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We all know that feeling all too well. The first solo drive where you can play your own songs while listening to the uninterrupted silence of the road, and no nagging instructor telling you to stick to the speed limit even if you’re a smidge under (sorry, mum).
How about the first time you drive with your friends on the traditional Macca's run or late-night cruise to nowhere and everywhere at the same time? As far as life goes, getting your driver’s licence ranks among the greatest experience for most people.
But the journey to getting your licence is filled with challenges ranging from theoretical tests to real on-road experience that checks your competency in adhering to local road rules.
While failing your driver’s licence once or twice isn’t anything to be shameful about, these drivers have been etched in motoring history for the unlikeliest reasons.
As reported by Drive in November 2025, one UK learner driver went viral online after failing their L-plate theory test 128 times, which cost the unfortunate participant £2944 ($AUD5900) in fees.
According to the UK’s Automobile Association (AA) Driving school, another novice motorist sat the learner test 75 times before passing, while a third learner finally passed after attempting the theory test 43 times.
While trying more than 100 times – and spending upwards of $AUD5000 – just to get your learner’s licence is mind-boggling, it’s worth noting there have been worse offenders in history, with one person actually holding the crown for the most driver theory attempts.
According to Guinness World Records, in 2009, then 68-year-old South Korean resident Cha Sa-soon made history following her successful attempt at passing the South Korean driving theory test … on her 950th attempt. No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, 950 tries.
Authorities said Cha Sa-soon spent more than 5 million South Korean won (equivalent to $AUD4977 in 2026) on the theory test throughout the years before finally passing sometime in 2010.
In a 2010 article by the New York Times, Sa-soon sat the driver’s theory test five days a week over a three-year period, with the South Korean resident failing a further 10 times during the on-road and skill portion of the test.
Cha Sa-soon failed a total of 961 times before finally receiving her driver’s licence in 2010, with her story going viral online in the years to follow.
The South Korean driver’s story reached all the way up Hyundai’s chain of command. So much so that the brand rewarded her with a free car and a role on a local car commercial.
If failing more than 100 times on a driving theory test isn’t enough to send you back to your driving instructor, we don’t know how this one woman ever got her UK licence.
According to Guinness, Git Kaur Randhawa still owns the world record for the most practical driving tests taken, with the driver succeeding after her 48th UK driver's licence attempt – and more than 330 lessons – on June 19, 1987.
Call them mad, call them impractical – but there’s no denying these people are a reminder of human perseverance in the face of… local road rules.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
