![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEC_301772424-95e2.jpg\")
\n\t\tTop Gear star James May went up against a 2026 driving test (Picture: @JamesMayPlanetGin)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tTop Gear star James May went up against a 2026 driving test (Picture: @JamesMayPlanetGin)<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a habitual driving test failer, wondering where on earth you keep going wrong, then fret not, you\u2019re in good company. <\/p>\n
In the 21st century, getting your hands on that pink piece of plastic is no mean feat. There\u2019s the two-part theory test, the dog-eat-dog test booking system, and, the cherry on top, the tense 45-minute test that will inevitably involve the world\u2019s most complicated nine-lane roundabout. <\/p>\n
All this to say that, even Top Gear<\/a> and Grand Tour<\/a> host James May<\/a>, whose entire professional career has centred around\u2026 driving, failed a modern-day driving test.<\/p>\n Yes, you read that correctly. <\/p>\n The veteran driver, who, happily for him, already secured his driving licence in the considerably more relaxed 80s, decided to give the current version a go for the sake of it, and didn\u2019t quite make the cut.<\/p>\n In a new video on his YouTube<\/a> channel, James May\u2019s Planet Gin<\/a>, he was let loose on the roads in Salisbury and Wilton.<\/p>\n \t\t As the 63-year-old explained to viewers: \u2018Now, I do of course already have a licence. It was 1980 when I last took a test, and things have moved on a lot since then; the test is apparently very different.<\/p>\n \u2018I haven\u2019t revised for it. I haven\u2019t learnt anything about it. I\u2019m just going to do it and see if I can pass.\u2019<\/p>\n A rookie error.<\/p>\n In the end, his downfall was speeding twice, once at 46mph in a 40mph zone and again<\/p>\n at 33mph in a 30mph zone.<\/p>\n Although he was quick to acknowledge his error as he sped up, declaring: \u2018Sorry, but that was my eagerness to join the flow of traffic and not be a hazard.\u2019<\/p>\n Aside from the speeding errors, James easily coasted along, but it wasn\u2019t enough to clinch him the driving licence in the end.<\/p>\n \t\t The examiner said: \u2018I\u2019d love to say well done, but you did have a couple of driving faults, but serious faults.That is a fail astonishingly.\u2019<\/p>\n To give James the benefit of the doubt, his TV driving, which is often filled with daring stunts and wince-inducing manoeuvres, is hardly the practice needed to pass a sensible, safe-as-can-be driving test.<\/p>\n Although fans were quick to point out the irony that the affectionately dubbed \u2018Captain Slow\u2019 (for his slow driving compared to former co-stars Jeremy Clarkson<\/a> and Richard Hammond) was called out for speeding.<\/p>\n Still, James took the fail in stride, telling viewers: \u2018Do as I say, not as I do.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t James isn\u2019t the first Top Gear alum to retake his driving test as a bit of fun. Last year, Richard stepped up to the task and was even pitted against his daughter Izzy.<\/p>\n And, they met a similar fate with both of them failing, although the examiner did declare that \u2018Richard is the better driver\u2019 in the dad-daughter duo.<\/p>\n Richard\u2019s undoing was not checking his blind spots during his parallel park manoeuvre \u2013 a classic fail, one might say.<\/p>\n Although Jeremy hasn\u2019t taken a driving test of late, after first passing his in 1977, he did retake one for the Oxford Mail in 1999 and followed his co-stars to a fail (his over minor observation skills).<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_301772248-77cb.jpg\")
\n\t\tHe strapped in with the examiner and put his foot down on the accelerator (Picture: James May\u2019s Planet Gin)<\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_248291145-59dd.jpg\")
\n\t\tTo give it to the presenter, he is used to much more daring driving (Picture: Amazon)<\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_261832025-c971-e1781699271383.jpg\")
\n\t\tJames is in good company with both Richard and Jeremy also failing their do-over driving tests in the past (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n