Gr8 2 Drive School of Motoring
Top 10 reasons why people fail
A few years ago, after you had passed the theory test, the DSA used to send out a list with the 10 most common reasons* why people failed their driving tests. The leaflet noted that people should take professional tuition and stated that the main cause of failure was a lack of experience and preparation.
I always thought this was a rather useful list so I’ll reproduce it here.
- Observation at junctions. Ineffective observation and judgement,
- Reverse parking. Ineffective observation or a lack of accuracy,
- Use of mirrors. Not checking or not acting on the information,
- Reversing around a corner. Ineffective observation or a lack of accuracy,
- Incorrect use of signal. Not cancelling or giving misleading signals,
- Moving away safely. Ineffective observation,
- Incorrect positioning on the road. A roundabouts or on bends,
- Lack of steering control. Steering too early or leaving it too late,
- Incorrect positioning to turn right. At junctions and in one way streets,
- Inappropriate speed. Travelling too slowly or being hesitant.
*Reasons based on 12 month figures to 2004
It’s quite an old list but the reasons probably haven’t changed a great deal in the intervening years. Safety check questions and independent driving were not included in the test at that stage.
Interestingly, 5 of the reasons are to do with poor or ineffective observation and another 3 (5 if you include manoeuvres) involve poor positioning / steering. Make sure you look carefully and get the car in the right place and most of the main reasons for failing a test are covered.
I also thought the last reason was thought-provoking. Nothing about going too fast, but not keeping up with the flow of traffic or being indecisive at junctions was a common reason for failing.