1. Not Making
Effective Observations at junctions
You must always:
·
make effective observations before moving into a new road
·
make sure it is safe
before proceeding
Examples 1 : Failing to judge the speed of an
approaching vehicle
When you turn either left or right from a
minor road, you make observations but fail to judge the speed of the
approaching vehicle. You move off, forcing the vehicle to slow significantly.
Example 2 : Entering a roundabout with a
vehicle approaching from the right
When you approach a roundabout, there’s a
vehicle approaching from the right. You still enter the roundabout, causing the
vehicle approaching to slow down.
Example 3 : Making no effective observations
at all
When you emerge from a junction, you make no
effective observations at all. This causes:
·
a vehicle approaching
from either the left or right to do an emergency stop to avoid hitting you
·
the driving examiner
to use the dual controls to brake
Example 4: Making no observations when joining
a dual carriageway from a slip road
When you’re on a slip road to join a dual
carriageway, you enter the dual carriageway without making any observations, or
you do not give way to the traffic on the main carriageway.
Example 5: Going straight ahead at a
crossroads
When you approach a crossroads, you do not
recognise that it’s a junction. You emerge and cross the crossroads without
making any observations to the right or left.
Example 6 : Looking too late
When you emerge from a junction, you look too
late (either left or right) for the observations to be effective, as you’re
already partly into the next road.
Example 7: Repeatedly not looking left when
turning left
Throughout the test, when you turn left from a
minor road into a busier road, you do not make any effective observations to
the left. This means you’re unaware of any parked vehicles, obstructions or
other possible hazards.
2. Not Using Mirrors Correctly when changing direction
You must always:
·
make full and
effective use of all the mirrors
·
check the mirrors
carefully before signalling, changing direction or changing speed
·
use the ‘mirror -
signal - manoeuvre’ routine effectively
Here are some examples of mistakes that would
count towards this fault.
Example 1 : Not using mirrors when exiting
a roundabout
You need to take the right-hand exit on a
large multi-lane roundabout. When you move from the right-hand lane to the
left-hand lane to exit the roundabout, you make no rear or passenger-side
observations or mirror checks.
Example 2 : Causing a vehicle to slow when
changing lanes on a dual carriageway
When you’re on a dual carriageway, you check
your mirrors when changing lanes, but there’s a vehicle approaching in the lane
you want to move into. You start to change lanes anyway, causing the
approaching vehicle to slow down.
Example 3 : Trying to
change lane on a roundabout when a vehicle is directly alongside
When you’re driving on a roundabout, you try
to change lanes when there’s a vehicle directly alongside you. The driving
examiner has to take control of the steering wheel to stop a collision.
Example 4 : Exiting a
roundabout without checking mirrors
When you exit a roundabout, you do not check
your mirrors and cut across the path of a closely following vehicle to the
left-hand side of the car.
3. Not Moving Off Safely
You must be able to move off safely while
making the correct observations:
·
from the side of the
road
·
on a slope or hill
(gradient)
·
from behind a parked
vehicle, so you have to move off at an angle
Here are some examples of mistakes that would
count towards this fault.
Example 1: Moving off from behind a parked
vehicle into the path of an approaching vehicle
When you move off from behind a parked
vehicle, you check your mirrors and blind spot, but still move off into the
path of an approaching vehicle. This causes the vehicle to significantly slow
down.
Example 2 : Repeatedly
moving off from the side of the road with no blind spot checks
Throughout the test, you repeatedly move off
from the side of the road with no blind spot checks in situations where they’re
needed.
Example 3: Pulling off
from the right-hand side of the road, causing an oncoming vehicle to slow or
stop
After the ‘pull up on the right’ exercise, you
move off with either an oncoming vehicle or a closely approaching vehicle from
behind. This causes the vehicle to severely slow down or stop.
Example 4 : Not making
any rear observations when moving off following an emergency stop
After you do the emergency stop exercise, you
move off without making any rear observations, having been stationary in the
middle of the lane for some time.
4. Incorrect Positioning When Turning Right at Junctions
You must be able to
position the car as close to the centre of the road as is safe.
Any mistakes you make in this area will be
counted under the ‘Junctions - Turning right’ fault on your driving test
result.
Here are some examples of mistakes that would
count towards this fault.
Example 1: Positioning in the left-hand
lane when turning right at a roundabout
When you need to turn right at a roundabout,
you use the left-hand lane when it’s not appropriate, and continue around the
roundabout in that lane. This causes confusion to several following vehicles.
Example 2: Obstructing traffic when you
wait to turn right
When you want to turn right into a minor road,
you position your car too far to the left while you wait for oncoming traffic
to clear. This causes severe delays to the following traffic on a road where it
was wide enough for the traffic to pass you on the left.
Example 3: When you
want to turn right at the end of the road, you incorrectly position to the left
When you reach the end of a wide road with no
road markings, you position in the left of your lane when you’re actually
turning right.
5. Not Responding Appropriately to Traffic Lights
You must act correctly
at traffic lights, checking that the road is clear before you proceed when the
green light shows.
Here are some examples of mistakes that would
count towards this fault.
Example 1: Failing to
react to red traffic light
When a red light is clearly showing, you
attempt to proceed through the junction.
Example 2: Stopping after the first white
line when there are advanced stop lines for cyclists
At a signal-controlled junction with an
advanced stop line to allow cyclists to be positioned ahead of other traffic,
you stop beyond the first white line in the area for cyclists.
Example 3: Not
progressing when you’re waiting to turn right at a junction and it’s safe to
proceed
When you need to turn right at a junction, you
continue to wait in the middle of the junction when the repeater light has
turned red and the oncoming traffic has stopped. This causes you to completely
block the junction controlled by traffic lights.
