Top 10 Reasons for Failing the Driving Test

Top 10 Reasons for Failing the Driving Test

The pass rate between April 2019 and March 2020 is 45.9%. To ensure that you are one of those with a positive result, before taking your practical driving test you should make sure you are a safe driver and fully prepared to pass your test. Follow the advice of your driving instructor who’s a professional and knows what’s expected and needed to pass.

How to Know You’re Test Ready – Ask Yourself These Questions

1. Have I covered all topics in the learn-to-drive syllabus?
2. Can I perform all of the driving skills, without help from my driving instructor?
3. Can drive for 45 minutes without making a serious or dangerous driving fault?
4. Can I make driving decisions, without having to ask another person?
5. Do I feel confident that I am ready to drive on my own?
6. Your Test is Soon! What Can you Do To Be Better Prepared?
7. Pass at least one mock test
8. Get to know the area you’ll be taking your test
9. Think about time of day and day of week (bin day / school / factories lunch break etc)
10. Read Driving the Essential Skills
11. Go through Online Driving Lessons to remind yourself of all the correct and safe driving procedures
12. Practice all manoeuvres and feel confident to make corrections. Go through Online Manoeuvres Lessons
13. Tell yourself you’re going to pass because If you think you can…you probably will!
14. Don’t tell other people the date – don’t put yourself under pressure
15. Have EXTRA lessons and extra driving practice in the weeks leading up to the test
16. Practice commentary driving, saying out loud what you can see as you’re driving along. This will help you to notice more and approach hazards safer. (This can be done as a driver, pedestrian, passenger)

Reason No. 1 for Failing Driving Test

Not making effective observations at junctions. What does this mean?

1. Not looking around enough at a junction or roundabout
2. Not looking in the correct places before making decisions to emerge

What You Need To Do

1. Check the correct mirrors
2. Indicate in good time
3. Get into the correct position
4. Make sure you’re driving at the appropriate speed
5. Look in all the appropriate places before you decide when it’s safe to go

NOTES

1. Think about where you would look if you had to walk across the road with a small child
2. Think about what you can’t see
3. Think about what is blocking your vision – the windscreen pillar, things hanging in your car, parked cars, hedges, buildings, the shape of the road
4. All of these things will affect how well you can see
5. Use clutch control to edge out and don’t make your decision until you have the full picture

Reason No. 2 for Failing Driving Test

Not using mirrors correctly when changing direction. What does this mean?

1. Not checking mirrors at all before driving into a new road or changing lanes
2. Not checking your mirrors correctly before driving into a new road or changing lanes
3. What You Need To Do
4. Mirrors should be checked in pairs well before you change position, speed or direction.

NOTES

1. If you are going to move your car over to the right, you need to check your middle and right door mirrors
2. If you are going to move your car over to the left, you need to check your middle and left the door mirrors
3. Mirrors should be checked in good time so that you can make good decisions based on what you can see

Reason No. 3 for Failing Driving Test

Not having proper control of steering. What does this mean?

1. Not steering enough when going around a bend and hitting the curb
2. Steering too late which causes you to swan-neck into a new road
3. Driving past parked vehicles too closely

What You Need To Do

1. You must be able to stay the car as smoothly as possible
2. You must not get too close to vehicles and follow a good path as you drive into new roads

Reason No. 4 for Failin Driving Test

Incorrect positioning when turning right at junctions. What does this mean?

1. Positioning your car too far to the left while you’re waiting to turn right
2. Using the left-hand lane to turn right at a roundabout

What You Need To Do

1. Position your car to the right of your lane when waiting to turn right
2. Position in the correct lane to turn right at roundabouts

NOTES

1. Follow the M S M routine to turn right:
2. Check your interior mirror and right door mirror
3. Signal in good time, to allow other road users time to respond
4. Position your car correctly

Reason No. 5 for Failing your Driving Test

Not moving off safely. What does this mean?

