What is the most common thing people fail on their Practical Test?

According to the DVLA, not looking correctly at a junction has been announced to be the most common reason people failed their test last year.

At 48.7%, this year’s pass rate indicates that on average, only one in two applicants is successful.

The data has repeatedly occurred, demonstrating that the same cause of failure has persisted year after year.

The most common reasons for test failure from the year to March 2022 were:

Not looking properly at junctions
Failing to check mirrors when changing direction
Poor road positioning while turning right onto the road at junctions
Mistakes at traffic light signals
Poor steering control
Not pulling away safely from the side of the road
Reacting incorrectly to traffic road signs
Poor road positioning during normal driving
Responding incorrectly to road markings
Making poor progress and driving at the appropriate speed

The top five reasons above have been exactly the same as the year before.

In November 2022 it was revealed that 50,000 tests taken each year are done by learners who have already failed five times or more.

Charity RAC found that 50,875 practical tests taken across Britain in the 12 months to the end of March were the candidates’ sixth or more attempts.

A clear theme that this data shows is that becoming a qualified driver is important to these learners, so much so that it is worth the expense and time involved in securing their licence.

Although it hasn’t been easy for learners across the UK; their ambition to succeed has been greatly fueled by the industry’s closure due to the epidemic and the current test centre strike.

Are you waiting to take your Practical Driving Test? Can you say you are 100% confident in all of the below?

You no longer need prompts from your driving instructor.
No longer make silly mistakes.
You are passing all of your mock driving tests,
You can control your nerves.
Your instructor has given you the green light to take your test.

If you are nodding then great! Take your test confidently knowing you have done all you can to prepare. But, if you aren’t feeling confident in all five pointers then we would recommend moving your test back to a later date.

Read the DVSA’s ‘Ready to Pass Campaign’ here for more advice and help on being test ready.