21 / 07 / 22
Top most common Driving Faults
The day of your practical driving test can be one of the most exciting days of your life. The possibilities that holding a full driving licence can hold are extreme, so your nerves are likely to be high. Between April 2019 and March 2020, the pass rate was 45.9%. This means that over half of the people that take a driving test fail. We thought we’d discuss the top most common driving faults that people get during their practical driving test. You can keep these in the back of your mind on test day as to not make the same mistakes! Remember though, even the best of drivers have their off days, so don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t, or don’t pass first time.
1. Not using your mirrors!
Using your mirrors is something your instructor will likely drill into you right from the start of your driving lessons – this is because it is one of the most common reasons people fail their test. It can be easy to do, as forgetting one mirror will cause a minor. The mirror, signal, manoeuvre routine is a good way to remember this. You must check all mirrors before changing direction, speed, or signalling. This includes things such as: exiting a roundabout, pulling to the side of a road, turning into a road, beginning a manoeuvre… The list goes on.
2. Not moving off safely!
When moving off, you must make sure that you’re making the correct observations to make sure it is safe to do so. If it is not safe, you must wait until it is. This includes moving off from behind a parked vehicle and making rear observations following an emergency stop. You must always make sure you are confident it is safe to move off, and making sure to check your blind spot where necessary.
3. Road positioning!
This includes making sure you’re in the middle of marked lanes, only changing lanes when necessary, and making sure the car is positioned correctly for the route you intend to take. Not driving in the centre of a marked lane could mean you put pedestrians/on coming drivers at risk. You will naturally pick up spacial awareness when driving, however ask your instructor for any tips if you’re struggling. Also, making sure you’re in the left hand lane on a dual carriageway is important. If you unnecessarily drive in the right hang land for a considerable length of time, this could land you a minor, or even a fail!
4. Ignoring traffic signs!
Traffic signs are there for a reason, and you should be aware of all when driving. You should have learnt what all the road signs mean when revising for the theory test, but head HERE for a refresher. Things such as ignoring a stop sign can be detrimental to the outcome of your test, as well as very dangerous. Another common sign that is ignored are speed signs – as soon as you see a change in speed sign, you must begin to slow down so that you’re driving at the correct speed by the time you hit the sign. Acting too late to a speed limit change can cause you to fail, as for example, driving at the national speed limit through a residential area would be very dangerous.
5. Reverse parking control!
When completing a reverse park manoeuvre, you must be able to accurately control where the car issuing to go. This fault is most commonly received when parallel parking of reverse bay parking. This fault is received in parallel park when your wheel(s) end up on the kerb. When reverse bay parking, this fault is received if you attempt to reposition the car too many times, you end up outside of the parking bay, or you simply lose control of the car.
Whether you’re here because you recently failed your practical driving test, or you’re a new driver that is trying to get clued up on all things practical driving test, we hope this blog helped! Remember, if you’re looking to pass your practical test quickly, you can always take an intensive course with National Intensive – we have an 83% pass rate!
