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Cha Sa-soon’s first attempt began with a written test back in April 2005. Despite repeated failures, Cha persisted with the written tests, sitting an exam five days a week for three years.
Having still not passed, she continued taking tests two days a week before finally passing on her 950th attempt.
Fortunately, Cha Sa-soon found the following practical test a little easier, taking an additional 10 efforts to finally obtain a full driving licence in May 2010.
In total, for the 960 exams, it is estimated she would have spent around £11,000.
The South Korean grandmother claimed that her above-and-beyond persistence was driven by the fact that she needed to drive for her vegetable-selling business. Cha’s mountainous village was a difficult location for public transport.
An instructor at Jeonbuk Driving School said: “When she finally got her license, we all went out in cheers and hugged her, giving her flowers. It felt like a huge burden falling off our back. We didn’t have the guts to tell her to quit because she kept showing up.”
Following her success, Hyundai gifted Cha Sa-soon a brand-new car and had her appear in its adverts that aired in South Korea.
Guinness World Records also went on to officially accredit Cha with the world record for “most driving theory tests taken”.
Despite taking 960 efforts to get her licence, Cha Sa-soon only failed her practical test 10 times. In the UK, data released by the DVSA revealed that a 38-year-old man from Liverpool took 39 goes to pass his practical driving test.
The first-time pass rate for practical tests in the UK is just short of 50%, meaning that most drivers fail to pass their test the first time.
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