How Can We Help?
Driving Test Results Explained – What Does It All Mean?
Whether you’ve failed or passed your driving test, you’ll want to know what your results mean. If you’ve passed, you might want bragging rights to say that you had very few minors. If you’ve failed, it’s your chance to see what went wrong so you can improve your driving game next time.
To pass your test, you will need no more than 15 driving faults (minors) and no serious or dangerous faults (majors).
We’ve put together a comprehensive list of all the areas your examiner will have marked you on. In some cases, you may have specific feedback on your faults so you know specifically where you went wrong and – more to the point – how to improve.
| Eyesight Check | If you can’t read the number plate at the start of the test, this is an instant fail. |
| Precautions | Make sure if you need to make any adjustments to your mirrors or seat that you do that before starting the car. Your gear should also be in neutral. |
| Ancillary Controls | This refers to your ability to use secondary controls, such as windscreen wipers and heating. Depending on the weather conditions and time of day, you may not have needed to use these, but if you failed to use them when necessary or lost control of the car while using them, that would’ve resulted in a fault. |
| Awareness and Planning | A common fault in this area is failing to anticipate the actions of other road users. You should have also demonstrated extra care and attention around vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists. |
| Clearance to Obstructions & Following at a Safe Distance | You should have kept a safe distance when passing other road users, stationary vehicles or hazards – at least one metre is recommended. |
| Control | You needed to show you can use the car’s primary controls correctly. This includes the accelerator, clutch, gears, brake, etc. |
| Emergency Stop | You will have been marked on your ability to stop the car in good time without locking the wheels or losing control of the vehicle. |
| Forward Park | You will be marked on your ability to control the car and your observations of your surroundings. Your car should have been straight and central within the space. |
| Fuel Efficient Driving | This won’t affect the overall test results, but is an extra consideration to help you drive in a way that’s more eco-friendly. |
| Judgement | You needed to show good judgement when overtaking or encountering other road users, such as knowing when to proceed or when to wait or give way. |
| Junctions | This includes roundabouts and will assess your approaching speed, judgement of your surroundings and road signals, position when turning and whether you cut corners. |
| Move Off | When starting from a stationary position, you will be marked on your ability to control the vehicle and whether you used your mirrors and indicators appropriately. |
| Pedestrian Crossing | You are likely to encounter a number of different pedestrian crossings on your test and your examiner will mark you based on whether you followed the rules as outlined in the Highway Code. |
| Positioning and Normal Stops | You will be assessed on your ability to stop in a safe space, without being a hazard or obstruction to other road users. Positioning will also be considered as you drive, including lane discipline and whether you drive too close to the pavement or lines. |
| Response to Signs and Signals | Did you follow the road signs and signals? If you didn’t, make sure you brush up on the ones you’re not so confident with. |
| Reversing | Your ability to observe your surroundings, make good judgement calls and control the car when reversing are all important. |
| Signals | This is testing your ability to use indicators and other signals correctly. |
| Use of Mirrors | Did you use your wing and rear-view mirrors at the right times? For instance, when changing direction or lane and when changing speed. |
| Use of Speed and Progress | Driving over the speed limit, not keeping up with the flow of traffic, being unnecessarily hesitant, and not adjusting your speed to suit road conditions, are all common faults. Conditions that require extra caution include when there’s lots of surface water or reduced visibility due to fog. |
| Show Me, Tell Me Questions | During your test, you will have been asked two safety questions. For one, you need to demonstrate (show) an action. For the other, you need to explain (tell) your examiner how you would carry out a safety task. If either of your responses are incorrect, you will get a fault. The examiner may write specifically what you got wrong. The best way to improve is to brush up on your Show Me, Tell Me questions. |
If you failed your test, we hope this guide will help you make sense of your driving test results so you know how to improve. At GoGoGo, our intensive driving course in Peterborough includes free corrective lessons. It’s the perfect opportunity to go over your minor and major faults so you can ace your next practical driving test.