1. Not checking properly that it’s safe to move away from the side of the road
2. Checking that it’s safe to move away but making the wrong decision
3. Moving away after an emergency stop without making the proper checks

What You Need To Do

1. Check your mirrors, ahead and your right blind spot before moving away
2. Make a safe decision about when to move away
3. Check your mirrors, ahead and both blind spots before moving away after performing an emergency stop

If you want to know more on how to pass your driving test kindly click this link: Driving Test Course 

For the theory test kindly click this link: Theory Test Course 

Reason No. 6 for Failing your Driving Test

Not responding appropriately to traffic lights. What does this mean?

Going through a red traffic light

1. Not proceeding when traffic lights are on green and it’s safe to go
2. Going when a green light is showing but the junction is not clear (this means you’re blocking the junction when the lights do change)
3. Stopping in the advance box for cyclists

What You Need To Do

1. You must respond correctly at traffic lights
2. Go on a green light if the road is clear
3. Stop on a red or amber light
4. Do not stop in the advance box for cyclists unless unavoidable

NOTES

As you approach traffic lights, check your mirrors so you know what’s behind you and how close it is

Ease off the gas and expect to have to stop

When the lights change to green, only go if your junction ahead is clear. If it is not clear you need to continue to wait behind the line

Reason No. 7 for Failing Driving Test

Poor positioning on the road during normal driving. What does this mean?

1. Driving too close to the left or too close to the right in normal driving
2. Staying in the right-hand lane on a dual carriageway
3. Not staying in lane when driving around a roundabout

What You Need To Do

1. Position in the centre of your lane or one metre from the kerb in normal driving
2. Move back to the left-hand lane after overtaking on a dual carriageway
3. Stay in your lane on a roundabout.

NOTES

Cutting across lanes on a roundabout is known as ‘straight lining’. This is dangerous, causes problems for road users, and can result in a collision.

Reason No. 8 for Failing Driving Test

Not responding correctly to traffic signs. What does this mean?

1. Ignoring stop signs or no-entry signs
2. Driving in bus lanes
3. Driving in the wrong lane at roundabouts
4. Not sticking to speed limits
5. Keeping to the wrong side of a sign that says to keep left

What You Need To Do

1. Understand and react to all traffic signs
2. Only drive in bus lanes when permitted
3. Choose the correct lane at roundabouts
4. Not break the speed limit

NOTES

Look out for signs and road markings as you drive along

Ease off the gas to reduce speed and give yourself time to read and react appropriately to road signs

Reason No. 9 for Failing Driving Test

Not having control of the car when moving off. What does this mean?

1. Repeatedly stalling when you try to move away
2. Trying to move away when your car is not in gear
3. Trying to move away on a hill and rolling back

What You Need To Do

1. Be able to control your car well when you are moving away on a flat surface, downhill surface or uphill surface.
2. Be able to control your car well when you’re moving away from behind a parked vehicle or
3. Be able to control your car well when driving out of a junction

Reason No.10 for Failing Driving Test

Not keeping control of the car during reverse parking. What does this mean?

1. Not controlling the car well when you are manoeuvring
2. Not positioning your car correctly
3. Having too many attempts to finish the manoeuvre
4. The wheels of the car touching the kerb or mounting the pavement

What You Need To Do

1. Control your car well using good clutch control skills to move very slowly
2. Finish the manoeuvre without too many corrections
3. Finish the manoeuvre accurately

NOTES

Before reversing, check all mirrors and blind spots

Before steering, check your blindspot

React correctly to other road users

There are 100’s of reasons that people fail their driving test, but if you prepare well and listen to the advice of your instructor, you can be one of the smaller percentage of learner drivers that pass their test first time.

Many learner drivers choose to take their test before they’re fully ready and before they have developed their hazard awareness skills. Notice that many of the top ten reasons for failing are due to incorrect decisions, not incorrect control of the vehicle. Knowing and understanding the safe decision to make, where to look and how to position correctly takes time to master.

You can also study using the updated Highway Code site