DVSA publishes detailed fault data from every practical driving test administered in the UK. This is not anecdote — it's a database of millions of test results showing exactly where candidates go wrong, broken down by fault type, test centre, and year. The same categories appear at the top of the list year after year with remarkable consistency.
The national pass rate sits around 47–48%. Just under half of all candidates pass on a given attempt. Most of the people who fail do so in categories that are completely predictable, and most of the underlying reasons are correctable with targeted practice. This guide goes through the top ten in detail — not to alarm you, but because knowing specifically what gets people failed is the most useful test preparation you can do.
How faults are classified
Before the list: understanding the difference between fault types changes how you read the results.
A serious fault (previously called a major) fails the test immediately. One is enough. Typical examples: pulling out of a junction onto a vehicle with right of way, running a red light, or any situation that caused another road user to react or adjust. The examiner will continue the test route to avoid leaving you stranded but the result is already determined.
A dangerous fault is a serious fault that created actual danger — where the examiner had to intervene, or a collision was only narrowly avoided. These fail the test and will shake you. They're rarer than serious faults but they happen.
A minor fault (previously called a driving fault) doesn't automatically fail the test. Up to 15 is acceptable. But three identical minors in similar situations — the examiner repeatedly noticing the same inattention — can be upgraded to a serious fault. Patterns of minor faults tell the examiner something about your habits, not just your mistakes.
1. Junctions — observation (the biggest one)
This is where more tests are lost than anywhere else. It covers any situation where a candidate emerged from a junction — a T-junction, a crossroads, a roundabout exit — without adequate observation of the road being joined.
The examiner doesn't need to see a near-miss. Pulling out when a vehicle at a distance had right of way and would have needed to adjust — even if they were 200 metres away — is enough for a serious fault. "Adequate observation" means genuinely looking, in both directions, and being certain that emerging is safe before committing.
The most common version: creeping to the give-way line, glancing left then right quickly, and pulling out because it looked clear enough. When it looks unclear or you're moving while still looking, the examiner logs it. The fix is deceptively simple — slow down more at junctions than feels natural, make your head movements visible and deliberate, and only commit when you're certain. A half-second extra at a junction costs you nothing. Pulling out on a vehicle that had to brake costs you the test.
2. Mirrors — change of direction
Every time you change direction — lane change, turning at a junction, pulling out, overtaking — the examiner expects to see you check your mirrors before committing. Not a glance that barely moves your head, but a visible check: eyes to the mirror, register what's there, then act.
Many candidates believe they're checking mirrors when they're moving their eyes only. The examiner is sitting alongside you and can tell the difference between a head movement and an eye flick. Make your mirror checks obvious. The head should actually move toward the mirror being checked.
3. Control — steering
Coarse steering corrections, drifting across a lane gradually without correcting, or — worst case — mounting a kerb. Steering faults are usually a symptom of looking too close ahead. When your eyes are fixed on the tarmac twenty metres in front of the car, small deviations accumulate before you notice them. Looking further up the road — where you're going rather than where you are — gives the steering natural fluidity.
4. Junctions — turning right
A separate category from junction observation. This specifically covers the manoeuvre of turning right from a major road into a minor one. Common failures: cutting the corner on the turn (taking a line that passes to the left of the centre of the junction rather than the right), not checking for cyclists or pedestrians crossing the road being joined, and not positioning correctly before the turn.
Right turns require positioning slightly right of centre before the turn, waiting for oncoming traffic, checking for pedestrians on both the road you're leaving and the road you're joining, and making the turn in a proper arc. Each of those steps generates potential faults if missed.
5. Mirrors — signalling
A separate category from direction-change mirrors. This covers signalling without checking the mirror first, or signalling at an incorrect time. The correct sequence is look-signal-manoeuvre — mirror check before the signal, not simultaneously. Candidates who signal while already changing direction have inverted the sequence.
6. Response to signs — traffic lights
Amber means stop, unless stopping safely is not possible. The examiners' interpretation of "not possible to stop safely" is narrower than most learners expect — if you can slow to a stop comfortably before the line, you should. Accelerating through an amber because it's inconvenient is a serious fault.
The other version of this fault: stopping over the stop line, or creeping into a yellow box junction and getting trapped when traffic didn't clear as expected. The rule on box junctions is clear — you must not enter unless your exit is clear. "It looked like it would clear" is not a defence the examiner accepts.
7. Move off — safely
Moving off without proper observation — specifically, without checking the blind spot over the right shoulder before pulling away from the kerb — is consistently in the top ten. This applies every time you move off after a stop, not just at the beginning of the test. Every time you've stopped and need to rejoin moving traffic, the full sequence applies: mirrors, signal, blind spot check, move.
8. Positioning — normal driving
Drifting to the right toward the centre line on bends, hugging the left edge unnecessarily, or straddling lane markings on dual carriageways. Good road positioning should be consistent and natural — left of centre on a single carriageway, fully in your lane on a dual carriageway, not veering. Candidates who are anxious about the test often tense up on the wheel, which produces small but detectable positioning irregularities.
9. Reverse parking
Both parallel parking and bay parking generate consistent fault volumes. The underlying issue on both: candidates rush the initial positioning and then can't recover without multiple corrections that eat into their observation time.
The speed for any parking manoeuvre should be creeping — literally the slowest controlled pace the car will move. At that speed you have time to observe all around, make small adjustments, and stop cleanly. Most parallel parking fails happen because the candidate moved too fast to correct a poor entry angle, resulting in either a kerb touch or an out-of-position finish.
Observation throughout manoeuvres is non-negotiable. The examiner is watching for all-round checks, not just the direction you're moving. Cyclists can appear behind you. Pedestrians cross. Looking only at the kerb while reversing is a fault regardless of how well parked you end up.
10. Pedestrian crossings
Failing to give way to a pedestrian who is on or clearly waiting at a zebra crossing, or hesitating and then proceeding when a pedestrian was committed to crossing. The rule is simple: if a pedestrian is on the crossing or stepping onto it, stop. If they're clearly waiting and you're approaching at low speed, give way. The ambiguity comes at distance — when a pedestrian is standing at the edge but hasn't stepped out yet. The examiner will mark a failure to give way when giving way was clearly the appropriate action.
What to do with this list
Go through it with your instructor specifically. Ask them to watch for each category during your lessons and tell you honestly where you're weakest. Most candidates have one or two areas where faults cluster — junctions, or mirrors, or roundabout positioning. Knowing yours before the test and targeting those specifically is the highest-value preparation available.
On the day itself: slow down at junctions slightly more than feels natural. Make your mirror checks visible. Signal before you look rather than simultaneously. These aren't tricks — they're the habits the examiner is looking for evidence of. The test is measuring whether you've internalised safe driving habits, not whether you can perform them once under observation.
Also see: Manoeuvres: Parallel Parking, Bay Parking & Emergency Stop | What Happens If You Fail Your Driving Test | Choosing a Driving Instructor