Top 10 reasons for failing your driving test

So what are the most common reasons for failing your driving test? Listed below are the top reasons why driving tests were failed in 2018/19.

1. JUNCTIONS (OBSERVATIONS)
This is the number one reason for failing a driving test. It is basically not taking effective observations before emerging.
2. MIRRORS (CHANGING DIRECTION)
Not checking your mirrors before changing direction is the number two reason. For example before turning into another road or changing lanes or around a parked vehicle.
3. CONTROL (STEERING)
Examples of this fault could be hitting the kerb or overshooting a junction when turning right or left. Or being erratic with your steering.
4. JUNCTIONS (TURNING RIGHT)
This could be not getting the correct position before turning right at traffic lights or late or incorrect positioning before any right turn.
5. MOVE OFF (SAFELY)
Examples of this are failing to take effective observations before moving off including the correct use of signals.
6. RESPONSE TO SIGNALS (TRAFFIC LIGHTS)
This includes failing to move off on a green traffic light when correct and safe to do so or not dealing with a green filter arrow properly.
7. MOVE OFF (CONTROL)
Examples of this include not being able to move off smoothly either going straight ahead or at an angle or on a slope.
8. POSITIONING (NORMAL DRIVING)
This is incorrect positioning during normal driving. It could be driving too close to the kerb or too close or over the centre.
9. RESPONSE TO SIGNALS (ROAD MARKINGS)
This could include parking on double yellow lines or incorrect use of yellow box junctions or lane direction arrows.
10. REVERSE PARK (CONTROL)
Not being accurate enough for example ending up too far from the kerb is a fail in this category.

The top 4 reasons have been the same for a few years now so if you are learning to drive it may be worth brushing up especially on these ones. Your driving instructor will be assessing your driving throughout your lessons and trying to make sure you don’t fail for one of the above reasons or any others.
This driving test information has been taken from the DVSA here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-test-failure-reasons-data