It is a requirement when you take a driving test that the assessor judge what you are looking at. That way, they can see if you’re checking for hazards.
This is impossible.
My attention does not move with my head. My retinas contain more light sensing rod cells at the periphery, which are better at detecting movement and hazards. People are better at sensing hazards at the edge of their field of view. It is impossible for an assessor to see a driver check for hazards at the edge of their view.
In order to pass a test, I must move my attention, my eyes, and my whole head when I look in the mirror or for other hazards. This is slow. I have autism. My attention already moves slowly. The added distraction of doing this is dangerous. I might as well be looking at my phone for all the trouble it causes me with paying attention.
Driving tests are fundamentally flawed and the job assessors are asked to do is impossible. You cannot see someone’s attention move when they are driving optimally. Driving tests require drivers to drive worse.
Sorry, but they’re the rules of the game.
You’re right, there are many bits about the driving test that are suboptimal, but the aim here isn’t to be 100% optimal, it’s to make it clear to the examiner that you’re doing the checks.
That’s all it is.
I was a mess when I was younger, especially in these kinds of situations - it took me eight attempts to pass my driving test, and my instructor could never understand why I kept failing. As an adult, I’m much happier with there being different rules for variants of situations, but when I was younger it just felt wrong.