s safe, show me how you’d demist the front windscreen
7. When it’s safe, show me how you’d open and close the side window
8. Watch the video for the answers to the show-me questions.

Every car is different so make sure that if you’re using a car you’re unfamiliar with on your driving test that you have learned how to respond to these questions. Things to look out for are differences in how the windscreen wipers and headlights work (which side are the stalks on), and whether the car has a button for instantly clearing the front windscreen.

By Darren Cottingham

Darren has owned several companies in the automotive, advertising and education industries. He has run driving theory educational websites since 2010.