DVSA has published 10 common mistake which lead to failing driving test for last year.
Average pass rate was 45.9% between April
2019 and March 2020
1. Not making effective
observations at junctions.
You must:
·
make effective observations before moving into a new road
·
make sure it is safe before proceeding
Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the ‘Junctions - Observations’ fault on your driving test result
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.
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.
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 using the dual controls to brake
·
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.
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.
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.
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.
Driving safety facts
Drivers failing to look properly was a factor in 37% of all reported
accidents in Great Britain in 2019.
2. Not usingmirrors correctly when changing direction
You must:
·
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
Any mistakes you make in this area when changing direction will be
counted under the ‘Mirrors - Change direction’ fault on your driving test
result.
Not using mirrors when exiting aroundabout
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.
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.
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.
Exiting a roundabout
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 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.
Any mistakes you
make in this area will be counted under the ‘Control - Steering’ fault on your
driving test result.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Driving safety facts
More than 1 in 10 reported accidents in Great Britain in 2019 were caused by the driver making a poor turn or manoeuvre.
4. Incorrectpositioning 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.
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.
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.
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 moving offsafely.
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
Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the ‘Moving off
- Safety’ fault on your driving test result.
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.
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.
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.
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.
6. Not respondingappropriately to traffic lights
You must act
correctly at traffic lights, checking that the road is clear before you proceed
when the green light shows.
Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the ‘Response to
signs - Traffic lights’ fault on your driving test result.
Failing to react to red traffic
light
When a red light is
clearly showing, you attempt to proceed through the junction.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Driving safety facts
There were 1,308 reported accidents in Great Britain in 2019 caused by
drivers disobeying traffic lights.
7. Poorpositioning 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
Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the
‘Positioning - Normal driving’ fault on your driving test result.
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
·
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.
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.
8. Not
responding correctly to traffic signs
You must be able to
understand and be able to react to all traffic signs.
Any mistakes you make in this area will show as ‘Response to signals -
Traffic signs’ in your result.
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)
·
Driving
in a bus lane
You drive in a bus
lane when a sign shows that you cannot use it at that time.
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.
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.
9. Not havingcontrol of the vehicle when moving off
You must be able to
move off under control, including on a slope or hill (gradient), from behind a
parked vehicle and at junctions.
Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the ‘Move off - Control’ fault on your driving test result.
Stalling and rolling back when
trying to move off
When you move off
at a green traffic light or during a hill start, you stall the car and roll
back a considerable distance.
Repeatedly stalling when moving off
Throughout your
test, you repeatedly stall the car when you try to move off.
Stalling repeatedly when moving off on one occasion
On one occasion
during your test, when you move off you repeatedly stall because of things like
being in the wrong gear or poor clutch control. This results in the driving
examiner giving you guidance.
Trying to move off without selecting a gear and
then rolling back
When you try to
move off, you do not select a gear. This then causes the car to roll back a
considerable distance.
Driving safety facts
There were 942 reported accidents in Great Britain in 2019 caused by
driver error when moving off at junctions
10. Not keepingcontrol of the vehicle during reverse parking
Reverse Parking under Control
You must be able to
control the car accurately when you:
· Parallel park at the side of the road
·
reverse to park in a parking bay
Any mistakes you make in this area will be counted under the ‘Reverse
park - Control’ fault on your driving test result.
Wheels ending up on the pavement
at the end of a parallel park
When you complete a
parallel park, either the front or back wheels (or both) on the passenger side
end up on the pavement.
Too many attempts to reposition when parking
When you park in a
bay or at the side of the road, you take too many attempts to either:
·
position the car to park within the bay lines
· position the car close and parallel to the kerb.
LLoosing control of the car when parking in a bay
When you park in a
bay, you lose control of the car.
Ending up parking outside of the bay
When you park in a bay, your final parking position is outside of the
lines of the bay.
