The ten most common driving test faults
DVSA's own list, April 2025 to March 2026.
The most common reason for failing the car driving test in Great Britain is junctions: observation, according to DVSA's figures for April 2025 to March 2026.
- Junctions - observation
- Mirrors - change direction
- Junctions - turning right
- Response to signs - traffic lights
- Control - steering
- Move off - safely
- Response to signs - road markings
- Response to signs - traffic signs
- Positioning - normal driving
- Maintain progress - speed
DVSA names each fault by the part of the drive it happened in and what went wrong: "Junctions - observation" is not looking properly at a junction; "Mirrors - change direction" is not checking mirrors before changing direction or lane. The list is ranked by how often each fault was recorded, and it barely moves year to year, which is the useful part: these are the things to practise.
Before your test
Most learners who pass have had plenty of practice on top of their lessons, and practising in a family car means the car needs to insure you. Which kind of learner cover fits your situation and how short-term learner cover works are explained here, and every provider is compared side by side.
Source: DVSA, Driving test and theory test data: cars, Open Government Licence v3.0. Car practical tests, April 2025 to March 2026. DVSA leaves out centres where one examiner conducted every test (they still count in the national figure). Waiting times are DVSA's monthly figures. Every centre.