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These are the most common reasons why people fail their driving test in the UK
This could explain a few things…
Anyone who’s ever sat behind the wheel will know only too well the the colossal stress the process of learning to drive can bring with it.
Trying to abide by the rules of the road and keep the car on all four wheels while also winning over a fed-up driving examiner isn’t the most pleasant of tasks and, for many of us, it can reflect badly in the overall test result (second-time passer, over here).
But now, for those of you still struggling to get your provisional license from green to pink, the government has shared a guide that instructs wannabe drivers what not to do during a driving test, along with the top ten reasons as to why drivers tend to fail in the UK.
The guide, which was published last year, gives examples of the most common types of mistakes people make during these tests, ranging from not using mirrors correctly when changing direction to not having control of the vehicle when parking.
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But according to the guide, there are some mistakes people make more often than others. Here are the ten most frequent mishaps…
1. Not making effective observations at junctions
This includes failing to accurately judge the speed of an approaching vehicle, entering a roundabout with a vehicle approaching from the right, making no observations when joining a dual carriageway from a slip road, going straight ahead at a crossroads, looking too late and repeatedly not looking left when turning left.
According to the guide, drivers failing to make effective observations accounted for 37% of all reported accidents in Great Britain in 2019.
2. Not using mirrors correctly when changing direction
We all know someone guilty of this; examples include include not using mirrors when exiting a roundabout, causing a vehicle to slow when changing lanes on a dual carriageway, trying to change lane on a roundabout when a vehicle is directly alongside and not checking mirrors when exiting a roundabout.
3. Not having proper control of the steering
It turns out a massive number of people are guilty of not having full control of the steering wheel, with the guide reporting that more than one in ten reported accidents in Great Britain in 2019 were caused by the driver making a poor turn or manoeuvre.
Examples of this include repeatedly not steering enough or steering late on the approach to junctions when turning left, not steering enough when going around a bend, steering late when turning right into a minor road, repeatedly mounting the pavement when pulling up on the left and steering late when moving out to pass parked vehicles.
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4. Incorrect positioning when turning right at junctions
Turning right will always be one of the more unpleasant parts of learning to drive, and it turns out it’s one of the biggest reasons for people flunking their tests.
Examples include positioning the vehicle in the left-hand lane when turning right at a roundabout, obstructing traffic when you wait to turn right and when you want to turn right at the end of the road, you incorrectly position to the left.
5. Not moving off safely
Examples of this include moving off from behind a parked vehicle into the path of an approaching vehicle, repeatedly moving off from the side of the road with no blind spot checks, pulling off from the right-hand of the road, causing an oncoming vehicle to slow or stop and not making any rear observations when moving off following an emergency stop.
6. Not responding appropriately to traffic lights
One of the easiest parts of driving is understanding how traffic lights work – red means stop, green means go, it’s pretty simple – so this factor came as quite the surprise.
According to the guide, examples of this mistake include failing to react to a red traffic light, stopping after the first white line when there are advanced stop lines for cyclists, not progressing when you’re waiting to turn right at a junction and it’s safe to proceed, not going ahead when a green light is showing and the junction ahead is clear and going ahead when a green light is showing but the junction is not clear.
7. Poor positioning on the road during normal driving
It turns out Brits’ spacial awareness isn’t great during tests, with common examples in the guide including learner drivers repeatedly driving too close to the kerb or centre of the road, unnecessarily driving in the right-hand land of a dual carriageway and cutting across the normal road position when you go ahead at a roundabout with no lane markings.
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8. Not responding correctly to traffic signs
Another seemingly easy factor of driving is reading traffic signs but, apparently, learner drivers struggle with this too.
Examples include going to the wrong side of a ‘keep left’ sign, ignoring a ‘stop or ‘no entry’ sign, driving in a bus lane, choosing the wrong lane at a roundabout with clear signage and acting late or not at all to speed limit changes.
9. Not having control of the vehicle when moving off
A big part of driving is having control of the vehicle so, obviously, there may be some cause for concern if a learner is completely out of control.
Examples of this include stalling or rolling back when trying to move off, repeatedly stalling when moving off, stalling repeatedly when moving off on one occasion and trying to move off without selecting a gear and then rolling back.
The guide says: “There were 942 reported accidents in Great Britain in 2019 caused by driver error when moving off at junctions.”
10. Not keeping control of the vehicle during reverse parking
Okay, you can hardly blame the poor learner drivers for this because, as anyone who’s driven before will know, reverse parking is easily the worst part of driving.
Examples include wheels ending up on the pavement at the end of a parallel park, too many attempts to reposition when parking, losing control of the car when parking in a bay and ending up barking outside of the bay.
You can read the full government guide here.