Turn evidence into useful practice

Look at the skills behind the faults.

Choose a test centre to explore recorded fault categories. These counts can help structure a conversation about observation, control and planning alongside your own lesson feedback.

Understand the count

A single test can record several faults, including more than one type. Counts are not numbers of failed tests or your chance of committing a fault. The attachment does not supply matching test denominators for a fault-rate calculation.

Keep the dates visible

We use explicitly labelled January and February 2026 rows in DVSA’s July 2026 response. Later and unlabelled repeated blocks are excluded. A centre may have only one of these months; missing observations are not zero.

Practise the full syllabus

Use the figures alongside feedback from a qualified instructor. A recorded category does not identify a test route, exact junction or guaranteed manoeuvre. Historical category names are retained, including legacy labels.

Reset

313 unambiguously matched statistical centres. The source contains 314 named centre records; unmatched names remain in the downloadable data.

Colchester: January 2026 and February 2026

Sorted by serious-fault count, then dangerous-fault count. The driving-fault column is a separate severity category.

Published fault categorySeriousDangerousDriving faults
Junctions - observation10813241
Junctions - turning right63247
Response to signs - road markings51039
Response to signs - traffic signs46035
Mirrors - change direction454102
Use of speed411138
Positioning - normal driving410194
Move off - safely360376
Move off - control343284
Reverse park - Control343164
Mirrors - change speed338167
Response to signs - traffic lights28140
Control - steering279223
Maintain progress - undue hesitation270327
Reverse park - Observatons26067
Judgement - crossing23315
Pedestrian crossing23335
Clearance / obstructions232121
Maintain progess - speed190329
Reverse right - Observation19037
Judgement - meeting16270
Signals - correctly150143
Control - gears120118
Awareness/planning9186
Junctions - approach speed91107
Positioning - lane discipline8225
Control Stop - Promptness8015
Position - normal stops80107
Following distance7071
Taxi/Forward Park obs7015
Junctions - cutting corners6020
Junctions - turning left6014
Response to signs - other road users6022
Reverse right - Control5032
Vehicle checks41113
Mirrors - signalling40166
Judgement - overtaking317
Signals - necessary30108
Taxi/Forward Park cont3060
Control - Footbrake1351
Ancillary controls109
Eyesight100
Control - accelerator001
Control - balance000
Control - clutch0033
Control - parking brake0020
Controlled stop - Control000
ECO Driving000
Highway Code000
Precautions003
Response to signs - traffic controllers004
Reverse left - Control000
Reverse left - Observation000
Signals - timed0091
Turn in road - Control000
Turn in road - Observations000

Source and reproducible data

DVSA FOI response 2606-112694 and Annex H, published 1 July 2026. Our download preserves the source categories, per-month counts, original-file checksum and exclusions. Crown copyright information is reused under the default Open Government Licence; no individual test or candidate records are included.