While taking your driving test can be a nerve-wracking experience, understanding how faults are assessed can help you feel more prepared and confident.
This article will explore driving test majors and minors so you can learn to avoid common faults in advance and pass your practical exam with flying colours.
Understanding Driving Test Faults
While it’s expected that you will make some errors during the test due to nerves, accumulating too many minors or committing a serious or dangerous fault can result in an automatic failure.
Recognising the types of faults and their implications in advance can help you focus on areas with your driving instructor to improve before your test date.
Three Categories of Faults
There are three driving test faults that you can make during your practical exam:
Driving Faults
These minor errors do not pose potential or immediate risks to you or other drivers. However, if you keep making the same fault, it could lead to a serious fault.
Serious Faults
A serious fault is an error that has the potential to be dangerous. Even if it does not lead to an accident, you will fail your practical exam if you make a serious fault.
Dangerous Faults
A dangerous fault is more severe, occurring when your actions put you, your instructor, other road users or pedestrians at risk. Regardless of how well you conducted yourself throughout your practical exam, you will automatically fail your test if you make a dangerous fault.
Serious and Dangerous Faults (Major Faults)
Serious and dangerous faults result in immediate test failure. These include:
- Failing to check blind spots
- Running a red light
- Driving over a Zebra crossing when a pedestrian was approaching or waiting to cross
- Swerving into another lane without checking mirrors
- Mounting the curb
- Causing another road user to take evasive action
These faults demonstrate a lack of competence and awareness of your surroundings, showing the examiner that you may not yet be fully ready to drive independently.
How Many Minors Can You Have and Still Pass?
Your practical driving examination will last around 40 minutes. In that time, you will be expected to showcase your skills as a competent and safe driver. While it’s best to aim for minimal errors, you can receive 15 minor faults and still pass your test, providing that you don’t make the same minor fault three times or make a serious or dangerous fault.
Top 3 Minor Faults That Can Lead to a Fail
Observation at Junctions
Lack of observation can cause hesitation or misjudgement of oncoming traffic, which can lead to a failed result if you pull out when it’s deemed unsafe. To avoid a minor or major fault, be aware of your surroundings and assess the road ahead. This can ensure you emerge onto the road safely, preventing potential hazards.
Lack of Mirror Checks
Neglecting to check your mirrors and blind spots before moving off, changing lanes, overtaking or turning can result in a fail.
To prevent a fault in this area, always check your mirrors and blind spots before moving off, switching gears, overtaking a cyclist, slowing down or signalling. This ensures better awareness of your surroundings and helps maintain safe driving practices.
Controlled Steering
Poor steering control and abrupt movements can cause the car to drift off course. To maintain vehicle stability, aim to hold the steering wheel at the nine and three positions, gripping the wheel firmly but not too tightly.
Final Thoughts
Try to stay calm, focus on safe driving and remember that mistakes happen. Even if you don’t succeed the first time, use the feedback to refine your skills and try again. With practice and patience, you’ll soon be on the road as a fully licensed driver.
Shad Zahoor is a highly qualified driving instructor based in Nottingham, with over 10 years of experience teaching learner drivers. He holds an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) qualification from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and specialises in helping nervous beginners gain confidence behind the wheel. Shad’s teaching philosophy centres on patience, clear communication, and fostering a positive learning environment.
He excels in advanced driving techniques and defensive driving, offering tailored lessons to suit individual needs. With a passion for road safety and a commitment to producing skilled, responsible drivers, Shad takes pride in his high pass rate and helping people achieve their dream of driving.