Every year around 1.6 million people attempt to pass their driving test, sadly over half of them fail at the first attempt, here are some of the common things that cause people to fail.
- Not enough practice – The driving test is extremely hard to pass these days, and unfortunately a lot of candidates, just aren’t having the amount of hours of Defensive Driving Lessons required to pass the test. The DVSA recommends a minimum of between 40-55 hours professional practice plus around 20 hours private practice before sitting a driving test.
- Mock Tests – An alarming amount of students with previous learning experience, have claimed to have not had a mock test with their driving instructor and taken a test and failed. Mock Tests are vital preparation before taking a driving test as they, test your ability to drive unaided. If you can’t drive without requiring assistance from your instructor, you’re not test ready.
- Moving Off – Before you move off, you must make sure your car is under control. You will be asked to move off safely on, Normal Roads, Hill Starts, Angled Starts
- Junctions – Around 90% of accidents happen at junctions. Make sure you have taken effective observation before you join a new road
- Awareness & Planning – Another common failure is the candidate’s inability to plan ahead, to avoid this, when joining a new road, look as far as you can see, far – middle – near distance don’t forget to scan back, and don’t forget to check the sides of the road
- Progress – If you’ve received a mark in this box, it’s because you’ve most likely not driven at an appropriate speed – going slow is equally as dangerous as going to fast, so make sure you’ve assessed the road and traffic conditions and got to an appropriate speed so other drivers are discouraged from overtaking you.
- Meeting Traffic – Candidates can often fail on this because they approach the situation too fast. Give yourself time to plan ahead, and assess the situation, make sure you know who has priority, and if the obstruction is on your side give way if necessary.
- Undue Hesitation – Missing too many opportunities to go at junctions ( including roundabouts) is another common reason why people fail. Before emerging onto a new road, give yourself time to assess the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles. Moving out and causing another driver to slow down or change direction will result in a fail.
- Lane Discipline – Drifting into another lane is another common driving fault. It’s important to stay in your lane so it doesn’t cause other drivers to change their speed or direction
- Use Of Mirrors – Over the years I’m sure many people have failed their driving test due to not making effective observations in their mirrors – Remember before signalling, changing direction, changing speed, make effective use of your mirrors so you are aware of how your actions may affect other drivers.