Murton, who is working as a shop assistant in Norwich, said she was really scared about driving and that it took her years before she decided to have her first driving lesson.
“I was shaking and nervous but I just knew I had to get through it. I am shocked but so pleased that I passed with no faults. I was told that was very rare and it is unbelievable how far I came really. I love the freedom of driving on my own though and it is great to go out on the road in my own car,” she said.
However, Murton has attributed her success to her instructor, Stephen Lelievre, from the Popular Driving School in Thorpe Marriott, near Norwich. “Stephen really put me at ease,” she said. “I needed to build confidence up and he ensured I was relaxed and everything sort of fell into place after a while. I am very grateful to Stephen. I owe this to him.”
Mr. Lelievre told the Daily Mail that in his 33 years of driving experience, he never had a pupil that passed with no faults. The practical driving test in the UK is failed by 40 percent of people at least once. Learners can make up to 15 minor faults in the 40 minute test.
The average of those who pass is nine faults. These can include failing to put the lights on if daylight starts to dim or touching the curb during a three point turn. Murton did none of these.
UPDATE: According to an official from the Driving Standard Agency, the story has been misreported. This is indeed a rare event, but not unique. "Chief Driving Examiner Trevor Wedge has not sent her a message of congratulations - the Driving Standards Agency provided a quote to a local newspaper in response to the story that she was one of very few people who pass first time without faults," the DSA official told us in an e-mail.
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