Your theory test is like coming face to face with the final boss of a video game for the first time, all that hard work and crafting has come to this moment, and now do you go on to triumphant Victory, or will you be seeing that game over screen?

Well, according to Department of Transport (DfT) statistics, you may be seeing that game over screen more times than you may like, and that is because the number of learner drivers passing car theory test plummets to lowest level in more than a decade.

And, just like most final bosses in video games, it seems the reason for this mass failure is due to the fact that the difficulty level of the theory test has been cranked up to a strenuous magnitude.

Over the last decade, there have been a whole host of reforms in order to toughen up the theory test which was introduced as a separate part of the test in 1977. Some of these changes that have been implemented over the years have included multiple choice questions, including hazard perception questions.

The number of multiple-choice questions has also increased from 35 to 50.

Another stumbling block for learner drivers has been the stopping of the publication of theory test questions in advance online, to prevent test takers memorising the questions beforehand.

As it stands, learner drivers must answer 43 questions correctly out of the 50 questions available in order to pass.

For the hazard perception part, they need to get 44 out of 75.

Learners must pass the theory test before sitting the practical exam.

However, practice theory tests for learner drivers are available, and gives learners the opportunities to take a practice run before they sit down for the real exam at a theory test centre.

Stuck on the first hurdle? Go on a theory test practice run HERE.