Example 4: Not going ahead when a green light
is showing and the junction ahead is clear
When a green light or a green filter light is
clearly visible, you continue to wait at a clear junction. You make no attempt
to proceed.
Example 5: Going ahead when a green light is
showing but the junction is not clear
When the traffic lights are green, you go
ahead, even though the junction is not clear. This then means you’re then
blocking the junction when the traffic lights change.
6. Not Having Proper Control of the Steering
You must be able to steer the car as smoothly as possible.
You must steer at the appropriate time, as steering too early or
late can cause the car to hit the kerb or swing out towards another road user.
Here are some examples of mistakes that would count towards this
fault.
Example 1: Repeatedly not steering enough or steering
late on the approach to junctions when turning left
Throughout the test, when you turn left, you repeatedly under steer,
not following the shape of the kerb. This means there’s not enough space for
vehicles turning right to fit alongside your car.
Example 2: Not steering enough when going
around a bend
When you drive around a bend at an appropriate speed, you do not
apply enough steering. This causes both passenger-side wheels to mount the
pavement.
Example 3: Steering late when turning right
into a minor road
When you turn right into a minor road, you steer late and not
enough. This causes a ‘swan neck’ effect, and you drive fully onto the wrong
side of the new road to correct your position.
Example 4: Repeatedly mounting the pavement
when pulling up on the left
Throughout the test, when you pull up on the left-hand side of
the road, you mount the pavement with both passenger-side wheels before the car
returns to the road.
Example 5: Steering late when moving out to
pass parked vehicles.When you approach
parked vehicles, you steer late and get too close to the parked vehicles.
7. Not Responding Correctly to Traffic Signs
You must be able to understand and react correctly to all
traffic signs.
Here are some examples of mistakes that would count towards this
fault.
Example 1: Going to the wrong side of a ‘keep
left’ sign
You go to the wrong side of a ‘keep left’ sign in the road.
Ignoring a ‘stop’ or ‘no entry’ sign
You ignore either:
·
a ‘stop’ sign by
crossing the line on the road and not making sure the way ahead is clear
·
a ‘no entry’ sign
(these are usually at the end of a one-way road, where all traffic would be
heading towards you)
Example 2: Driving in a bus lane
You drive in a bus lane when a sign shows that you cannot use it
at that time.
Example 3: Choosing the wrong lane at a
roundabout with clear signage
When you approach a roundabout, you get into the wrong lane when
a sign clearly shows which lane you should go in. You then go around the
roundabout in the wrong lane.
Example 4: Acting late or not at all to speed
limit changes. You either act far too
late or not at all when a clearly visible sign shows a change of speed limit.
8. Not Responding Correctly to Road Markings
You must be able to understand and react correctly to all road
markings.
Here are some examples of mistakes that would count towards this
fault.
Not following direction arrows on the road
Example 1
When you’re driving in a lane that is clearly marked to only be
used to turn left, you turn to the right.
Example 2
There are 3 lanes ahead of you. The left lane has an arrow
pointing left to the city. The centre lane has an arrow pointing straight ahead
for the A3. The right lane has an arrow pointing right to York Street.
You are being asked to follow directions to the city, but you
drive into the centre lane, and still attempt to turn left.
Example :
Straddling lanes on a roundabout
When you approach a roundabout, there are clear road markings
showing the different lanes. You drive the car so that it’s straddling 2
different lanes.
Example : Crossing double white lines where
the line nearer to you is solid
When driving on a road with double white lines marking the
centre, and the line nearer to you is solid, you unnecessarily cross it.
Example : Ignoring a box junction
When you approach a box junction (these have criss-cross yellow
lines painted on the road), you enter it either partially or fully when the
exit is not clear.
Example : Not following road markings at
mini-roundabouts
When you’re approaching and driving around a mini-roundabout,
you do not steer correctly because you do not follow the road markings.
9. Poor Positioning on the Road During Normal Driving
You must be able to:
·
position the car
correctly for your intended route
·
position the car in
the middle of marked lanes
·
only change lanes when
necessary
Here are some examples of mistakes that would count towards this
fault.
Example 1: Repeatedly driving too close to the
kerb or centre of the road
Throughout the test, you repeatedly drive too close to either:
·
the kerb, putting
pedestrians at risk
·
the centre of road,
putting oncoming drivers at risk
Example 2: Unnecessarily driving in the
right-hand lane of a dual carriageway
When you drive on a dual carriageway, you unnecessarily drive in
the right-hand lane for a considerable length of time.
Example 3: Cutting across the normal road
position when you go ahead at a roundabout with no lane markings
When you go ahead at a roundabout with no lane markings, you
‘straight-line’ the roundabout with no consideration for following vehicles.
‘Straight-lining’ means you drive in a straight line in the road, rather than
following the bend of the roundabout.
10. Not Driving at a Safe and Reasonable Speed
You must be able to show you can drive at a safe and reasonable
speed when appropriate.
You must:
·
take into
consideration the conditions of the road, the amount of traffic, road signs and
signals, and the speed limit
·
drive at a speed where
you can stop safely, well within the distance you can see to be clear
Here are some examples of mistakes that would count towards this
fault.
Driving over the speed limit
Example 1
When driving along a road with a speed limit of 40mph which then
drops to 30mph, you drive at more than 30mph for an unnecessary amount of time
after the limit has dropped.
Example 2
When driving on a road with a temporary speed limit because of
road works, you drive faster than the temporary speed limit.
Not adjusting your speed to the road
conditions
Example 1
When driving down a busy high street, you do not lower your
speed accordingly.
Example 2
When driving in a bad weather (such as heavy rain or fog), you
do not lower your speed accordingly.
Example 3
When driving on a country road where the national speed limit applies, you approach a
sharp bend too fast and try to drive around it. This results in the loss of
control of the car.
