After 33 Attempts, 14 Instructors And 25 Years, Learner Driver Finally Pass His Driving Lesson! WOW

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

Christian Whiteley-Mason has taken 33 attempts, 14 different instructors, 85 lessons and left him over £10,000 out of pocket over a staggering 25 years to finally pass his driving test .

"I can't believe I've actually finally passed after all these years," said the care home manager. "I'm still in shock!"


Christian, 42, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, first took his test in 1992 in the days before the driving theory test was introduced but quickly racked up a succession of test fails.

Even his husband Darren, thought he'd never pass, joking with him 'You're an accident waiting to happen.'

christian doesn't need this anymore..

He said: "There was this one examiner at the Barnsley test centre who I used to pray I didn't get. She was notoriously tough and she failed me every time.

"I had 56 lessons with my first instructor and eventually he told me to just give up as I would never pass."

And by 2003 after Christian had failed his test a monumental 32 times, he admitted defeat and finally up on his dream of driving and decided it wasn't for him.

"I'd just had enough, I just thought I¹m never going to get it.," said Christian.

Even when he turned 40 and decided to give it another go, he had a few lessons but didn't stick with it long and never got as far as taking his test.

"I just got bored with it,"said Christian. "I couldn't see the point."

But Christian, who is celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary to Darren, has increasingly been required to travel for work was finding it more difficult to get by day-to-day without being able to drive.


It has taken Christan 25 years to pass his test (Photo: PA)
He said: "I had to either get taxis or rely on other people and it was costing me a fortune. So in January that was it, I just decided I was going to go for it.

"Everyone laughed at me and said I'd never do it, I'd get bored again. But I was absolutely determined I was going to show everyone."

Christian joked; "There must be a God because I prayed every night that I wouldn't get that same examiner who¹d kept failing me, and I didn't."

"Not only did he pass his first test but he only got marked down for three minor errors.

"You might say I passed first time this time. It was so hard. There's a lot more to it now then when I first started.

"There's the independent driving tests, the theory tests, the hazard perception test.

"I'm so proud of myself. It's changed my life to be honest. I felt like I'd achieved everything I really wanted to achieve, this was the one thing left I had to do.


"My motto was always been don¹t stop believing."

Christian has splashed out on a second hand Smart Car he's named Percy.

It's an automatic as Christian decided to opt for the automatic-only test.