
After completing Subject One of the driver's license test, you cannot directly proceed to Subject Four. According to the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses," the examination sequence must follow Subject One, Subject Two, and Subject Three in order. Only after passing the previous subject can you proceed to the next. After passing the road driving skills test of Subject Three, you are eligible to take the safe and civilized driving knowledge test. The driving test consists of three subjects: Subject One, Subject Two, and Subject Three, with Subject Three divided into two parts. Subject Four is the colloquial term for the safe and civilized driving knowledge test under Subject Three and is not a separate subject. Subject One refers to the examination on road traffic safety laws, regulations, and related knowledge; Subject Two refers to the field driving skills test; Subject Three refers to the road driving skills and safe and civilized driving knowledge test. The safe and civilized driving knowledge test is conducted after Subject Three. Each subject can be taken once, and if you fail, you can retake it once. If you do not take the retest or fail the retest, the examination process ends, and the applicant must reschedule the test. However, Subject Two and Subject Three tests must be rescheduled at least ten days later. If you fail the safe and civilized driving knowledge test of Subject Three, the previously passed road driving skills test results remain valid. During the validity period of the driving skills test permit, the number of rescheduled tests for Subject Two and Subject Three road driving skills tests must not exceed five. If you fail the fifth rescheduled test, all previously passed subject results will be invalidated. Subject Four Test Notes: Test Duration: The test lasts 30 minutes. If you make 12 mistakes (6 questions) during the test, the session will be terminated. Number of Questions: Depending on the type of driver's license, 50 questions are randomly selected from the corresponding Subject Four question bank. For car licenses, questions are drawn from a pool of 800, while for large vehicle licenses, they are drawn from 1,023. Each question is worth 2 points. Question Types: The test includes single-choice questions (including true/false questions) and multiple-choice questions. The first 45 questions are single-choice, and the last 5 are multiple-choice. The test also includes animated questions, image-based questions, scenario recognition questions, and text-based questions. Retest Notes: If you fail Subject Four, you only need to retake Subject Four. The driving school will schedule the retest, and there is no limit to the number of retakes. You can retake the test until you pass, and no additional fees are required for Subject Four retests. Subject Four Test Tips: Strengthen Weak Areas and Identify Mistakes: For marked questions, don’t just memorize the correct answers. Instead, refer to laws, textbooks, or reference materials to understand the reasons for the mistakes and internalize them. Categorize and Summarize Questions: Refer to the question bank analysis to group similar questions. Many questions in the bank are similar and easily confused, so it’s helpful to analyze them together. For example, traffic signs like "Pedestrian," "Walking," "Pedestrian Crossing," and "Caution: Pedestrian Crossing" have similar patterns and can be confusing. Grouping them during study helps avoid mistakes. Use Memory Techniques: Many questions involve numbers. Summarizing these numbers can make them easier to remember.

When I signed up for driving lessons, I was also curious about this and specifically asked the veteran instructor at the driving school. He patted the steering wheel and told me that according to traffic regulations, the test must start with Subject 1, as traffic laws are the foundation of driving. There was someone at my driving school who wanted to skip straight to practicing reverse parking, but the system blocked them from booking the test slot. The instructor said this is a nationwide rule—the DMV's testing system follows the sequence of Subject 1, 2, 3, and 4. If you fail Subject 1, the system won’t even open the booking channel for Subject 2. Later, I saw two trainees who failed Subject 1 three times and had to wait two months before they could continue practicing, wasting their driving range fees for nothing.

Last year, I thoroughly researched this process while accompanying my cousin for his driver's license test. The Ministry of Transport's 'Regulations on Driver's License Application' clearly states: trainees must pass the theoretical exam (Subject 1) and obtain a driving skills test permit before they can proceed to vehicle training for the practical exam (Subject 2). This regulation makes perfect sense—just imagine someone driving around without even recognizing traffic signs, barely familiar with the steering wheel, likely to knock over all the parking cones. Our driving school principal also mentioned that the current exam system is fully networked for verification; when booking Subject 2, the system automatically checks Subject 1 results, leaving absolutely no loopholes.

Back when I was a driving instructor at the driving school, I heard students ask this question every day. Let me tell you the truth—the written test (Subject 1) is the gateway to the driving exam. If you don’t clear it, the rest is pointless. The DMV system is extremely rigid—without a Subject 1 score report, you can’t even press the registration button. Once, I saw a student score 88 on the theory test, just two points short of passing, and the system locked their Subject 2 booking access for three months. Honestly, there’s no need to overthink the sequence. Cramming for Subject 1 takes just two weeks, and having solid theory knowledge actually makes practical training smoother—after all, you should know which road sections prohibit parking before pulling over, right?


