Järfälla - failure in unusual situation

I’m posting this as an example for others who may experience a similar situation during their driving test to learn from my mistake.

I have held a driving licence for 17 years in my home country. While that licence is not recognised here, it still represents many years and thousands of hours of driving experience in complex traffic situations safely where defensive driving is prioritised assuming others are unpredictable to avoid worst case scenarios.

To prepare for the Swedish driving test, I completed a reasonable amount of driving practice with a local driving school to adapt to Swedish traffic rules and expectations. Both my instructor and I felt I was ready for the exam. I did not go into the test unprepared.

Overall, the exam went well and covered the usual things you would expect during a driving test. The issue happened right at the end in an unusual scenario.

After a small roundabout, there was an elderly man attempting to cross the road near roadworks. It was not a normal pedestrian crossing. His path was blocked by fencing, which he had moved around, and he was stepping into the road and seemed visibly confused. He should not have been crossing the road here. I felt it was not safe to continue past him and came to a stop to allow him to cross safely.

The examiner later explained that I should not have stopped in that situation, as it unnecessarily obstructed traffic behind me. The expectation was that I should acknowledge the pedestrian, trust that he would not step in front of me, and continue driving instead of stopping completely. My ”courtesy” to a vulnerable pedestrian created a bigger risk behind me.

For context, traffic was already moving slowly because of the roadworks, and once he had crossed the road there were only 3 cars behind me. I had also checked my mirrors before stopping to make sure it would not create an unsafe situation.

What is considered safe where I am from is considered overly cautious here and I slipped into a learned habit when confronted with an unusual situation.

I will take it as a learning experience for my next test. I’m sharing it because it may help someone else understand what examiners are looking for in similar cases.