Everything about the test itself – questions, error points, duration, validity, how to register in each canton – is on the main page Theory test Switzerland; for revision: the best apps compared.
We are often asked what the five most common mistakes in the theory test are. After a good deal of research and a lot of conversations, we have gathered the most frequent reasons in the article below. If you avoid the following mistakes, you will very probably pass the theory test at the first attempt.
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1. Too little preparation
Too little preparation, or the wrong kind, is often the reason why someone fails the theory test. How to prepare properly is explained in the article «Tips for the theory test». With the theory test you can judge very well yourself whether you have revised enough and are ready. If you are not, and go to the appointment anyway, it is not only the missing knowledge that stands in your way but also the nervousness, stress and doubt that come with it. So you are making it needlessly twice as hard for yourself.
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2. Don’t listen to other people
We have all heard the stories: a friend who passed the theory test first time with not a single mistake, without revising for so much as a second. There are certainly always a few exceptionally gifted people, but in the vast majority of cases it is simply someone who wants to look good in front of their friends. There is nothing at all wrong with that. You should just not take such claims too literally and assume that you will sail through the theory test without revising. The odds are that this friend revised like everyone else, and perhaps made the odd mistake in the test as well.
So don’t let others influence you, and revise until you feel ready. Better to revise properly once and pass the theory test at the first attempt. That costs less and saves time and nerves too.
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3. The wrong revision material or software
The choice of learning software – app, online on the computer or on CD-ROM – is decisive for passing the Swiss theory test. The range of different programmes and providers is very large, and a wrong decision is quickly made. So that this does not happen and you find the right revision material for you, we have compared and rated all the official learning programmes and software. See: «Theory providers compared».
This decision should not be made on price alone. The cheapest is not necessarily the right one for everyone. And don’t forget, the cost of such a programme is no great sum when set against the whole road to your driving licence. Save your money somewhere where it makes a bigger difference.
Above all, do not rely on the free theory programmes floating about somewhere on the internet. They are completely out of date, mostly do not work, are trial versions of something or other, or leave out topics or contain wrong questions.
Revise only with the original questions and with a proper app or piece of software. You are doing yourself a favour.
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4. Sitting the theory test without a strategy
These mistakes happen very quickly if you have not thought out a strategy for the theory test beforehand. These five mistakes are:
Starting without a plan
Get an overview first and don’t simply start filling in the theory test aimlessly. You will only do yourself harm. At the beginning of the test it is important to be clear about the rules and the requirements. You don’t want to notice halfway through that you have answered half the test the wrong way.
No time management
Good time management is essential for getting through the theory test successfully. Always keep an eye on the clock. Don’t worry, you have more than enough time. You have to answer 50 questions in 45 minutes. That means you have a little under a minute per question. Answer the questions briskly and don’t get stuck on the ones you are unsure about. When you reach the end of the test, you can go back to the questions you have not answered yet or are unsure about.
Not reading the questions properly
If you don’t read the questions properly it will be hard to answer them properly. You will certainly have to read one or two of them more than once to be sure you have understood them correctly. You have enough time, so take it.
Using multiple choice wrongly
At the start in particular this point is easily forgotten. The theory test in Switzerland is a multiple-choice test. That means more than one answer can be right.
Filling it in too fast
This mistake also has to do with time management (see point 2). As already mentioned, you have 45 minutes. So use them. There is nothing to be gained from handing in the theory test as quickly as possible and running the risk of having made a lot of careless slips because you did not take the time to go through the test a second time.
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5. Too much pressure
It is no disgrace not to pass the theory test at the first attempt. So don’t put yourself under too much pressure. You can repeat the theory test as often as you like, at intervals of 14 days. You do have to pay the test fee again each time, though. Prepare well and with the right theory programme, and you will pass without difficulty at the first attempt. I have no doubt about that. And if it does not work out, at least you will have a picture of what the test is like, which will help you at the second attempt.
On the ASA website you will find further important information about the theory test!