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.
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.
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.
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.
313 unambiguously matched statistical centres. The source contains 314 named centre records; unmatched names remain in the downloadable data.
Sorted by serious-fault count, then dangerous-fault count. The driving-fault column is a separate severity category.
| Published fault category | Serious | Dangerous | Driving faults |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junctions - observation | 377 | 57 | 758 |
| Response to signs - traffic lights | 188 | 9 | 206 |
| Control - steering | 186 | 24 | 1,674 |
| Response to signs - road markings | 184 | 1 | 318 |
| Junctions - turning right | 154 | 5 | 291 |
| Response to signs - traffic signs | 146 | 13 | 143 |
| Maintain progess - speed | 142 | 0 | 1,228 |
| Move off - safely | 122 | 14 | 824 |
| Move off - control | 118 | 7 | 921 |
| Mirrors - change direction | 115 | 12 | 324 |
| Reverse park - Control | 104 | 1 | 597 |
| Mirrors - change speed | 86 | 4 | 557 |
| Maintain progress - undue hesitation | 86 | 1 | 1,102 |
| Clearance / obstructions | 75 | 1 | 489 |
| Use of speed | 72 | 1 | 397 |
| Judgement - meeting | 66 | 3 | 310 |
| Pedestrian crossing | 59 | 14 | 95 |
| Judgement - crossing | 54 | 20 | 68 |
| Awareness/planning | 54 | 3 | 454 |
| Signals - correctly | 49 | 0 | 291 |
| Positioning - normal driving | 43 | 9 | 399 |
| Reverse right - Control | 40 | 0 | 137 |
| Response to signs - other road users | 36 | 2 | 99 |
| Taxi/Forward Park cont | 35 | 0 | 261 |
| Reverse park - Observatons | 33 | 1 | 222 |
| Junctions - cutting corners | 31 | 2 | 134 |
| Reverse right - Observation | 27 | 2 | 123 |
| Signals - necessary | 27 | 0 | 229 |
| Following distance | 26 | 0 | 183 |
| Control - gears | 24 | 1 | 262 |
| Junctions - turning left | 20 | 0 | 79 |
| Junctions - approach speed | 16 | 3 | 260 |
| Position - normal stops | 16 | 0 | 429 |
| Vehicle checks | 16 | 0 | 436 |
| Taxi/Forward Park obs | 14 | 0 | 100 |
| Signals - timed | 12 | 1 | 313 |
| Mirrors - signalling | 12 | 0 | 559 |
| Control - parking brake | 10 | 0 | 55 |
| Positioning - lane discipline | 8 | 0 | 204 |
| Control - Footbrake | 7 | 0 | 146 |
| Judgement - overtaking | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| Ancillary controls | 3 | 0 | 63 |
| Control - clutch | 3 | 0 | 102 |
| Control Stop - Promptness | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| Precautions | 2 | 0 | 27 |
| Control - accelerator | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Eyesight | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Response to signs - traffic controllers | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Control - balance | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Controlled stop - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ECO Driving | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Highway Code | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reverse left - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reverse left - Observation | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turn in road - Control | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turn in road - Observations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.