Top Ten Reasons For Driving Test Failure

In the U.K., the Driving Standards Agency, to help those who are worried about failing or have failed their driving test, has published a list of the most common things that result in people failing their practical driving test. If you know what the top ten reasons for driving test failure are, you are more likely to try and avoid them. Arming yourself with information about the top ten reasons for driving test failure should help you to avoid the most common mistakes. This information will not just help people in the U.K., it should also help those from other countries as the top ten reasons for driving test failure seem to be universal.

So what are the top ten reasons for driving test failure?

1) Not being fully observant or being innacurate at junctions. Learner drivers tend to be cautious at junctions, whereas those who are more experienced/had a lot more time to learn will be able to better judge when they can go safely. Pulling out at the wrong time at a junction is something that causes a large number of accidents so it"s important that the examiner feels you can assess a junction and act without putting anyone else at risk. Learning to do this effectively without help from your driving instructor will indicate that you are competent and can make your own decisions safely. It is not surprising to many, that this makes it onto the top ten reasons for driving test failure.

2) Lack of accuracy when reverse parking. Hitting the curb when reverse parking, or hitting another car, is a common reason for driving test failure.

3) Not using mirrors enough, or not acting upon the information gained from checking your mirrors. Mirrors are one of the most important safety features of a car. Checking your mirrors indicates that you"re aware that there could be others around you. Not checking mirrors before pulling out of a parking space, for example, could get people hurt. If you look in your mirrors and ignore a hazard, the examiner will fail you as you"re being innattentive.

4) Ineffectively observing your surroundings before pulling away. The examiner needs to trust you to act safely when out on the roads by yourself with no-one else there to guide you. If you don"t observe your surroundings when pulling away, you"ll be penalised during your exam as this can be dangerous.

5) Not using signals correctly. Not giving signals, or giving signals at the wrong time can affect other drivers actions on the road.

6) Not being in the correct position while at a roundabout, on a bend, or in the correct lane. It"s important that drivers learn their place in the road and where they need to be at any given time, in order to avoid confusion and risk an accident.

7) Innacurately reversing around corners. Ineffective observation or not being very accurate when performing this manouvre is a really common reason why people fail their driving test. A lot of people tend to hate this manouevre and thus try not to spend much time on it, which is a mistake.

8) Lack of control when steering. Steering at the wrong time, either doing it too early or doing it too late can result in failure of your driving test.

9) Performing a turn in the road. This is perhaps one of the most commonly used manouvres which drivers of all ages have to do. Therefore examiners need to be sure that you can do it effectively. Taking too long, or making mistakes while performing a turn can make you fail your test.

10) Last but not least, the last item on the list of top ten reasons for driving test failure is travelling at the wrong speed. Speed limits are there for a reason and they need to be followed. As a learner driver, you can get away with driving slower while you don"t have much knowledge or confidence, but as a qualified driver you are expected to keep up to speed. Travelling too fast is also a problem during a driving test. Although you will be comfortable travelling at speed, you"re compromising speed for safety when you go too fast.

How will knowing the top ten reasons for driving test failure benefit me?

You should be able to pick out the items from the list of top ten reasons for driving test failure which you are confident with and the ones you need to work on. Knowing which manouevres cause the most failures, for example, should give you motivation to master them effectively and make sure you are not one of those people failing their test because of them. This information should be invaluable as it helps you to note which aspects could cause a test failure. It should help you work out which of your driving skills need a little more attention before you can become a qualified driver.